Hope

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the power of hope.  In a country where the life expectancy is approximately 39 years, 1 in 7 adults has HIV/AIDS, alcoholism is rampant and unemployment is over 50%, I have been realizing how real hope is both vital and rare.
If you give a man a fish, he will eat (survive) for the day.  But if you teach a man to fish, he will eat (survive) for a lifetime.  Right?  Isn’t that how the old proverb goes.  And it is true.  But is it really enough to teach a man how to survive?  Jesus said, “Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)  I mean, it is valuable and important to teach a man to fish, but we were created to do more than survive.  I am convinced that hope is the key ingredient that distinguishes between simply existing and really being alive.  Hope gives us the power to endure great trials and overcome impossible obstacles.  It gives us the power to set aside trivial pleasures in order to pursue the far off vision of something more precious.  Hope gives us a reason.  Hope gives us purpose.  Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision (or hope), the people cast off restraint.”  It seems to me that this is what plagues many people in this country- no vision, no hope.  It is not that they are depressed, but with so much death around them they often choose to live self-indulgent lives, casting off restraint, and hardly ever giving thought to the future or those around them.
However, in the midst of this culture there are those who are rising up and resolving that they will not just “survive.”  They are educating themselves, working hard, investing in the future, and clearing a path for the next generation.
I have met a few individuals like this at Zambikes.  Dustin and Vaughn have sown into them in so many ways (relationally, financially, spiritually, etc) and they are seeing the very beginnings of the fruit being borne.  Through Zambikes, Dustin and Vaughn are able to personally and intimately invest in these individuals and their families.  For me, that is one of the most amazing things about Zambikes.
By now, many organizations have realized that handing out “fish” is not a long term solution to helping Africa.  It creates an unhealthy dependency.  Teaching them “how to fish” is a much more effective method.  It gives them tools to succeed.  But I believe the future of Zambia will be influenced by those driven by a hope to be more than “fishermen.”
I thank God for people like Dustin and Vaughn throughout the world, who are challenging individuals to be more than simple “fishermen” and discipling them toward greater vision and hope.  That is what brings lasting change.  It is my desire to follow the same pattern. (After all, it just so happens that I know a story of a someone who did the same thing with some fishermen, and it turned out to be a pretty big deal.)