Category: Hope

Letters whose topic focuses on Hope

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Steadfastness and Endurance Through Tears

Breast-feeding was painful. It was hard. Every time my daughter would try and latch on tears of pain would flood down my cheeks. Parts of me were bleeding and getting infected that I never thought was possible. I had sores that would tear every 3-4 hours as my baby girl fed unaware of my grinding teeth and cringing toes. Barrett told me I could quit but the echoes of words from other mom’s would ring in my ears. Their faces would be contorted in remembered pain as they told me it would get better. I didn’t understand why God created this good gift of life giving nutrients to be so hard…or impossible for some. Yet the promise that this suffering would end gave me the steadfastness and endurance to continue…even in the tears.

You may not be able to relate to this example, but I know, sweet sister, that you have your own example of a trial or dark time where someone desires to comfort you with words that it will end. Maybe when you hear the word “cancer”, or you are so depressed you can’t get out of bed. Perhaps singleness is your struggle or your distant spouse. Do you face your plight with patience? Are you willing to accept or tolerate a delay to the end of your suffering without getting angry or upset? When your comforters come to help you look past the struggle to a hope of a future ending…or simply to remind you of being with Jesus in heaven forever…how do you respond? Do you grind your teeth and cringe your toes to press on or do you give up all hope?

We serve a God who defines longsuffering and patience. His creation chose independence shortly after He gave them paradise, yet instead of striking them dead at that moment, He had a plan that would save them forever. He gave them a sacrificial system, which filled all their senses of the cost of their sin. They would touch it as they brought their sheep to the temple, hear it in the screams of the sheep being led to slaughter, smell it as flesh burned, and see it as the smoke rose upward. This delayed His wrath toward His people for thousands of years until in the fullness of time, He sent His son to be the final sacrifice. He would be the perfect, sinless sacrifice that ended all sacrifice. God was patient with His wrath only to put it all on His own son for our gain. And now the Son sits at the right hand of the Father patiently waiting to come back one last time, to redeem all His people for all eternity. The Father knows the right time again. Yet, He patiently waits for the gospel to be told to all people, tribes, and nations. He hears the screams of the persecuted and welcomes them home with open arms. His heart breaks as the curse continues to take His image bearers with disease, famine, war, terror, and accidents. Yet His plan is perfect and He is patient to the end.

Oh, how I long to set my hope in the truth of this good news! That my pain here on earth will end, if not in a certain season, then at my resurrection. That I can suffer long because my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. That my anger at my circumstance will be squashed in the fact that my God knows, sees, and hears my pleas and His plan is good. Oh God! Give me this patience to endure my trial! And thank you for forgiving me when my eyes leave you and dwell on my short-term suffering. Give me friends that will encourage me to endure, despite the pain. And please, make me that friend too.

Your Sister in Christ,

Colleen

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How Long, O Lord, How Long?

My dear sister,

I’m home with my family after a lovely vacation in Virginia and at a beautiful South Carolina beach with my oldest son and his precious family. God gave us our fourth grandchild three months ago and I finally met little (big) Sammy. I’m a baby lover and it was hard to put him down. No other major events are going on in my life to make things look dark or hopeless or depressing. How thankful I am for these “easy” times in my life. To be sure, everything isn’t all rosy. My frail mama lives with us and each new day comes with various challenges, but this is a privilege, not a trial in my book. However, I am aware that you might be in need of encouragement at this very moment. I ask God to give me words of comfort and hope and am reminded of II Corinthians 1:4 where Paul tells us that God comforts us in our afflictions so that we, in turn, are able to comfort others with the same comfort that we have received from God.

In the past I’ve shared with you some of God’s dealings with me in submission. This lesson has had to be taught many times in my life and God continues to train me in His school of sanctifying trials, molding my will to His sovereign desires for me.

This leads me to reflect upon a dark time in my life when my heart was heavy, when my desires and petitions–even beggings, seemed to hit that well-known stone wall. Don’t we all know that feeling? We cry with David, “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?”  And the answer does not come.

Many of us know about infertility, miscarriages, and even sadder things. My sorrow was infertility, doctor visits too numerous to mention,  hormone treatments…yielding nothing except four babies we never had the chance to meet. People tried to be helpful. Some were unintentionally cruel with thoughtless words. One year…Two years…Three years…..Six years…

All around me were women getting pregnant, wanting to be, not wanting to be. Joyful women. Complaining, grumbling women. Angry women.

“Why me? Why me?”, cried the faithless, ungrateful, thinking of myself more highly than I ought to think part of me. Like Rachel to Jacob, her husband, I felt like crying out to God, ‘Give me children or I die.’ I remember my dear husband gently taking me by the shoulders, looking me confidently and empathetically in my eyes and reminding me of God’s Sovereignty and His always goodness whether we had babies or not. God is in charge of the womb, he said. And God is good.

My sister, we all do know God is sovereign over all the events of our lives–not simply our joys, but over our losses, our sorrows, our pain, our desires, our suffering. In fact, James tells us to “count it all joy” when (not if) these trials enter our lives, for there is purpose in it, purpose for our good and for God’s glory…”knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (spiritually mature) and complete, lacking nothing.”

These principles came alive during this stage in my life. II Corinthians 10:5 leapt off the pages of my Bible and into my faulty and anguished thinking. “Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”  My mind had been running to and fro with yearnings and envy and grumbling and disappointment. God brought me to my senses rather abruptly with His convicting Word. My mind, my thoughts needed to be harnessed, made captive, to true thoughts concerning God’s character, His love, His principles. He wanted my will to be brought under the authority of His will in all matters in that ‘glad surrender’ Elizabeth Elliot wrote about.

It was clear–again. Why am I so slow to learn, to remember His faithfulness, His trustworthiness?  Desire His desires above all else. It was not about me at all in the grand scheme. Whether He gave me a baby or not no longer mattered as much, reminiscent of my struggles with this very principle before marriage. My thoughts became focused on Christ and His desires for me to trust that He does all things well, no matter what that may be, whether or not I understand or like it.

And so I prayed, once again, from the depths of my soul, nothing held back,  “Oh God, may I desire you above all else. May I desire your glory to shine forth in my life with or without babies.” And, with an emotional shudder, I added, as sincerely as I could muster, “Please, my God, do not ever give me a child unless he would grow up to love you supremely.”

God indeed gives us perfect peace when our minds are stayed on Him, when we desire His will above our own. David tells us to “Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Many use this as a proof-text for  their theology of “God will give me want I want.” No, the Psalmist is telling us that if we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, He will plant His desires in our hearts.  We will want what He wants. Gone is the frustration and bargaining and dissatisfaction.  God’s will becomes more attractive to the soul than our own earthly demands with their imperfect motives.

God’s difficult mercy led to His gentle mercy. Jonathan Daniel, 31, walks with Christ and loves Him sincerely, telling and living the gospel before his own sons and daughter and a watching world.

Gladly surrendering, again,
Cherry

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Did You Say, Rejoice? Really?

Dear Sister,

To my mind and apparently the minds of many others, these are dark days for our country—politically, economically, and spiritually. It seems our way of life as well as our freedoms are threatened more and more every day. I find myself tempted to wring my hands and pull my hair, muttering, “What to do? What to do?” Don’t you?

Well, STOP (and please remind me if you see me succumb)!

First, this is not our forever home. Think about that—breathe it in. Our eternal existence is not dependent on our saving this world, this country, or this government. Remember our church fathers? Even Jesus’ very disciples existed in a world full of slavery, religious oppression, political oppression, and nonexistent or bad plumbing! They were a mess. Yet, in the midst of that mess, in fact in prison himself, Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)

Second, it is not our job to save the world! Jesus has already accomplished salvation for those whom the Father has given to Him(John 17), all we are charged with doing is sharing it, discipling those who receive Him and endeavoring to travel the path of righteousness (cross-carrying/dying to sins… NOT comfortable, but filled with His peace, His joy), for His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3b)

Finally, remember those Israelites—the ones who were slaves in Egypt for forever, rescued by God, then living in tents in the desert for 40 years before finally managing to move into their new home (that makes my two month wait for a house in a hotel room with seven people look like an awesome vacation). That poor group of people finally got their dream home only to lose it later because they stopped following God’s heart and ended up in exile/slavery again. Well, I found it interesting that in the midst of their troubles, they finally got permission (permission from the pagan king who held them captive) that they could rebuild the house of the Lord. “And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.’ And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” (Ezra 3:11) They were not comfortable, they were not free, they were not sure of anything really (and even the temple rebuild had setbacks); regardless of their worldly difficulties, they shouted, “God is Good! His lovingkindness is upon us forever!” Today, right here in the mess we are in, He is still faithful, good, and full of lovingkindness for us. Rejoice, dear sister, rejoice in the Lord!

Running with you,

Rebecca

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Hope in the Forest of Life

My family has had many changes recently. Since November, we have flown to Ethiopia to bring back our 18 month old twins, said goodbye to sweet friends, packed up our lives and memories in Okinawa, Japan, flew from Seattle to Boulder to Virginia and then to Kentucky visiting friends and family, moved to Puerto Rico, and are still waiting for our household goods to land so we can move into our new home. We have lived out of 4 suitcases, 2 pack and plays, 3 car seats, and backpacks for the entire time. I’ve had shingles, we have all been sick in bed, and Barrett started his new job. I wish I could tell you we weathered all this with grace, joy, and peace while trusting in the Lord’s Providence, but that would be a lie.

I’ve been short and mean with my children, I haven’t loved my neighbor as myself and, worst of all, I did not enjoy my husband and kids…and sadly, this revealed that my hope and joy were dependent on them rather than Christ! But that is another lesson for another time.

Dear sister, your story might not look exactly like mine, but you know that you have a circumstance, relationship, or depression that has left you like me: crying out to God, begging Him to help because you hate living this hypocritical life of saying you trust Him in all things yet your life was far from showing it. Own it friend. Acknowledge the sin you are holding on to of unforgiveness, jealousy, control, anxiety, or pride that has produced its fruit in your difficult time, leaving you feeling like life is hopeless. Oh sweet sister, you need to acknowledge the weight of this sin. You need to grasp how any one of these sins can push your life into the path of hopelessness. Don’t be afraid; don’t look away. Because it’s right here, when our sin bears down so hard, that the grace Jesus won for you at the cross will restore your hope and lift up your head!

What is this grace? Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. It’s my husband buying me a cupcake on the way home when we still aren’t OK. It’s my kids waking up cheering after I blew up at them the night before. But ultimately, grace is Jesus taking my sins—trying to control my husband and kids, losing my patience, not being kind to my neighbor, being jealous of the life SHE has, and fearing that life isn’t working out the way I planned—and nailing it to the cross. He bore the weight of God’s wrath on Himself for me. For ugly, sometimes unrepentant me! And then, don’t miss this, and THEN, he gave me His righteousness. He made me perfect in God’s eyes. This is grace! When God sees me, He doesn’t see the sin that deserves his wrath, He sees His perfect son and accepts me.

This is our hope! This is the big picture we can’t forget while walking in the son-blocking path in the forest of life. This grace reminds us that we are forgiven and have the hope of heaven! We have Christ forever!

Please don’t misunderstand me that all hardship is caused by personal sin, yet His grace on us should still bring us hope. When everything falls down around us, we know that we are forgiven and righteous because of the grace of Christ. Oh Lord, as we meditate on your grace, may that give us hope in hard times and motivate us to give grace to others.

Your sister in Christ,

Colleen

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The Nearness of Our Blessed Hope

My dear sister,

As I sit in the comfort of my home with my cup of coffee in hand, thinking of you and watching the news of the world, my heart wells up in gratitude to the Lord for our safety from violent persecutions simply because we profess to be Christ-followers. Certainly there have been times in my own life when my love for Jesus has caused discomfort in those who do not love Him, even scorn and disdain, but never to the point of physical harm or the State coming to take me away. I know that in our own USA there are those whose families have ostracized them, there are small businesses which have been shut down, there are lawsuits against organizations who refuse to compromise their core beliefs.  These are hurtful and serious situations, the outcome of many still unknown.  Our first amendment rights seem to be in jeopardy over various issues including homosexual ‘marriages’ abortion ‘rights’, and transgender ‘rights’. At present, none of these are resulting in torture and death to those in opposition, but they certainly are an oppression of serious noteworthiness…Which brings me back to the world news…

It is with horror that we hear of our brothers and sisters and children being beheaded, crucified, set on fire, or drowned. I do not mean to minimize in any way our own trials, diseases, disappointments, and deep losses of various kinds, but in our trials perspective is always beneficial.

I think of Hebrews 11 with its list of pilgrims and sufferers and martyrs. Though they had many promises of the coming of Christ, they never saw, here on earth, the fulfillment of those promises, yet “they all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection…of whom the world was not worthy.”

I think of the apostles, all put to death except the exiled, beloved John. I think of the believers through the centuries who suffered simply because they loved the Lord Jesus and would not deny their love. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11)

There are Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego–refusing to obey the Kings edicts, knowing death must follow, unless God… And Luther’s brave stand before the Diet of Worms. Get a copy of Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs”, read with horror and awe, and think long and hard about the test of faithfulness.

Sweet sister, when we get bogged down by the things in our own lives, let us ask God to remind us of the big old world out there filled with so much evil and imposed suffering and unimaginable abuse and persecution in the name of false gods against those who love our Lord Jesus.
Many of our brothers and sisters are experiencing sheer terror at this moment. They are despairing of life itself yet they are clinging to God, our Father. My heart cries out to Him on their behalf.

Pray with me.

O, our God, our hearts ache and cry out to You for all those in this world who are being or will be persecuted simply because they are faithful to Jesus Christ. Please prepare all of your children for a day of possible persecution by strengthening us in our trust in You, Your Word, and in Your goodness now, so that no matter what, we would remain faithful to You, by Your grace. May we all have “persecution grace” and not shrink from living boldly for Christ in every circumstance. In our own strength we would crumble. In Your strength we can do whatever You call us to do. May we have thoughts of those who have gone on before and be prepared to “leap for joy because great is our reward in heaven” (Luke 6:23) and “rejoice that we would be counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 6:41 ).

For those who are suffering now, physically, emotionally, spiritually–for dear unknown friends– please sustain, lift up, surround, give courage, take away doubts, misgivings, wavering, fear and dread and terror…Comfort, build up, remind of Your goodness, Your love, Your nearness, Your face, Your heaven.  May there be rejoicing and songs of praise coming from their lips–for the joy set before them. Please remind them that their suffering brings great eternal reward. It is not in vain. Remind them that I Peter  1:6-7 tells them that their faithful response in their sufferings validates their faith in God “even though tested by fire” that it “may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Remind them and us that the more we suffer for Him, the greater our capacity to glorify Him. That is a very great reward.

Lord Jesus, You who were persecuted and suffered–You who were tempted in all points as we are (yet without sin), please let your nearness be known to these precious children of Yours, keeping them faithful, not denying the Lord Who bought them, even in the face of death.

‘Thou art my protecting arm,
fortress, refuge, shield, buckler.
Fight for me and my foes must flee;
Uphold me and I cannot fall;
Strengthen me and I stand unmoved, unmovable,
Equip me and I shall receive no wound;
Stand by me and Satan will depart;
Anoint my lips with a song of salvation and I shall shout Thy victory.’ (From Valley of Vision)
Amen.

In the midst of all pain and suffering Jesus says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” He will make everything right. He will wipe away all tears. He will take away our anxieties and terrors and our sin forever.  Let us say with John,  “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Look up, my friend, He IS coming again.

Cherry