May the God of Hope Fill You...
Barb Roberts | Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 3:39PM I wrote this blog post prior to the horrific events of last week-end. How timely to focus on the God of hope - in what could seem like a hopeless situation.In the midst of such craziness I would ask you to – “Consider Him, who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (from Hebrews 12) In our own strength and our own day-to-day lives I do not believe it possible to be hopeful.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13.
Our world sometimes feels hopeless and upside down – filled with pain and suffering. Sickness, suffering, poverty. In Colorado – there have been shootings, lives lost, many critically wounded, fires, homes burned to the ground; in other parts of our country – flooding, power outages; in other parts of our world – hunger and starvation, wars, and rioting. Political advertisements assail us on every front – regardless of your particular persuasion. How do we possibly endure – and more than endure – but survive and thrive in our troubled world today? How do we get up in the morning, day after day, some of us in difficult employment situations and a precarious economy, some of us in difficult family/marriage situations, some of us with a new life-shattering diagnosis, unsure what our future holds.
Life is hard! And yet Scripture tells us that God is the God of Hope. Those two things are absolutely true – and co-exist together in the life of the one who calls themselves a Christ follower. But – how does this fit? We might need a paradigm shift--- from suffering being an enemy to suffering producing growth; from tidy to untidy; from a sense of resolved to unresolved – ministry with and to and for people is untidy, often unresolved and messy. How do we rely on the promise of hope and a God of hope?
Romans 8:22…”We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”
We must recognize that the hope for those around us is the same hope as for us .. our hope and their hope is that God is who He claims to be, no matter the life circumstances. In fact, our friend, George Sanchez (former Navigator staff - now in Heaven with Florine) used to say of Hebrews 11:6 – “God is who He claims to be and will do what He promises He will do.”
We have to remember that we have an enemy of our souls who is the accuser and confuser, and anytime a situation seems hopeless, that is a red flag, one which we do NOT have to grab hold of – God is a God of hope – He is the God of all Hope!
Listen to parts of Psalm 71 –
“O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced….Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free….Be my rock of safety….My God, rescue me….O Lord, you alone are my hope….”
He is our hope….in the midst of good times and bad, whether we are happy or sad, whether we have plenty or are lacking, whether we are in a time of suffering or smooth sailing….He is our hope – From Hebrews 12: “Consider Him, who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Really consider Him – ponder who He is and what He has done and continues to do. He understands; He gets your pain and suffering; He will never leave you nor forsake you….Consider Him!
Reader Comments (1)
This line caught my attention: " . . . we have an enemy of our souls who is the accuser and confuser, and anytime a situation seems hopeless, that is a red flag . . . " Visualizing the onset of hopelessness, in either appearance or feeling, as a signal, 'a red flag', may just stabilize my footing before that downward spiral carries me into the pit. Thanks, Barb!