The Power of Hope -

Viktor

Frankl (1905-1997) was an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, and writer. He is most widely known today as a Holocaust survivor and chronicler. Based on observations made during his time in German concentration camps, Frankl wrote a very important book titled “Man's Search for Meaning.” The scientist, Frankl, spent his time in the concentration camps studying people. He was deeply intrigued and perhaps even bothered by the way that different people fared in response to their incarceration and inhumane treatment in the camps. Some, he noted, fared quite well, and others, not at all. “What really was the difference,” he wondered? Years of careful observation revealed to him that it was not a matter of gender or even age. The question gnawed at him, “Why did some people survive and others shrivel up and die?” The doctor and scientist, after years of study and observation, came to one very concrete conclusion that can be summed up in one very powerful word - HOPE. Over time, Frankl observed that the key to survival was all tied to whether or not a person still had a sense of hope. Those that did, those that could still imagine a better day somewhere out there in the future had something to live for, he noticed. Those who lost hope, lost the will to live, and eventually, with it, their lives.

Isaiah 40 may be one of the most literarily beautiful passages in the entire Old Testament. It is high and lofty poetry that proclaims the immeasurable otherness of Yahweh. Here is a sample:

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the Earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the lord or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the lord consult to enlighten him?… ‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?' Says the Holy one. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one , and calls them each by name.”

The answer to the questions is, of course, God.

In my bible the entire chapter of Isaiah 40 is titled, “Comfort for God's People.” It actually begins with these