By Jack Wyman

It was a cool, overcast day in the city.

The crowds were large and restless. People were taken by a great sense of despair and desperation. Many were hurting. They were discouraged. Still, they managed some hopeful anticipation on this important occasion.

Maybe this really would be better. They steeled themselves against an unfounded optimism. They had been disappointed before. Millions had given up hope.

He moved slowly but firmly to the podium. His jaw was clenched in somber determination. He carefully removed his top hat. He turned to the white-haired, black-robed Chief Justice. He placed his left hand on the Bible and raised his right hand.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been elected America’s 32nd president the previous fall in a landslide. He had defeated a sour and beleaguered Herbert Hoover. Never in its history had the United States faced an economic crisis of this magnitude. Not even close. One quarter of the American workforce was unemployed.

Wall Steet had collapsed three years earlier and life for the overwhelming majority of Americans had taken a turn for the worse. Retailers, farmers, the poor, children—many were suffering. On this day, March 4, 1933, the American people looked with expectation to hear from their new president.

He spoke with a clear, commanding, and resonant voice. He spoke with confidence. His most famous assertion would forever enter the history books.

“This is preeminently the time to speak the truth,” Roosevelt declared, “the whole truth, frankly and boldly. . . this great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.” There would be no cowering in the face of this great economic catastrophe, no giving up, no hand-wringing, no surrender to these mighty forces of tragic destruction.

None of that.

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

It may not have been logical or explainable, but it sure was powerful.

From this moment forward, the American people were given hope. They would not perish, they would triumph. They would not be overcome, they would overcome. They would not fear, they would march forward. Together. They would not face defeat; they would claim the victory over their own desperate circumstances.

Leadership is all about hope. FDR inspired, created, and led in hope. People believed because he did. He had faced his own great depression—a health crisis that nearly destroyed him, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Just as FDR had learned to confront and surmount his disability, he taught a crippled nation to rise and walk again.

Historians and economists have hotly debated FDR’s policies and strategies, his view of government and power, the long-range impact of his choices and decisions. He remains controversial nearly 80 years after his death. No one, however, has ever questioned his extraordinary gift for rallying and instilling America with hope.

This was his single greatest achievement through the twelve tumultuous and eventful years of his presidency. He faced, unafraid, the nation’s greatest economic and international crises. This is his example, his legacy, his claim to presidential greatness.

He gave the people hope.

The midterms are over. Seldom have so many significant elections been decided by such narrow margins. The nation remains deeply and profoundly divided. The vast majority of citizens believe America is headed in the wrong direction. People are angry, frustrated, fearful, suspicious, and discouraged.

I saw one banner headline the day after: “It’s only going to get louder. Restless voters, deep division, and politics of fear set the tone for 2024.”

We need hope. Christians can have as much hope as we want and need. We haven’t placed our confidence in mortal leaders, no matter how convincing and gifted they may be. We have placed our trust in the God of all hope. The God who reigns; the God who sees and knows. The God who fills all time and all space, all at once. The Apostle Paul wrote to his brothers and sisters living under the cruel tyranny of Rome:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

Abound in hope.

You and I must never say—or think—any situation, no matter how desperate or intractable, is without hope. No person you know is ever without hope once God has touched his life, saved his soul, and entered his heart.

God delights in hope. He loves to give us hope. He is the God of hope.

Love is the greatest thing in the world. Remember, though, that Paul also tells us that faith and hope, along with love, remain forever (I Corinthians 13:13). Everything done in this world, said Martin Luther, is done by hope.

Believe not in crazy conspiracies or hidden agendas, or satanic plots, or reckless media, or abused power. Trust the God who triumphs over them all. Is he in you? Live and believe and choose, and embrace every day, as one in whom he resides. Banish all worry, fear, and despair. They come from the father of lies.

The enemy has come to kill your joy, steal your peace, and destroy your hope. Jesus Christ, the Ruler and Maker of all, has come to give you the truly satisfying and abundant life. Pay no attention to those demons behind the curtain. Give your faith and trust, and confidence and hope to the Creator who will one day defeat the devil and make us to live forever in perfect righteousness.

He who lives in you and me is far greater than he who flies over the limited powers of this world. Believe that. Much more, trust it and live it.

God wants us to have joy and peace in believing him. The indwelling Holy Spirit is able not only to give you hope---he is able and wants to give you abounding hope!

Every day. All the way. Come what may.

Hope. What a magnificent thing.

To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.

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