Tag: HOW TO FIND HOPE

WAITING FOR GOD

Extreme discouragement and I became fast friends.

I am that person who will watch the beginning of a story and then fast forward to the final ten minutes, just to make sure that it doesn’t have a horrific ending. I hate it when the bad guys win and obliterate the good guys. Honestly, if I read I Kings 19:1-9 and thought that was the end to the entire story, I would not read the rest of Elijah’s biography.  In the oratorio “Elijah” there is a solo where the title character sings “It is enough.” He is at the end of his rope.

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors’” (I Kings 19:3-4).

Do you hear the agony in Elijah’s voice?  Can you picture the despair, exhaustion, and depression of a man who had totally believed God? By Elijah’s prayers severe drought arrived, fire came down from heaven that burnt to a crisp a water-soaked sacrifice, and at the right time, the rain clouds opened up again. In a movie, this would be the triumphant end and the credits would roll. However, a reversal arrives in Elijah’s fortune. Where is God?

THE REVERSAL

The arch villainess, Queen Jezebel, places a bounty on Elijah’s head. He transitions from the man of great faith to a man lying in a fetal position under a broom tree, just wanting to die.  He hits bottom. In the oratorio, Elijah’s song, “It Is Enough” begins with a mournful cello solo. He sings, “It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! I desire to live no longer: now let me die, for my days are but vanity. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have broken Thy covenant, and thrown down Thine altars, and slain all Thy prophets, slain them with the sword. And I, even I only am left: and they seek my life to take it away! It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! Now let me die, Lord, take away my life!”

WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE A FUTURE

God does not condemn Elijah’s breakdown; God enters his pain.  I know this God.  During my past season with the Lancaster Chorale, I severely injured my back. Just raising my arms in front of me was agony. Restorative sleep was a distant memory. The pain did not let up. “I have had enough, Lord, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” sounds very similar to my state of mind.  Extreme discouragement and I became fast friends. Neither Elijah nor I could see a future of good in our lives.  We didn’t see the God that enters our pain and redeems it for good.  We could only see our own grief.

GOD HEARS

Do you currently feel no hope?  Your soul lies in a fetal position under the broom tree, begging for the end of the pain. If that is your story dear friend, please know plainly: God hears your cries, feels your pain, and He is sufficient to bring a hope and a future which can totally surpass your imagination, if you only let Him.  Take heart. God hears. The sun is rising just around the corner……just wait.

The man who patiently endures the temptations and trials that come to him is the truly happy man. For once his testing is complete he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love him. (James 1:12)

ALL THAT IS LEFT

Both Loraine and Job endeavored to endure, but clung by a thread.

Loraine had a wonderful heart for people. If she saw someone being mistreated, she was a tigress, a warrior for Jesus Christ. Thus, it came as quite a shock to hear her cancer diagnosis. The cycle began: surgery, chemo, radiation, and more chemo. Her beautiful red hair fell out and her skin became a patchwork of rashes. Always strong physically, she found herself imprisoned in a sick and broken body. Loraine endured. That final summer of her illness we discussed the question: “What happens, when all that’s left, is God?”

THE BLAME GAME

If you want a happy read, don’t read the Book of Job. He loses his family, wealth, marriage, reputation, and health. Furthermore, his “friends” bombard him with accusations, saying that everything must be Job’s fault. He must be a huge sinner that his life has turned out this way. A misguided friend counseled Loraine that she was not healed because she “didn’t have enough faith.” Like Job’s friends, it put salt on Loraine’s open wounds.

CLINGING BY A THREAD

What happens when everyone seems to have abandoned you; when all that’s left, is God? During the final weeks of life, Loraine found her sight deteriorating because the cancer had spread to her brain.  The encroaching darkness was frightening.  Bewildered, Job endured an unimaginable prison of pain. Both Loraine and Job endeavored to endure, but clung by a thread.

LOOK UP

In Job 38-41, God finally answers Job out of the storm. He poses a series of questions to Job: “Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide [the stars of] the Bear with her sons? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?” (Job 38:31-33)

God says, “Look up. Remember Who I am.”

GOD IS STILL GOD

In the midst of our worst fears, God is still God. “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! ‘Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.’ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress” (Psalm 46).

HE IS ENOUGH

What do you do when everything else is gone, when everything you depend on has flown the coop? How do you endure? Run to the One, “Who is wise enough to count all the clouds. Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods.” God is enough because of His character. God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

Look up and endure.

I NEED A MIRACLE!

With each day that passed, it felt like the pressure for a resolution was exponentially increasing. I needed an answer ASAP! Where was God?

Have you ever felt surrounded by trouble? I have. During trying times, I struggle with unbelief that God will come through and meet my needs. When the fear of the unknown hits me like a ton of bricks, it is helpful to remember the ways He has provided for me in other situations.

WHERE WAS GOD?

I remember a particularly difficult season when I was about to lose my job through no fault of my own. I struggled with anger and fear over losing the income and benefits my job provided. I wanted to trust God, but it was not easy. I lived in that desperately uncomfortable space between where I was and where I needed to be. I had zero power to make things change. I needed to rely on God’s ability to provide a way. I knew he could, I just wasn’t sure he would. With each day that passed, it felt like the pressure for a resolution was exponentially increasing. I needed an answer ASAP! Where was God?

SOAP, SOAP AND MORE SOAP!

One morning as I was praying about all these things, God reminded me of a time when we had no money until payday and ran out of bar soap. Frank came home from work that day with a bag of things his dad had gotten from Grandmom’s house. There were SO MANY bars of soap!!! In addition to abundantly meeting our needs, there were SEVERAL bottles of mouthwash (something I love but feel is an extravagance). Soap wasn’t as dire as losing a chunk of income and our health benefits, but it was a personal reminder of the truth of God’s love and ability to meet my needs. No matter how things looked regarding my job, I asked God to help me trust He would provide His best.

Two weeks before my last day at my old job, God moved in a big way. I got a great job offer with my top choice company. So often, we flippantly throw around the exhortation that “God can do anything!” as we wait with expectation for all the possible ways he can do that wonderful, miraculous thing we need or long for. We all want a miracle, yet none of us really wants to be in the place where we need that miracle. No one wants to be unemployed with bills and children to care for. No one wants to get a life altering or life-threatening diagnosis.

REMEMBER WHAT HE HAS DONE

The Bible tells us to remember what He has done. In Deuteronomy 11:19-19, Moses encouraged the Israelites to remember the mighty acts God had done in their past and to trust His power and provision for where He was taking them. No one wants to be between a rock and hard place like the Israelites, hotly pursued by Pharaoh and his army on one side and hemmed in by the Red Sea on the other (Exodus 14:5-29).  They thought they were safely out of Egypt when on the horizon appeared their worst enemy. God provided the miracle, and Moses repeatedly reminded them of it.

Maybe you find yourself in a difficult place and are struggling to believe He will meet your needs. Maybe His miracle answer doesn’t feel like one. Your miracle of provision may look different than what you expected. Oh friend, I know that pain as well. Christ’s love and ways are beyond our understanding. I pray that you will call to mind some of the miraculous ways God has provided for you in the past. He can do more than you could ever imagine.

“Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

IN NEED OF RESCUE

Have you wondered why after all the prayers and tears you have poured into your family, your loved ones still deny Jesus?

What are the cracks in your foundation? Did you face another Easter in which you seemed to be the only one who is holding the torch of Jesus Christ? Wondering why after all the prayers and tears you have poured into your family, your loved ones still deny Jesus? They refuse the empty tomb; they see the stone rolled away but don’t enter to see the evidence.

THE THIEF

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and destroy. Someone has had a field day, and it is not your loved ones.

SENT TO DEATH ROW

The Apostle Paul walked that road of darkness: We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing.”  (II Cor 1:8-11)

GUARDED FOR ETERNITY

Paul Tripp writes in “Forever: Why You Can’t Live Without It”: “The word ‘guard’ in I Peter 1:5-6 tells us exactly what God is doing in the here and now, and exactly why we can have hope, even in unexpected moments of pain. Not only does God have a plan that you are included in, but he is also with you daily and guarding you through every situation as he is preparing you for forever. Guarded means that not only is your future guaranteed, but it means that God is protecting you in the here and now as well. If forever is in your future, then God must ‘guard’ you between now and whenever forever becomes your permanent address. ‘Guarded’ means you cannot only be assured of future hope, but of the right here, right now comfort of present help”.

AS MANY TIMES AS I NEED RESCUING

Rescued. Guarded. My God is a Fortress, an Everlasting Hope in danger. He is my forever God, no matter what Satan throws at me. No matter if my dreams appear crushed and disappointment hovers over me like a dark cloud. As a child of God, I am living in eternity PRESENT. Not pie in the sky, or “I’ll fly away”. I’m presently living in God’s eternity, and it is good, no matter what is thrown at me. The eternal God is with me, “as many times as I need rescuing.”

HIS INVITATION

Yes, Satan is a thief, and the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Remember, Jesus’ promise, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. It does not matter what is thrown in your face, even your family goes down the drain, even if you are still the only believer in sight, even if you despair even of life. The eternal God is with me, “as many times as I need rescuing.” Let Him rescue you.

WHEN NOTHING GOES RIGHT

Is your life not working out the way you expected?

Moses went back to God and said, “My Master, why are you treating this people so badly? And why did you ever send me? From the moment I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, things have only gotten worse for this people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to you?” (from The Message paraphrase) Can you hear the frustration in Moses’ voice? He never asked for this job, didn’t want this job, obediently begins this job, and there you have it: failure! At least, Moses thought it was failure. What was going on with this God he had decided to trust?

FROM BAD TO WORSE

As Moses follows God’s directions, in Exodus 5:1-22, Pharaoh makes it exponentially worse for the Israelites. The Israelites move from a dire situation to a worse one. Their quotas for brick making are doubled and now they must find their own straw to make the bricks. No wonder the people blamed Moses for their pain.

PHAROAH’S MIND GAMES

Observe Pharoah’s purpose in creating this impossible situation. “Let labor be heavier on the men and let them work [hard] at it so that they will pay no attention to [their God’s] lying words.” (AMP Version) This is spiritual warfare at its worst. Warfare against their hearts, their relationship to God, and their obedience to the words of Moses. Eighty-year-old Moses is at the end of his rope.

THE UNEXPECTED

I love the saying, “Everything will work out, just not the way you expect.” Moses expected immediate blue skies and parades, but God usually does not work that way. The God of the Universe fulfills His purpose; however the parade route is quite different than Moses’ expectations.

Is your life not working out the way you expected, even though you faithfully try to be obedient and follow God’s promptings? I have personal experience with this. God once led us to minister at a church. We were voted in by 100% of the congregation and naively assumed it would be smooth sailing. Nothing went to plan. That ministry shattered our hearts, fractured my husband’s health, disintegrated our plans for the future and evaporated our finances. Were we in the will of God? Yes!!!!! 

COMING OUT AT THE OTHER END

It took quite a few years to heal from the experience, but we came out with gold! For example, that experience developed me as a writer and life coach. We learned to know and trust God at a much deeper level. All those things we depended on before (our ministry experience, education, and relationships with people) went up in dust. God was and is faithful, not just in the way we expected. He is far better than we ever anticipate, even when the pain is excruciating.

Take heart in the words of Paul: Be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

Like Moses, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Consistently obey God and trust Him, even when the forces of the night threaten to devour you. When nothing goes right, God is faithful!