Fireside Chats of Hope
Lamentations 3:21
March 12th Devotional
On this day in 1933, a nervous American public listened to the newly inaugurated president for his first fireside chat. Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated only 8 days earlier and things couldn’t have started worse for a newly seated president. He had to endure a terrible run on the bank which already complicated a very dire time in American history. The nation was currently suffering through a worldwide depression, tremendous unrest in Europe and Asia, soaring unemployment that affected countless millions, industry was at a standstill, and was still reeling from the dust bowl. Most Americans felt hopeless. Things had never seemed darker or bleaker. The public’s response was to withdraw all their money from the bank, thus creating a banking crisis. The president desperately wanted to speak to the American people. He choose radio as his media outlet. It was estimated that around 90% of Americans owned a radio at that time. He had used the radio earlier while he was the governor of New York and now it would help spread the message to the masses. From the White House President Roosevelt came on the air that Sunday at 10:00 PM. Estimates claim that over half the population tuned in during that first chat. The president addressed the American people as “my friends” and used simple, clear words to convey the message to everyone. His goal was to be honest but also encouraging. The message flowed with a tone of optimism and patriotism. His first ‘chat’ lasted nearly 14 minutes but it was heard loud and clear. A sense of hope was bred that night. Many Americans re-invested their money and the gears of the economy started to turn again. Roosevelt didn’t coin his radio address as a fireside chat. The media gave it that moniker and it stuck. Roosevelt would give a total of 31 fireside chats during his time as president. Some of them lasted for a few minutes, and others lasted for nearly an hour. He used it frequently during WW II to keep the American public informed of the war front. Many historians believe that the reason why Roosevelt was so loved by the American people was because of these fireside chats.
Roosevelt understood the importance of the fireside chat. He knew that the American people needed their fears assuaged and a spirit of hope reborn. The Bible uses the word hope around 130 times, but ironically the word hope is most found often in some very surprising books. The books of Job, Jeremiah, and Lamentations are three of the top four books for the usage of the word hope. Tragically though it was during these times of hardships that people sought out hope and found it in the wrong source. One wouldn’t typically associate hope with the time of Jeremiah. During his time the light of hope was nearly extinguished. The nation of Israel was judged by God and handed over to the Babylonians. People were taken away into captivity and the land lamented. An air of bleakness lay heavy on the people. It even affected the mighty prophet, Jeremiah. Jeremiah acknowledged this in Lamentations. In chapter three we find Jeremiah sharing his heart about how dire the situation seemed, he even wrote “My strength and my hope is perished….” Looking at all the external circumstances caused Jeremiah’s hope to diminish and nearly fade. The same can be said about us. If all we ever do is watch the current affairs of the world, we will quickly find ourselves becoming depressed and ready to quit. But then Jeremiah looked to heaven, remembered God’s presence, and declared in Lamentations 3:21 “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope!” In despairing times it's easy for us to lose focus on hope, but if anything, the Bible overwhelmingly uses the term hope in those situations. We shouldn’t abandon the pursuit of hope when we lose our jobs, have a cancer diagnosis, or have tragic news delivered to our doorstep. It is in those seasons when we need to seek out the God of hope and cling to it with all our being. Come to God for a fireside chat. Get into His Word. Spend time with Him in prayer. Each of us needs to hear the encouraging words of God during discouraging times in our life.
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