I think I have reached a point where nothing in life surprises me anymore, not even the extent of evil that exists in the world. Everyday I hear of a heinous crime and think there can be nothing more evil and yet it seems there is always something more. It is beyond shock and disbelief it now just brings sorrow and sadness.

With all the evil and trials that people face I believe an even greater surprise is the human spirit’s drive to go on. Some people have endured terrible losses, illness and tragic events and yet they find a way to go on and live productive lives and others seem to lose hope and fall into a deep abyss from which they cannot climb out.

These two opposing responses to life and its trials perplex me. Is it a conscious and continuing decision by those who overcome? Is this drive to overcome something we all have? Are these somehow stronger than others or do they rely on a higher power?

In my own life I have seen friends and family lose hope, they bury themselves in drugs and alcohol, they fall into deep depression and several have sadly taken their own lives. When I look back on my life, I see moments, periods of time, when I felt all hope was lost but I persevered. I have a notebook from the early 80’s in which I copied entire chapters from the book of Psalms. David often cried out to God about evil doers, injustice, heartaches and pain but he knew as I do…“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” Psalm 39:7

I have watched people that I thought were the strong and who had the most potential to be successful in life, succumb to defeat. One of life’s greatest blessings and it should be no surprise, is that I, meek, introverted, abused, uneducated have prevailed but, not I, but God with me. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2

As I wrote about “Life’s Surprises” I realized today is Passover. Examining my thoughts and one’s ability to persevere in hardship and not lose hope, I realized it is the story of Passover, the story of the Jewish people. Freed from 400 years of slavery, seeing God’s hand in their redemption and even though their hope faded at times they never lost hope. Since then they have been exiled, they endured the pogroms, they’ve been massacred and expelled from their homes and most horrifically six millions Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Today, nearly 3500 years since the exodus from Egypt, the decedents of those that were freed are still facing hardship, trails, and persecution. Even through all these horrors, they are a people with hope, a people that are blessed with ingenuity and whose talents have blessed many the world over.

The Jewish National Anthem relays this hope. It is titled HaTikvah (“The Hope”)

As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope -­‐ the two-­‐thousand-­‐year-­‐old hope -­‐ will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.