Today's lesson is about Hope.
As I ponder the role that hope has in my life today, I cannot help but think back to some times not so long ago when I was at the end of my rope, when I felt no hope. Today I am buoyed up by hope, clearly on track for looking ahead. That was not always the case for me.
I turn to the scriptures to see what they have to say about hope... there are so many passages, both of people who clung tight to the shining star of hope to get them through their trials and those who felt hopeless.
How do we retain "a perfect brightness of hope" when everything around us seems to be crashing?
Right now my life is good. Right now I am very much aware of the many blessings I have surrounding me. It's easy to feel hopeful when I have the sun shining full on my face. However, I've lived enough years to know that somewhere down the road, maybe sooner or maybe later, there will be other dark patches to be walked through. How can I retain hope then?
I think of Christ's struggle in Gethsemane, and the disappointment he surely must have felt when his dearest disciples kept falling asleep rather than standing ready to support him.
I think of Job, and the tremendous heartache he must have felt when after all his many losses his own few remaining friends suggested he should just curse God and die.
I think of others who faced incredible sorrows, times when the light seemed very far away indeed. How do they keep hold of hope?
Then, as I pray about this and ponder it, the question shifts for me. How might I help bring hope to others who might be struggling now? How can I build reservoirs of faith and strength in my own life to sustain me so the next time I have to face a major adversity I will remember well the sense of clarity, peace and hope that I can feel now?
Part of what helps me is to REMEMBER that having trials and difficulty are part of the plan for this life. When everything goes wrong, odd as it may seem, it really does help me to recall that I'm right on schedule. I'm learning. I'm experiencing. Even if it's shattering me. Especially if it's shattering me. That's what living in this fallen mortal world is for. To learn to endure, to learn to depend on the Lord no matter what.
I have a testimony of Jesus Christ as having been a real person who indeed lived and taught people on the shores of Galilee. I also have a testimony of Him being the Son of God, and my own personal savior and redeemer.
I have a testimony that through Christ, there is every reason for HOPE.
I know there will be times it will be harder to feel that.
Today, I go on record saying that I absolutely know this to be true. Now I just HOPE that I can stick by those convictions when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, when I face losses, when it feels like all reason for hope is gone.
I found this while searching for info on Hope all over the web:
"The late Henri Nouwen wrote, “Trust is the basis of life. Without trust, no human being can live. Trapeze artists offer a beautiful image of this.
Flyers have to trust their catchers. They can do the most spectacular doubles, triples, or quadruples, but what finally makes their performance spectacular are the catchers who are there for them at the right time in the right place.
Much of our lives is flying. It is wonderful to fly in the air free as a bird, but when God isn’t there to catch us, all our flying comes to nothing. Let’s trust in the Great Catcher.”
Do you trust God with every area of your life? Hope needs trust because part of hoping in someone or something is that there is a level of trust present for such hope to exist.
What is the Holy Spirit saying you to this morning about your hope?"
Found HERE from "Establishing Your Hope in Christ" at "Le padre ver livre" a Wordpress blog credited as "a smalltown pastor's sermons, book reviews, and other thoughts."
Photo credit: Agony in the Garden by Fra Angelico c. 1450 found HERE.
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