Introduction: Over the last 23 years, I have taught English either part-time, online, full-time, or some combination thereof, in addition to serving my nation as a chaplain and soldier. And one of the literary zingers I have often shared with students is this line from American poet Emily Dickinson:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers – /That perches in the soul –

It remains one of literature’s greatest lines, in my view. Why? Because we can survive sleep deprivation for a bit, hunger for a bit, thirst for a bit, isolation for a bit, fatigue, and even dehydration for a bit, but what’s needed to sustain a soldier, male or female, rich or poor, day in and day out, is what Dickinson was calling our attention to: hope.

Connection & Encouragement: In the Christian tradition, many would be familiar with the apostle Paul. And one of his most powerful pieces of the New Testament centers on this theme of hope because of the gospel’s truth:

¹⁶  So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Cor 4:16-18 ESV)

Why did Paul write that? Because he knew the Author of men’s souls, the Author of all things. Therefore, he endured. And so can we. Press on, looking to the Anchor of the souls of men, the Author of hope.