In 1914, famed Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton set out on a trans-Antarctic expedition, but disaster struck when his ship became trapped and eventually crushed by ice. Shackleton and the 27 men stranded with him faced freezing temperatures, storms, limited food supplies, and harsh terrain, drifting on ice floes for months.

In a daring attempt, Shackleton and five other crewmen crossed over 800 miles of treacherous waters in a small rescue boat to seek help. They eventually landed on the uninhabited side of South Georgia, an island off the coast of Argentina. Then they had to walk over 32 miles of mountainous terrain to the fishing village of Stromness to find help to rescue the rest of the men stranded on the ice.

Against overwhelming odds, all 27 members of his crew survived. Shackleton’s leadership and care for his men turned a failed expedition into one of history’s most remarkable stories of survival and hope. After their rescue, many of his crew noted that they never lost hope because they believed that if anyone could lead them to safety, it was Shackleton. Their hope was not found in their circumstances or the belief that someone would come and rescue them. Their hope was in Shackleton and his skill and knowledge of leading expeditions.

Hope is a consistent theme throughout the Bible, from Abraham to Moses to the Israelites living in exile. The Apostle Paul gives us a particularly pertinent understanding of hope when retelling the story of Abraham. “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations” (Romans 4:17a).

Here we learn that hope in God is the very thing that helps us when all other hope fails. Abraham, 25 years after the promise was first given to him and faced with the limitations of his aging body, in hope believed that God was able to accomplish what God had promised. This story teaches us that biblical hope is not wishful thinking. It is confidence in the power and goodness of God.

This Advent, we celebrate the hope we have in God, a hope embodied in the long-awaited Christ child. It is easy to lose hope in a world of pain and suffering, but the birth of Christ reminds us that our hope is found in nothing else but God. It is a hope that sustains us when all hope appears lost. It is a hope against all hope. In this, we believe.