Hope Without Wavering

by Robert Mohns

I recently visited Grace Lutheran Church in Port Alberni on the occasion of their 75^th anniversary. I should have been out there in June, but fires prevented the celebration from taking place at that time.

The congregation chose Hebrews 10:23 for their anniversary: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” As it turned out, it is a very fitting verse. The hoped-for celebration did not go forward as planned.

The very nature of things that we hope for is that they tend to be out of our control. We have no power to make them happen. The congregation had no control over the disaster which blocked the only way in and out of the community for weeks.

The very nature of things that we hope for is that they tend to be out of our control. We have no power to make them happen.

We are used to a world where we are often disappointed. And where hope is disappointed, fear takes up its dwelling place. We fear for our safety amid growing violence in our communities. We fear food and shelter insecurity in the midst of disaster and rising costs. We live in fear of one another so much so that we fear gathering. And we fear for our future wellbeing, with the shortages of health services. 

And there is fear in our congregations too. We fear shrinking congregations and their longterm viability. We fear worker shortages and whether our congregation will receive a pastor to provide Word and Sacrament ministry.

“By the Waters of Babylon,” by Arthur Hacker, c. 1888.

At the heart of our fears, whether in the community or in the congregation, is that what we want, what we hope for, isn’t going to come true. What happens when this kind of fear drives us? We lash out at one another. We go around finding people and things to blame. Or we can let fear paralyze us, believing that there is nothing we can do. Or we take it upon ourselves to make things happen, look within ourselves to be an agent for change and a catalyst for transformation. But does any of that work? Does it produce real hope—hope that endures forever? 

The book of Hebrews was written to a people who had been driven off their land and stripped of their language and culture, first by Greeks and then Romans. They were constantly harassed, humiliated, and disrespected. But the writer of this epistle, writes to them of God’s Word of hope: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

Has God promised that we will get everything we want? No. Has He promised that we will always get our way in this life? No. Has He promised that His Word will be accepted in every nation? Has He promised that we will never suffer because of that Word? And has He promised that He will fill up your pews, that our congregations would be filled with faithful, perfect, holy, loving, self-sacrificing Christians?

The answer, of course, is no. Life here is dirty and messy.

But He did promise to send us His Saviour—a Saviour who would deal with our sin and the sins of all people, even those who have rejected His Word. He kept that promise at the cross. He further promised that His Saviour would rise from the dead. And He did, three days later. 

God promised that His Saviour would reign over all creation—over the entire world. And He is.

God promised that His Saviour would reign over all creation—over the entire world. And He is. The Saviour promised us that He would be with us always, to the very end of the age. And He is. 

He has also promised us that He is coming again—and that on that last and glorious day He will make us all heirs of His kingdom. And He will.

You and I are caught up in this promise: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” I wonder, if the walls of your church building could talk, what would they say? Would they not speak of the faithfulness of God to fulfill His promises? 

This God who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Christ graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32)? By the power of His word of promise, we hope beyond hope. We trust, we believe, and we live, confident in Him.

And so we do not give up gathering together for worship to receive the promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation which He fulfills in us. We gather for worship, and all the more so as we see that final day coming (Hebrews 10:25). 

Do not turn away from this hope but persevere. Bear up under all things. Know that the Lord, He is God, and it is He who has you and will not let go of you—in life and in death. May He who began this good work in us bring to completion in that great and awesome Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Rev. Robert Mohns is Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)’s West Regional Pastor.

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