Among many excellent lines from my favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption, we find this one from Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins:
“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
Andy held on to a tiny strand of hope, despite being wrongfully imprisoned and enduring years of unimaginable hardship. He was raped and beaten multiple times and spent long periods in solitary confinement. Fortunately, Andy’s positive attitude and hope for the future helped him survive the ordeal. In fact, at the end of the film, we find him on a secluded Mexican beach, restoring an old boat as he had long dreamed of doing.
Sadly, Andy’s elderly friend, Brooks, who lacked hope, takes his own life following his release from prison. This is unfortunately playing out in real life, as we hear reports of people who have committed suicide as a result of pandemic-induced feelings of hopelessness.
It seems the presence, or absence, of hope can make all the difference in the world.
For the past several weeks, as we’ve dealt with the Coronavirus pandemic, I’ve observed far more examples of fear and anxiety than hope. The news channels focus almost exclusively on the bad news—the numbers and rates of infection, the tragic deaths, lost jobs, and other catastrophic impacts. Bad news drives fear, and we easily take the bait. We’re afraid of things we can’t control and this pandemic seems to fit that definition.
I’m not denying or underestimating the devastating impact of this virus. Lives have been changed forever. More lives will be lost. But I don’t want to write about that. You can find that gloom and doom elsewhere. If you’re looking for more soul-crushing, negative virus news, you won’t find it here.
Instead, I want to share some good news. I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy. My hope is that the following good news will generate just a little hope in someone who feels, well, hopeless.
1. The checks will soon be in the mail. Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that will boost unemployment insurance, incentivize businesses not to reduce payroll, and provide a desperately needed cash infusion to millions of Americans. That gives me hope.
2. While some businesses are having to close, reduce hours, or lay people off, others are hiring. The list of those hiring is long and continues to grow:
If you’ve been let go from your job, I hope this list provides some hope.
3. The most powerful computer in the world, along with some of the brightest researchers on the planet, are aggressively working the problem. The Energy Department’s Summit supercomputer, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory just 30 miles north of my home, recently identified 77 potential COVID-19 treatments, and then the Top 7. Read more about that here:
https://futurism.com/neoscope/fastest-supercomputer-finds-potential-covid-treatments
The research has a ways to go, but the progress to date gives me hope.
4. The number of new cases is falling where the outbreak began. The epidemic in China and the Republic of Korea has declined significantly. Wuhan province, where the virus began, recently reported no new local cases for the first time since the outbreak began. While the Chinese numbers are difficult to verify, the reports of the pandemic declining at ground zero give me a measure of hope.
5. The Coronavirus is mutating relatively slowly, which may be good news: https://www.npr.org/2020/03/26/822107691/the-coronavirus-is-mutating-relatively-slowly-which-may-be-good-news
For now, at least, let’s drop the “may be” and just call it good news. News that gives me hope.
6. Most people infected with COVID-19 recover. While many thousands will die from the virus, and that’s tragic, estimates are that 99% of those infected will not. I pray that no one in your family or mine become infected. But if that were to happen, there’s a decent chance they would recover. That gives me hope.
7. Children seem to be infected less often and have milder disease. So far, the vast majority of infections have afflicted adults. For those with children and grandchildren, that’s got to increase your hope for a better tomorrow.
8. Churches are discovering new, innovative ways to conduct Bible studies and worship services online. If Satan thought this global pandemic would bring about the end of the church, he was badly mistaken. I know of one man who hasn’t stepped foot inside a church building in some time, but was willing to listen to a livestream of a worship service with his wife. That’s progress. A virus which could take his life might ultimately save it. That gives me hope.
9. Families are rediscovering family time. Sure, we’ll have bouts of cabin fever and will get on each other’s nerves from time to time. My wife, Janet, is concerned about my pledge to not shave until the virus has run its course—understandable if you’ve seen my Spanish moss beard. But, on the whole, this has been good for family time. We’re doing puzzles, playing games, watching sunsets, doing devotionals, and going for family hikes together. That’s more than Ann Frank got to do while hiding in an attic for two years. Our renewed family time gives me hope.
10. Christians will have a whole new appreciation for not just worshipping together, but simply being together. I bet we’ll never take fellowship—the being together in a common bond of love—for granted again. It’s also interesting that we have a renewed interest in checking in on our widows, shut-ins, and elderly…even an organized approach. Something we should have been doing all along, perhaps? This renewed interest in our friends, neighbors, fellow Christians, and the most vulnerable among us gives me hope.
11. While we can’t fully control the outcome of this pandemic, we can take reasonable steps to avoid infection. Wash your hands regularly. Practice social distancing. You know the drill. If you follow the rules, your hope of avoiding infection will increase.
12. Janet returned from our local Walmart this afternoon and said there was “plenty of toilet paper…the shelves were full.” If that doesn’t make you want to open a can of refried beans and shout praise to the Lord, then maybe hope, for you, is elusive.
13. This, too, shall pass. We’ll get through it. We’ve survived a Civil War, world wars, terrorist attacks, the scourge of slavery, The Great Depression, and other pandemics. I can’t tell you how long we’ll be in this tunnel, only that there is a light at the end of it. That gives me hope.
14. God hears our prayers. He understands our anxiety, our pain, and our doubt. He’s on the scene and He’s involved. Keep praying for the victims, those in quarantine, our doctors and nurses on the front lines, and the researchers and scientists trying to develop a cure. Knowing that God (not me, the government, or anything else) is in control and hears my prayers gives me indescribable hope.
15. Ultimately, my hope is in Christ and an eternal home with Him in heaven. Whether I’m done in by the virus, a car accident, cancer, or old age, I’m not getting out of this life alive. You aren’t either. We’re all terminal. Like Job, our days are “but a breath.” (Job 7:16) Knowing that, I always want to be in a right relationship with God. When I am, I can echo the words of Paul who said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Our hope for glory is found in Christ and Christ alone. (Colossians 1:27)
So, when you hit the pillow tonight, I hope you’ll consider the above 15 points along with Andy’s words to Red: Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Christians have hope. Hope for good things. Hope for the best of things. We know that our stories will end well, regardless of how or when they end. Virus or no virus, our future is secure.
And that gives us hope.
I needed this tonite as I was so troubled Wednesday nite I never slept til 6am Thurs. for 1 hour. Couldn’t define my mood and then it hit me…unsettling. Thank you Big Steve. Love to lil Jan. God is good all the time.