Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered
kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of
lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose
weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign
armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and
refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers
and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they
were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and
goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- 38 the world was not worthy of them.
They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39These were
all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God
had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made
perfect. (NIV)
Poverty is the great destroyer of hope. Poverty is the terrorist that destroys lives by
taking away any promise of better things tomorrow, or next week, or next year. In poverty,
there is no hope. However, in Christ who brings us the bounty of blessings of the heart,
there is hope. In Christ, we have a resource to fill our hearts with a true vision of a
true place called Heaven. In Christ, we have a resource who will see us over and through
the greatest hardships. In Christ, we have someone who will stir our hearts and help us
know the impossible is possible. Surely we have not run out of hope with Christ, for even
as our hair turns gray and our skin wrinkles, we come to see the important things of life
are not material things but are the people around us and Him.
