Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man: A Daily Devotional

by Walter A. Henrichsen

MAY 21 Day 142 Hope and Skepticism “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” Romans 8:24 Skepticism destroys hope, for it questions the possibility of expectations. George Meredith once said: “Who can think and not think hopefully?” Only the skeptic can, for he lacks faith. Hope is the reason a person takes the risk of faith. You would love to marry and have a family, but you are skeptical that anyone could love you, so you don’t take the risk and ask the person you love to be your spouse. Thus, your hope never materializes, simply because you are a skeptic. In this we see that skepticism destroys hope. If you become skeptical of the historicity of biblical events, you will discover that your hope in God will erode, for your hope of eternal life flows from your trust in the Revelation of God found in Scripture. If you are skeptical regarding Jonah and the fish, or the virgin birth, then on what basis do you hope in the promises of God? If you are skeptical regarding some parts of Revelation, then how can you legitimately hope in other parts? The Bible is reasonable if you accept the assumption of its writers that the Sovereign of the Universe both acts and speaks. Thus, Scripture does not seek to prove, it only declares. “For I delivered unto you that which I also received…”1 The assumption of the follower of Christ is that the Bible in its entirety is God’s revelation. If you are skeptical of its parts, ...