OUR COMMON FAITH - Hope and Life
By Pastor Ron Gatrelle

A college psychology department once did an experiment to determine how long rats could swim. The first rat was placed in a container with no possible way to escape. In just a few minutes the rat gave up, ducked his head and drowned. In another container a possible way of escape was offered. The rat placed in the container offering hope of escape swam for several hours before drowning.

The spiritual significance of the experiment is this. We usually say, "As long as there is life, there is hope," but the experiment demonstrated that, "As long as there is hope, there is life."

When we read through the scripture, we see God continually delivering people from all kinds of problems. God is an ever present help in our time of need. God offers us hope. We need to remember this and not succumb to the feeling that God is too busy to be interested in our lives.

The scriptures state that Jesus is the true and only real hope God offers to humanity (l Tim. 1:1). As we cling to our hope of God’s goodness toward us through Jesus Christ, we will find that God will not disappoint us and has not forsaken us. Without this hope we will "duck our heads" and drown under the hopelessness of our immediate situation. With Christ as our sure hope, we will look beyond our situation and endure until God’s provision becomes manifest.

Remember, as long as there is hope, there is life.