Illustration: How to understand God's will when things go wrong 1 Good Intentions Hadn't I felt God's definite leading Hadn't I sacrificed to obey Him Wasn't this His perfect will Then why was I so m... (Read More...)

Illustration: Harry Ironside tells the following story in his commentary on John Updated to use New International Version rather than King James A preacher a few years ago after the close of the service went ... (Read More...)

Illustration: Mario Cuomo governor of New York writes in Life magazine about a time when he was especially discouraged during a political campaign I couldn t help wondering what Poppa would have said if I tol... (Read More...)

Illustration: Winston Churchill had planned his funeral which took place in Saint Paul's Cathedral He included many of the great hymns of the church and used the eloquent Anglican liturgy At his direction a bu... (Read More...)

Illustration: When John Owen the great Puritan lay on his deathbed his secretary wrote in his name to a friend I am still in the land of the living Stop said Owen Change that and say I am yet in the land of ... (Read More...)

Illustration: In a sermon entitled God's Ways Are Unreasonable missionary professor Del Tarr uses powerful illustration from West Africa where he served fourteen years with the Assemblies of God to illumine Psal... (Read More...)

Illustration: One author tells the story of Ed and Nancy Huizinga a family in Grand Rapids Michigan who in December 1995 while at church rehearsing for the annual Christmas Festival of Lights program had their h... (Read More...)

Illustration: Christianity Today articles on hope Ultimate fulfillment rests in God A page 25 Sept 6 1985 Unsettling future page 12 August 5 1983 out Christ is the answer page 38 Nov 11 1983 Why Christ... (Read More...)

Illustration: Charles Colson and several other Christian leaders once met with President Borja of Ecuador to discuss Prison Fellowship International's ministry in Ecuadoran penitentiaries They had no sooner been... (Read More...)

Illustration: 18 HOLES IN HIS MIND Major James Nesmeth had a dream of improving his golf game - and he developed a unique method of achieving his goal Until he devised this method he was just your average w... (Read More...)

Illustration: REALISTIC SELF-KNOWLEDGE WE ARE SINNERS Browning tells us that what won him for Christ was this that while others tried to soothe his angry conscience and kept urging that really things were not... (Read More...)

Illustration: The sound of Martha's voice on the other end of the telephone always brought a smile to Brother Jim's face She was not only one of the oldest members of the congregation but one of the most faithfu... (Read More...)

Illustration: Bishop Robert Goodrich tells a story of a woman who lived during the Great Depression It was a horrible time 27 were unemployed and there was little welfare This woman had reached the end of her ph... (Read More...)

Illustration: At the base of the Statue of Liberty is a sonnet by Emma Lazarus entitled The New Colossus Have you read it lately Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame With conquering limbs astride from l... (Read More...)

Illustration: Read 1 Kings 19 1-7 It is enough Now Lord take my life for I am no better than my fathers 1 Kings 19 4 An old legend tells of an angel who was sent by God to inform Satan that all his methods... (Read More...)

Illustration: A Message From Heaven Perhaps you aren't ready yet to have to say good-bye Perhaps you've thought of things you wish you'd said -- well so have I For one thing I'd have told you ... (Read More...)

Illustration: A submarine commander and his wife once made a promise when he was at sea they would both look at the same star at the same time of night She whould never know when he could dare bring his sub to ... (Read More...)

Illustration: I heard about an interesting Scientific experiement that was conducted a while back A group of behavioral Scientists put some Wharf Rats in a tank of water and observed them to see how long they ... (Read More...)

Illustration: Visitors to the Fiji Islands tell of a strange custom of calling the dead The one who has suffered bereavement climbs to a high tree of a cliff and after mentioning the name of the deceased he crie... (Read More...)

Illustration: During the football season the college bookstore at Iowa State puts a big sign in the window saying Kill Kansas or Whip Washington or something like that depending on the name of the upcoming foe I... (Read More...)

Illustration: I can still recall a geography lesson from elementary school in which we learned that the southernmost point of Africa is a point which for centuries has experienced tremendous storms For many year... (Read More...)

Illustration: The second oldest college in America is William and Mary at Williamsburg Today it is one of our most honored institutions However in 1881 as a result of the financial catastrophe which resulted fro... (Read More...)

Illustration: When you think all is lost remember the Father is still on his thrown the Holy Spirit is still in the business of saving souls and Jesus is coming again (Read More...)

Illustration: Lost hope is the undertaker's best friend - Unknown (Read More...)

Illustration: There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them -- Clare Boothe Luce Everything that is done in the world is done by hope -- Martin Luther We... (Read More...)

Illustration: I like that story about the boy and his father who were planning a fishing trip for the next day That evening as the father was putting his son to bed the boy hugged his father's neck and said ... (Read More...)

Illustration: There was a study done of concentration camp survivors What were the common characteristics of those who did not succumb to disease and starvation in the camps Victor Frankl was a living answer to ... (Read More...)

Illustration: Eric Barker a missionary from Great Britain spent over 50 years in Portugal preaching the Gospel often under adverse conditions During World War II the situation became so critical that he was advi... (Read More...)

Illustration: It is said While there's life there's hope This seems to describe the case of the six Navy pilots who left their aircraft carrier on a scouting mission during World War II searching the seas for... (Read More...)

Illustration: A pastor had just received the news that he had a terminal illness The next Sunday he said to his congregation I walked the 5 miles from the doctor's office to my home I looked toward that majest... (Read More...)

Illustration: A few years ago the psychology department of Duke University carried on an interesting experiment They wanted to see how long rats could swim In one container they placed a rat for whom there was n... (Read More...)

Illustration: A man despairing of happiness in life had climbed upon the parapet of the Brooklyn Bridge and was about to leap into the river when a policeman laid an arresting hand upon him and drew him back B... (Read More...)

Illustration: She was a physician's wife He was a man of a strong sunny nature who carried good cheer into his patient's homes to sustain them in weakness and discouragement and still carried back enough to fi... (Read More...)

Illustration: A poor man who had spent a life of ignorance and sin was found by a London clergyman apparently dying in a miserable garret He was in great anxiety of mind from an apparently accidental cause A s... (Read More...)

Illustration: Near the end of World War II members of the Allied forces were often found searching farms and houses for snipers At one abandoned house which had been reduced to rubble searchers found their way i... (Read More...)

Illustration: There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope - Bern Williams (Read More...)

Illustration: As long as I actively attack a problem I am confident that the situation can be improved says TV puppeteer Shari Lewis About a decade ago I was told I had breast cancer and would need radica... (Read More...)

Illustration: In his book A Gift of Hope author Robert Veninga describes this transforming experience which took place in the life of a 41-year-old man after he prayed I left work early after hearing that ... (Read More...)

Illustration: Probably nothing in the world arouses more false hope than the first four hours of a diet (Read More...)

Illustration: During the Battle of Britain someone said to a man on the street in London Things look pretty dark don't they The man replied But the King says there's 'ope Sir (Read More...)

Illustration: Reverend John Harper a Baptist minister traveled with his daughter Nina Harper and Miss Jessie Leitch from London enroute to Chicago Rev Harper was on his way to Chicago to begin a series of reviva... (Read More...)

Illustration: 1 My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly lean on Jesus name Chorus On Christ the solid rock I stand All othe... (Read More...)

Illustration: It was a balmy October afternoon in 1982 Badger Stadium in Madison Wisconsin was packed out That day there were more than 60 000 die-hard University of Wisconsin football fans watching their team t... (Read More...)

Illustration: 1 My hope is in the Lord Who gave Himself for me And paid the price of all my sin at Calvary Chorus For me He died For me He lives; And everlasting life and light He freely gives ... (Read More...)

Illustration: My Life is in You Lord My strength is in You Lord My hope is in You Lord In you it s in You My Life is in You Lord My strength is in You Lord My hope is in You Lord In you it s in ... (Read More...)

Illustration: January 3 1999 the 156 million Mars Polar Lander left earth The project with a 356 million budget left earth with great hope for exploring Mars for future manned flights to Mars 12 minutes from tou... (Read More...)

Illustration: Hope is something as important to us as water is to a fish as vital as electricity is to a light bulb as essential as air is to a jumbo jet Hope is that basic to life Charles Swindoll Hope Again (Read More...)

Illustration: P ed lety se u b eh americk ho st tu Massachusetts stalo n mo n ne t st Lo narazila do vojensk ponorky a se rychle potopila ke dnu Cela pos dka ponorky byla uv zn na v t to kovov pasti Na m sto ne ... (Read More...)

Illustration: Years ago an S-4 submarine was rammed by a ship off the coast of Massachusetts It sank immediately The entire crew was trapped in a prison house of death Every effort was made to rescue the crew bu... (Read More...)

Illustration: Louis Smedes tells the story of a pastor's wife who works at an AIDS clinic in Los Angeles A new doctor had insensitively told one AIDS patient that he would not live out the year As the man left t... (Read More...)