I think one of my top ten favorite movies of all time is "The Shawshank Redemption." It's about a guy named Andy (Tim Robbins), who is sent to Shawshank Prison for the murder of his wife and secret lover. He is very isolated and lonely at first, but realizes there is something deep inside your body, that people can't touch and get to....'HOPE'. Andy becomes friends with prison 'fixer' Red (Morgan Freeman), and Andy epitomizes why it is crucial to have dreams. His spirit and determination, leads us on a story filled with courage and desire. Hope is the heart of this movie. By definition, Hope means "to wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment." In the bible God tells us it means "confident expectation." Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown.
Andy started out hopeless when he came into the prison, but over time he slowly found that to have patience, be still, and have hope he would be able to accomplish his escape and make it out on the other side. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie, is when we see Andy on the other side with his hands reaching for the sky as the rain comes pouring down on him. That is a feeling that we have all experienced at one point in time. It's that feeling of relief, the feeling of clarity that brings peace to your mind. That all the pain you have been through just melts away. You know what that feeling is? It's the holy spirit inside of you letting you know that God is good. This is the feeling we long for as humans. The problem is, is sometimes we forget that these are only checkpoints in life. That after we have received this blessing from God, life isn't over, and there are still problems yet to come. The good thing is, when we experience a time when God has shown us mercy, it fills us up with hope, and the idea is, is to put all your trust in God that he is in control.
“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” – Morgan Freeman (Red)
I have always loved this quote. It means that sometimes even though we might understand the concept of Hope, and it brings us peace of mind for the time being, we don't always receive it in the time that is best for us. Therefore, making some people a little un-easy and they start to question their faith. When we ask for Hope, it goes hand in hand with faith. This co-insides with being patient. This is something I have struggled with. Not so much the Hope and Faith aspect, but being patient. And if I can't be patient, how could I expect to understand the meaning of Hope? Over the past couple months, this is something that I have put all my energy into fixing. Because if you can't learn patience, everything falls apart. To me, it is the most important characteristic we can have. Patience also helps with confidence. How can I become a man/husband/father without the focus that patience provides to help us stay grounded? Not being patient is a terrible habit to pick up, sadly I have seen the it's long term effects. That led to a LONG prayer of asking God for forgiveness of everything I could come up with. Lucky for me, God has shown me mercy and it is a habit I can break.
To learn patience, I had to first learn to be humble. I have learned how to become humble by sitting down and re-evaluating my life. Some of the things I thought I wanted(career) weren't really what I wanted, and the things I wanted had to be realized(wife/kids). This is how I came to the conclusion that I had to leave my 4 year routine of acting and change my whole career around. I had to get a job that stared me off at the bottom and work my way up. Some people have too much pride and don't start over again. They don't see the big picture. I knew that by starting off at the bottom means that I could only work my way up! There is no downside. This can be hard for some people to do, because they have spent so much time and energy working hard for something that they knew wasn't going anywhere, or even the best for them. To really humble yourself, you must surrender yourself to God and ask him to bestow in you the patience that is required. God only gives us enough strength to handle what is required today. Once you realize that fact, you can have peace of mind that tomorrow you will be filled back up with enough patience/strength to deal with tomorrow. Even though sometimes it might feel like we arn't filled back up, God is working behind the scenes.
It is through this that I am filled with Hope that God has the life I have always wanted. The certainty of this blessed future is guaranteed through the indwelling of the Spirit (Romans 8:23-25), Christ in us (Colossians 1:27), and the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:26). Hope is produced by endurance through suffering (Romans 5:2-5). I pray for very specific requests every morning, noon, and night and I have to ask to be filled with that Hope. And I have give all my faith to Him that through Him, his will be done. Just like in the song "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles, it says, "Little darling It's been a long, cold, lonely winter. Little darling, It feels like years since it's been here. Here comes the sun, and I say It's alright."
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