There was an evening several years ago when I came home from work and heard unwelcome news: the push mower was broken.
It was a relatively new mower, a Honda with several nice features, including self-propelled drive. I had never been sure that feature was necessary, but I had to admit it made mowing easier. Unless, of course, it was broken.
After looking it over, I found the problem. The cable that engaged the drive system had snapped. I was confident this would be an easy repair. I ordered the part, waited for the weekend, and headed to the garage certain I would have it fixed in no time.
Saturday afternoon became an education in springs, levers, and mechanical creativity. I carefully disassembled the mower, replaced the broken part, and wrestled everything back into place.
Finally, it was done.
I started the mower, grabbed the handle, and could already feel the satisfaction of telling my wife I had fixed it.
It still did not work.
After several more attempts, growing frustration, and no success, I pushed it back into the garage. If we had not already made dinner plans, I probably would have stayed out there all night.
Later that evening, after we returned home, I found myself still thinking about the mower. Near eleven o’clock I went back to the garage, determined to solve it once and for all.
This time, I did.
I came home from work and heard those same words again:
The mower is broke.
That was not what I wanted to hear.
I walked outside, took it apart, put it back together, tested it, and watched it fail again. In that moment, whatever hope I had was lost. I rolled it into the garage and left it there.
Months later, it was still sitting there, waiting to go to the repair shop.
That story may seem insignificant, but it reveals something important about the human heart: as long as hope remains, we often find strength to continue. We persevere. We try again. We believe something can change.
When hope is lost, discouragement quickly moves in. We begin to accept defeat. We settle into frustration. Sometimes we stop trying altogether.
Now consider how many people are carrying something far heavier than a broken mower.
- A broken marriage.
- The loss of a job.
- An addiction.
- A diagnosis.
- A season of exhaustion.
- A life that simply feels too heavy.
Where do we find hope then?
The hope offered by this world is always uncertain. We place hope in circumstances, in people, in finances, in medicine, in politics, in our own abilities. Some of those things may help for a time, but none of them can bear the full weight of our souls.
They change. They fail. They fade.
God offers something different.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, God gives a hope that is certain.
This does not mean life suddenly becomes easy. We still face sorrow, hardship, disappointment, and pain. There will be days when we feel worn down and nearly empty.
But the believer is never left without an anchor: never without hope.
We are sustained by the character of God, the promises of His Word, and the finished work of Christ. We find rest not in perfect circumstances, but in the One who rules over them all.
I have often appreciated these words from John Piper:
If our future is not secured and satisfied by God, we will become anxious.
That is true. When our hope rests on uncertain things, fear grows quickly. But when our future is secure in Christ, we are free to endure the present with courage and to love others with steadiness.
It is fine to hope your favorite team wins. It is fine to hope the mower starts.
But when it comes to your life, do not build yourself on uncertain hope.
Hold fast to a certain hope.
That hope is found in Christ.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful
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April 12, 2026
Holding Fast to a Certain Hope
The hope offered by this world is always uncertain. We place hope in circumstances, in people, in finances, in medicine, in politics, in...