When Hope Seems Hopeless

I hope he gets home in time

I hope he doesn’t forget,

I hope he makes it through

I hope I have no regrets,

I hope the prognosis is good

I hope there are no alarms,

 I hope she takes it in stride

I hope she keeps her calm.

I hope I get the money

I hope it comes through on time,

All this hoping seems hopeless

I hope I’m not losing my mind.

At the heart of this hoping

There is an undertone of suspicion,

Perhaps some disappointment

Has brought on this condition.

It is really like a gamble

A hope that this time I will win

But after so often losing

The hope of a win seems dim.

It is like “Please let it happen

If it does not I will die,”

And so the hope that I am hoping

Is uttered with a sigh.

It is more or less a wish

A dream I would like come true,

But I am afraid to wake up

Because I do not expect it to.

It is a very unsure hope

Like a hope against all the odds,

“I really do not qualify, I know

But I hope they give me the job.”

Here I must make a distinction

Between this hope and another,

The hope we have in Christ

Is certainly a different matter.

It is not that nebulous hope

Like the kind this poem highlights

But a certain assured comfort

Guaranteed by the Father’s might.

The arm of flesh will fail us

It’s a very frustrating hope

Hence the distress we see in people

Who are now unable to cope.

Hope thou in God I encourage

When hope appears hopeless,

He has never lost a battle

Or failed a single test.

The track record of the world

Is replete with many a failure

And the delusion of many an individual

That paints a dismal picture.

I hope you understand this poem

It is important that you do

For unless you grasp its meaning

It will mean nothing to you.

I hope my trust regarding this

Is not of the hopeless kind,

Hope thou in God I admonish

He’s been there all the time.

Stewart Russell © March 2019