"I am the most fortunate man that ever lived...you can't imagine how fortunate I am to have had the full and rich life...I have...You`ll never know a person who is as fortunate and has experienced as rich and full [a] life as I have."
The speaker was Senator John McCain who, as a young Naval officer, spent years in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp and was nearly killed by the experience. In spite of that, he considers himself "fortunate." After hearing McCain say this on C-Span's Booknotes television show, I was so stunned that I looked at my son, watching the interview with me, and exclaimed, "What a guy!"
How is it that some people go through grim experiences and are crushed, while others, like McCain, survive and eventually, thrive?
I asked myself this question again recently as I sat in a Disney World food court where my daughter worked these past eight months and conversed with one of her co-workers. I'll call him Frank. Frank asked how I'd enjoyed being a pastor for twenty years and I said that I’ve really liked it.
"I liked my old career for twenty-two years," he told me.
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I was a research engineer. But my job got sent overseas."
Frank told me that he chose to view this setback as the chance for a fresh start. "I decided that I wanted to work with the imagineers at Disney. But it's tough to get with that department off the street. Still, I know that Disney is a great company. So, we moved to Florida and I took a job here at this food court. Disney is deliberate about creating opportunities for networking and they do 85% of their hiring from within the company. So, having proved my reliability here, I'm awaiting word on getting a management position in food and beverage.
"Sometimes, it's hard for my wife. She was used to seeing me go to work in the morning in a suit and tie, briefcase in hand. Now, I wear this food services uniform, wipe tables, and stack chairs. But I believe something good is going to happen."
When psychotherapist Viktor Frankl was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, he observed his fellow prisoners, trying to understand what the survivors--like him--had in common. They believed that somewhere ahead, something good was going to happen. They had hope.
I don't know what the ultimate source of hope is for John McCain or of Frank. But I do know my source of endless hope that never gives out, a source that sustains me even in the most difficult of times. My hope comes from Jesus Christ, the God-Man Who died and rose again to give life to all who will daily turn from sin and follow Him. A risen Savior has an eternity of hope to give away.
The Bible says this about the hope---and peace---Jesus gives to us:
"Therefore, since we are justified by faith [in other words, we don't earn heaven by doing good things; it's a free gift to all who turn from sin and follow Christ], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we alo boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit...(Romans 5:1-5)"
If you’d like a hope that never dies, I recommend Jesus Christ. He's proved hope enough for me to survive and to thrive.
[Mark Daniels is pastor of Friendship Church]
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