“May the God of hope give you all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
This verse fell out of my Bible our first morning in Africa. Kinsey had written it in a note while I was in the hospital this past summer. I quoted it to our friends, the Hunters, one morning and reflected on the name of the school they started in Namibia – Community Hope School. “God gave us that name six years ago on Easter Sunday,” Suzanne said. “The pastor was preaching about the hope Jesus had – even while hanging on the cross. His death was bringing hope to the world. His sacrifice would not be in vain. And since all things are possible for God, Jesus knew there was going to be a resurrection. We felt like these children we are serving and the community in which they live need this same miraculous hope.” Maybe we all need this miraculous hope.
“… that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” I often think of the power of the Holy Spirit healing the sick or casting out demons or performing signs and wonders. But God knows in this world it takes the power of his Holy Spirit to hope the way we should. Katatura is the poorest section of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Many think it has the highest rate of AIDS in the nation. We hear statistics about AIDS and shake our heads, but I have a different perspective now. I rode to school one morning with Jodi, a Canadian missionary we’ve known for several years. We stopped to pick up Bless and Katerine, a four year old boy and nine year old girl. As they ran to our car, Jodi said, “I’ll be back.” A few minutes later a frail lady walked out of the house to tell her kids goodbye. “Bye bye Mommy,” the children shouted. I was introduced to Agnes and then we drove off.
“Agnes is my age and she is about to die,” Jodi said. “She has AIDS.” “How old are you?” I asked. “Twenty-seven.” Statistics become more powerful when you see a face or when you carry impacted kids to school or when you think of your own twenty-something year old children. So where’s the hope? Bless and Katerine aren’t the only students at Community Hope School with such difficult circumstances. I think every child has already lost loved ones to this deadly disease. But when you walk into the school, hope is all around. Smiling faces reflect peace and joy. Teachers overflow with hope and love. Eager first graders through sixth graders study English, Math, Science, Health, and Bible. Beautiful African ladies prepare daily meals for the eighty-eight students. Each child gets a dose of vitamins for dessert. There is laughter, mischief, nurturing, and discipline… the things common in good schools. By the effort of committed educators and workers and by the power of the Holy Spirit, hope abounds.
So I’ve decided I want to overflow with hope at my school and in my city and in my home. And when things seem dark and hopeless, I’m going to remember Jesus on the cross. No act of obedience will be in vain; resurrection is a part of the plan; and “with God, all things are possible.”
“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:2-5