There's a scripture that we know very well. I
shall give you the scripture first of all. Now
abideth faith, hope, and love, these three, but
the greatest of these is love. Now there have
been ministers who have preached masterpieces
on this thing of faith. Volumes have been written
on this thing of faith. Equally so when it has
come to this thing of love. More sermons have
been preached on love than perhaps any other
subject. But what about this thing of hope? Three
things are mentioned here in this portion of
the Word of God. Now abideth faith. Hope and
love. These three. But the second greatest is
hope. And that is exactly what I want to talk
about today. This thing of hope. What is hope?
Webster's Dictionary says, Hope is a feeling
that what is wanted will happen. Desire accompanied
by anticipation or expectation. Therefore, we
see at the very outset that hope is something
that is mental and it's something that everybody
can have. It's accessible to you. This thing
that I'm talking about today is accessible to
you. You can have it. But we see at the very...
it's something that's mental. It isn't necessarily
something that's spiritual. It's mental. You
can have it. I can have it. The greatest of the
three is love, but the second greatest is hope.
And if ever there was a time when hopelessness
was a broad... in the land it seems to be at
this present moment. Yet hope is one of the greatest
therapies that's known to man. I don't know of
a greater therapy that's known to an individual
than this thing of hope. Hope puts stars in dark
sky. Hope puts windows in blank walls. Hope puts
a smile on the face when the heart is breaking.
Hope hangs on even after the boat is sunk. Hope
still puts a notch on the rope and continues
to hang on. Even after one has come to the end
of that rope. Hope refuses to take no for an
answer, even when there is absolutely nothing
left. Nothing. That's hope. And hope is mental.
Without betraying confidence, I'm going to tell
you of something that is very real to my heart.
Perhaps it's because I was... young at the time,
and knowing the circumstances very well. And
Mama was involved. I shall not tell you what
business the man was in, but he was a leading
businessman in Concordia, Missouri. Oh, a handsome
fella. I think every girl in Concordia was in
love with him. Oh! he was so handsome. Oh, I
was very young and still. Even I can remember
him. He had black hair, the blackest hair I ever
saw in my life. He had black eyes, the blackest
eyes. Oh, he was a handsome thing. He was married
to a very lovely lady. A cute little trick. I
remember her well. I can tell you exactly what
she looked like. Nice -looking, blonde, vivacious.
But he was the playboy. His wife came to Mama,
knowing that Mama would never betray confidence.
Everybody knew Mrs. Jo Kuhlman was very close
-mouthed. And she came to Mama and would come.
at least once a month and just sit and talk with
Mama. And she would tell Mama of the unfaithfulness
of her husband. He was living with another woman.
She knew it. He was paying the other woman's
rent, supporting her. In fact, there was even
an illegitimate child. And after she would leave
our house, she would go out and face the world
with a smile on her face. And she would say each
time, Mrs. Kuhlman, I'm hoping he will change.
I'm hoping. One day he'll change. She didn't
nag him. Oh, beloved, here's a wonderful secret.
She didn't nag him. She knew all the facts, knew
it well. I'm telling you something. That woman
went through hell, but it was her hope that one
day he would change. Hope lit. Tied a knot on
the end of the rope. When in the natural, it
seemed he would never change. He was in the grip
of this woman. He was absolutely so fascinated
by the woman with whom he was living. that it
seemed that nothing would break it. She continued
in hope for years, and each time she would leave
our house, after bearing her soul to Mama, she
would walk out of our house and say, Mrs. Kuhlman,
I'm still hoping that one day he will change.
Then came the day. I shall never forget it. I
wasn't very old, but I remembered well. Mama
was so pleased. This time, Mama was even different
after the lady left our house. And I remember
her telling Papa, and that's the reason I knew
what had happened. She said, you know, Mrs. So
-and -so was over our house today. Oh, and I'm
so happy for her. Today was Mr. So -and -so's
birthday. And she said she was standing in her
kitchen getting breakfast when her husband came
walking down from upstairs and came into the
kitchen, put his arms around his wife, and said,
well, today is my 45th birthday. And I want you
to know I've had enough of the kind of life that
I've been living. And I want to thank you for
holding on. I want to thank you for being the
kind of wife that you've been. Thanks. Thanks
a million. And from this moment on, I shall be
the... truest husband that a wife ever had. And
that man never looked at another woman again.
Hope. Hope refuses to take no for an answer,
even when there's nothing left. If your mind
is filled with hope, you'll cast off destructive
factors. You'll be healthier. You'll be happier.
You'll be more efficient. No man will stay with
a woman who's morbid. No man will live with a
woman who is constantly depressed. A nagger.
I promise you something. Hope will put a smile
on your face when really in the natural you have
nothing to smile about. There is a scripture
that to me is very marvelous. It's found in the
42nd Psalm, the 11th verse. Why art thou cast
down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted
within? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise
him who is the health of my country. And my God,
hope will literally not only put stars in a darkened
sky, not only put windows in a blank wall, but
hope will put a smile on the face. That's right.
If your mind is filled with hope, even when outwardly
there is no hope, when there's really nothing
to hope for so far as the natural is concerned,
if your mind is filled with hope, you'll cast
off these destructive factors. You'll be healthier.
You'll be happier. You'll be more efficient.
It's the greatest weapon against mental depression
that I know anything about. I know it gets dark
out there. Sure, you have troubles. So do I.
But when those troubles come, don't crawl in
bed and pull the covers over your head and refuse
to go out. I get so disgusted. There's one kind
of woman that I have absolutely no sympathy for
whatsoever. I tell you frankly, like me or not,
I'm telling you the truth. And I'm talking to
somebody who does exactly this thing. The very
minute that something happens, it doesn't suit
you. The first thing you do is to crawl in bed
and pull the covers over your head. You won't
eat. You won't talk. There's no conversation
there. You pout. And you'd like the whole family
to believe you're going to die. And I have known
one woman who has gone so far that little...
Truly, it would have been a matter of suicide
had they not forced her to eat. There's one way
of committing suicide. The very thing that I'm
talking about. Mm -hmm. That's the kind of woman
I have no sympathy for whatsoever. Oh, beloved.
That is a sickness that only hope can cure. If
you do the very thing that I'm talking about,
every time something happens, you crawl in bed,
you stay there. You are a victim of depression
and discouragement and more than that, a victim
of futility. Only one cure for it. And I'll give
it to you in my next heart -to -heart talk. God
bless you.