Hope

Checkmate

Two men were in a museum and were looking at a painting of a chess game. In the painting, one character looks like the devil and the other looks like an ordinary man who is down to his last chess piece – the king. The title of the painting is ‘Checkmate’. One of the men looking at the painting is an international chess champion and something about the painting intrigues him. He becomes engrossed and transfixed by what he sees. All of a sudden he looks at his friend and says, “We must find the person who painted the picture and tell him that he must change the picture of change the title. I’ve studied the board and I realise this, that it is not checkmate, but the king still has one more move.”

Whatever we face there is hope, for the King always has one more move. God is in control.

Christians should always have hope: hope in God’s forgiveness, God’s Word, God’s love and God’s promise of eternal life. If we lose hope it is easy to become desperate, as it is vital and a reason to continue living. Let’s do our best to let this hope shine through our daily actions and attitudes, so the world can see the importance of it. God understands our hurts and we can have hope that he will help us carry them.

The next time life seems to say “checkmate,” don’t forget that the King always has another move.

Psalm 71:14
¹⁴ But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.