As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you—Zechariah 9:11.

In everyone’s life there comes a time of despondency and despair. No one is on top of their game always and forever. There are times when hopelessness sets in and we feel like we’re in Zechariah’s world—prisoners in a pit with no water or comfort.

Such is our world today. It is in a state of bondage—a pit or dungeon; and we’re all by nature prisoners in this pit. But thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through His precious blood, many prisoners of Satan have been set at liberty from the horrible pit in which they would otherwise have perished without hope or comfort.

Even in 2009, Christ still rescues prisoners from the pit of despair. He is our stronghold, says Zechariah, a strong tower to whom believers can run for protection from the assaults of spiritual enemies. To Him we must turn with living, earnest faith; to Him we must flee and trust in His name under all trials and sufferings, especially when we’re in the valley of despair. Here we have a wonderful promise that the Lord would deliver His people.

Let us lift our sights from struggling prisoners in a pit to surviving prisoners of hope—an important reality for believers who trust in the Great Deliverer. Through the wondrous grace of Christ we are set free to help rescue others from the pit of despair. None of us is exempt from shouldering our part—however small and insignificant—in “bringing in the sheaves.”

In the book, Prisoners of Hope, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer tell the gripping story of their work in Afghanistan, their love for the people they served, their arrest, trial, and imprisonment by the Taliban, and their rescue by U.S. Special Forces. The core of the book describes how two American women from a middle-class background decided to leave the comforts and conveniences of home and instead embraced the opportunity to serve the disadvantaged. It details how their faith motivated them and sustained them through the events that followed. Their story is a magnificent narrative of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances as a result of their commitment to serve humanity.

Put another way, prisoners of hope will often find a purpose greater than themselves. In the words of Charles Wesley:

“Prisoners of hope, arise, and see your Lord appear;
          Lo! on the wings of love He flies, and brings redemption near;
Redemption in His blood He calls you to receive:
          “Look unto Me, the pardoning God. Believe,” He cries, “believe!”

In this year of evangelism emphasis in North America and the Atlantic Union, let us do our part in helping to prepare others for the soon coming of our loving Lord.
Let each of us be a true prisoner of hope for a hopeless world!

Donald G. King is president of the Atlantic Union Conference and chairman of the Atlantic Union College Board of Trustees.