Sabbath Devotional :: Hope Against Hope

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” ~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

If anybody had reason to lose hope, it would have been Rev. King. In many ways, his life was full of disappointment, and he never got to see the fruits of his lifelong labors. Rev. King also experienced several bouts of severe depression — experiences that he kept closely guarded due to stigmas and fears his mental health struggles would be used against him. Hiding his struggles must have been lonely and heavy to carry. He often reflected that his work left him feeling like he was “giving, giving, giving” and not stopping to retreat and rest, that in the process of his struggle he was “too long in the crowd.”

But a few hours before he was assassinated, he said, “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop . . . I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”

If anybody embodied hope in seemingly hopeless times, it was Rev. King. He never stopped hoping he would see the day of promised equality, the fulfillment of his mission — a better world for his people. He hoped against hope. But he also shows it was not easy. It was a lifelong fight. One that required active and continuous labor.

I think that’s the call for us today. To keep hoping even when it seems pointless. Today’s world can seem divided, disunified, hateful, heavy, and hopeless. Life can feel fractured and fragile, dark and dreary. We may feel weighed down. And like Rev. King, we may not live to see the fruits of our labors, and the disappointment and despair may not fade.

But like Rev. King, we’ve been called to keep on trying. To keep hoping. To keep doing the work we have been called to do. Like Rev. King, our work will require continued efforts and active labor. But the world needs us to step up, heed the call, and get to work. And then stay at work.