THERE was a hardworking man in his sixties. He had grown up in New Jersey, led a very active life, had never been sick, but suddenly he began to feel ill. He tried to ignore the feeling, but it would not go away. And no wonder; for a diagnosis revealed that he had cancer. He tried various remedies and spent a number of weeks at a famed cancer clinic. He returned seemingly cured, a new man, as it were. But not for long. Slowly his health began to slip again and soon it was apparent that nothing would help. Yet through it all he had a cheerful disposition. Why? Because he had a basis for hope.

Also, there was a Canadian couple who started out in their married life very much in love with each other. But then he got a job playing in a hotel orchestra and over a radio network, which kept him late every night, while she worked during the daytime. Now they started to drift apart. Soon it seemed that a divorce was the only solution. But then something came into their lives that drew them together in heart and mind. What was that? A basis for hope.

Typical also was the lot of a certain hippie in Virginia. He became completely disillusioned because of the way selfish men were running the world. As a result, he let his ideals slip away from him. But when he found that that did not make him happy he looked elsewhere. Eventually he, as so many others like him, found a basis for hope that brought him happiness.

BIBLE-BASED HOPE BENEFITS NOW

Hope in Jehovah God and in his Word is fittingly likened to an anchor. Even as an anchor can give a ship stability in a raging storm, so the anchor of a Bible-based hope can give us stability amid life’s storms. It is also likened to a helmet that can protect one’s mind from disturbing doubts.​—1 Thess. 5:8; Heb. 6:19.

That is why that man from New Jersey could continue cheerful though his life was ebbing away as a result of cancer. He had the hope of a resurrection and believed that God rewards those who serve him faithfully.​—2 Tim. 4:8; Heb. 11:6.

The value of the resurrection hope is also seen from the experience of a Hindu woman living in the territory of Durban, South Africa. She was steeped in Hindu traditions and customs and was intensely devoted to her husband. When he suddenly died of a heart attack, she felt so disconsolate that she could not eat. In fact, she was determined to commit suicide by starving herself to death and even wrote a letter to God asking him to forgive her for taking her own life. But after a fast of forty days she began to eat again. Why? Because Christian witnesses of Jehovah, who believe in the resurrection, were able to comfort her with the hope that someday she would see her beloved husband again.​—Acts 17:31; 24:15; John 5:28, 29.

And how did Bible-based hope mend the marriage of that Canadian couple that had broken up? By bringing them a better understanding of what God’s requirements are and giving them a mutual goal for which to strive.​—Matt. 6:33; 19:3-6.

The same was true of the youth who was attracted to the hippie way of life because the world had nothing to offer and he saw no real hope for the future. While in Vietnam as an American soldier he got in touch with Christian missionaries, Jehovah’s witnesses, who helped him to see the certainty of the promises of God and gave him a basis for hope​—a hope that will soon be realized.