It was a memorable day at the end of April in 1994. The sun shone warm, and clouds moved slowly through the sky. Autumn was just beginning in the Southern Hemisphere, where we lived in Somerset West, close to Cape Town, South Africa. This was the day! After decades of apartheid, conflict, hatred, and lots of pain, South Africa held its first free election in which all inhabitants—regardless of their skin color—were invited to vote. We stood as a couple with thousands of others in a long line waiting to cast our votes outside a local school. A festive atmosphere hung over the crowd. Some sang; others danced. We all waited patiently, and hope hung palpably in the air.
We can all do with some hope. Our world seems to be stuck in constant crisis mode. The list of crises seems to be growing week after week, and we are reminded by our own fears and conflicts that we are in dire need of hope.
Hope is an important theme in Scripture. The psalms—the hymnal of the Old Testament—refer to hope in many texts. The writers “hope” and “wait” for God’s active engagement in this world—using the same Hebrew term. “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long,” writes the author of Psalm 25:5.* This waiting is always God-centered. We trust (or hope in) Him whom we know: “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you” (Ps. 9:10). Israel’s hope was based on past experiences with God. So knowing God is an essential precondition for experiencing hope.
We can all do with some hope.
The sixth century B.C. Israel was in crisis. Babylonian troops had destroyed Jerusalem, and a large portion of Judah’s population had been taken into exile. The destruction of the temple, the place where God resided and atonement was taking place, particularly challenged God’s people and the biblical authors of the time. Where was God? Where was hope?
Biblical interpreters call Jeremiah the “weeping prophet.” His book is full of descriptions of conflict, divine judgments, and personal pain and disappointment—and yet, amid darkness, there is also hope. The prophet writes to those living in exile in Babylon a memorable letter. In it he confirms that the exile would last a long time and that God’s people should settle down—both mentally and physically. But then he communicates to his readers in God’s name something unexpected: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). God has plans for His people—that’s the first surprising takeaway. These plans involve shalom, which the 2016 ESV translates here as “welfare” while other versions choose “peace,” a future, and also hope. Shalom, a future, and hope—that sounds like a paradigm change. Instead of focusing upon the darkness we see all around us, we are assured of God’s promise of peace that ultimately leads to a bright future and is powered by hope.
Not all the lofty hopes of South Africans have been fulfilled since 1994. God’s message of hope to Israel sees a partial fulfillment in Israel’s return from exile. But since then, generations of God’s people throughout history have waited to see the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13)—first during the first coming of Messiah and now as we anticipate the second coming of Jesus as King of kings. The big question is: are we, individually and corporately, driven by this hope that knows no fear and is full of God’s shalom?
* Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations have been taken from the English Standard Version.
