Charles R. Swindoll - Hope Again: When Life Hurts and Dreams Fade

BILLY
GRAHAM
Evangelistic Association

Dear Friend,

I am pleased to send you this copy of Hope Again by Charles Chuck Swindoll.

In this uplifting book, Chuck shares the tremendous gift of hope that God wants to give each of us. No matter what obstacles we may be facing, God does not abandon us, and He does not want us to remain discouraged. It is my prayer that this book will be a great blessing to you and that you will be inspired and encouraged as you learn to see Gods strength in all circumstances.

For nearly 60 years, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has worked to take the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world by every effective means available, and Im excited about what God will do in the years ahead. If you would like to know more about our ministry, please contact us:

In the U.S.:

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
1 Billy Graham Parkway
Charlotte, North Carolina 28201-0001
billygraham.org
Toll-free: 1-877-2GRAHAM
(1-877-247-2426)

In Canada:

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada
20 Hopewell Way NE
Calgary, Alberta T3J 5H5
billygraham.ca
Toll-free: 1-888-393-0003

We would appreciate knowing how our ministry has touched your life. May God bless you.

Hope Again

Charles R. Swindoll

1996 by Charles R. Swindoll.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson.
Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@thomasnelson.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations used in this book are from the New American Standard Bible NASB 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. The King James Version of the Bible (KJV). The Living Bible (TLB), 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill. Used by permission.

The Message (MSG). 1993. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV).

1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. J. B. Phillips: The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition (PHILLIPS). J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.

Book design by Mark McGarry
Set in Monotype Dante

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Swindoll, Charles R.

Hope Again / Charles R. Swindoll
p. cm.

ISBN 9781400202218
ISBN 978-0-8499-1132-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-8499-3994-5 (foreign edition)
ISBN 978-0-8499-4088-0 (trade paper)

1. SufferingReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. HopeReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. Consolation. 4. Bible. N.T. Peter, 1stdevotional literature. I. Title.
BV4909.s95 1996 248.8'6dc20
968962
CIP
Printed in the United States of America.

08 09 10 11 12 QW 17 16 15 14 13

I dedicate this book to two of my closest colleagues and faithful friends on the leadership team at Dallas Theological Seminary:

Dr. Wendell Johnston
and
Dr. Charlie Dyer

Without their invaluable assistance, there is no way these recent years could have been so satisfying and rewarding. These men have given me fresh encouragement to press on... to finish strong... to hope again.

Contents

1 Hope Beyond Failure
The Broken Man Behind the Book

2 Hope Beyond Suffering
How We Can Smile Through Suffering

3 Hope Beyond Temptation
Staying Clean in a Corrupt Society

4 Hope Beyond Division
Reasons for Pulling Together

5 Hope Beyond Guilt
Becoming Living Stones

6 Hope Beyond Unfairness
Pressing On Even Though Ripped Off

7 Hope Beyond I Do
The Give-and-Take of Domestic Harmony

8 Hope Beyond Immaturity
Maturity Checkpoints

9 Hope Beyond Bitterness
When Life Just Aint Fair

10 Hope Beyond the Creeds
Focusing Fully on Jesus Christ

11 Hope Beyond the Culture
How to Shock the Pagan Crowd

12 Hope Beyond Extremism
Marching Orders for Soldiers of the Cross

13 Hope Beyond Our Trials
When Through Fiery Trials...

14 Hope Beyond Religion
A Job Description for Shepherds

15 Hope Beyond Dissatisfaction
A Formula That Brings Relief

16 Hope Beyond the Battle
Standing Nose-to-Nose with the Adversary

17 Hope Beyond Misery
Lasting Lessons

I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, with great gratitude, my longstanding friendship with several important people.

First, my friends on the leadership team at Word Publishing: Byron Williamson, Kip Jordon, Joey Paul, and David Moberg. There are others I could name, but these four have been especially encouraging and helpful on this particular project. Thank you, men, for continuing to believe in me and for knowing how to turn dreams into books.

I also want to express my gratitude to writer Ken Gire for his excellent work many years ago on our Insight for Living study guide on 1 Peter. I found several of his insights and illustrations helpful as I worked my way through this volume.

Judith Markham has again proven herself invaluable to me as my editor. Her ability to transform my primitive lines and disjointed phrases into understandable sentences and meaningful paragraphs is something to behold! I am especially grateful for her wise and seasoned counsel throughout this process. Without her help this book would have been twice as long and half as interesting.

Although Ive already mentioned them in my dedication, I want to repeat my thanks to Wendell Johnston and Charlie Dyer for giving me hope again and again on numerous occasions since I began my work as president of Dallas Theological Seminary back in the summer of 1994. The Dallas heat during that July was enough to wilt the most stouthearted, but there they were right from the start, smiling, serving, and sweating alongside me, giving constant affirmation and providing plenty of wind beneath my wings. Without their wholehearted commitment and assistance, rather than soaring like an eagle, I would have wandered around those halls like a turkey wondering where to roost. So thank you, men, for your faithful and supportive presence.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the encouragement of my wife, Cynthia, and express my thanks for her unswerving loyalty and compassionate understanding. We have been through a whale of a transition (were still in it!), but because I havent had to travel alone, the journey hasnt been nearly as difficult as it could have been. Having her by my side and knowing she is always in my corner and excited about my work has freed me up to finish what I started, regardless of the time and effort required. Thanks to her, I never felt the challenging task of finishing another project this extensive was hopeless.