Hope and Its Surprises: 2021 in One Word

Those who know me well, know that I choose a new word at the birth of each year.


A word to guide, empower, and challenge me.


Twelve months ago, I had been convinced by the Spirit through prayer and study that HOPE - for whatever reason - was to be the word that belonged to me in 2021.


Now, you don't argue with God when He shows you your need, but that doesn't mean you don't end up trying to at least once.


At the beginning of this past year, the best definition I could raise for the word HOPE seemed to live along the lines of chaotic optimism. It was to me a word that was only spoken by those who closed their eyes to the real possibility of pain, failure and rejection.


But the lesson I received was far weightier than this supposedly trite principle.


The Gospel instructs us to live in HOPE. Paul tells us in Romans 5 that it "does not put us to shame" (v5). Matthew writes that in the name of Christ "the Gentiles will HOPE" (12:21). In Ephesians 1, we read that we are literally "called to hope" (v18).


The message of Christ's resurrection does not defy reality, but rather defines it.


I say this because we are taught that reality is marred by darkness which cannot be defeated, wounds that could never be healed, and risks that will always end in disaster. This is not reality, but merely the narrative the devil would have us believe.


Reality is marked by the Truth that Christ's resurrection determines the condition of our entire world. To HOPE means not that we shut our eyes to the brokenness around us, chanting "everything will work out just fine".


Hope means believing that the Spirit speaks true through John in saying that "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (1:5).


However, in the words of Dallas Willard - "We don't believe something by merely saying we believe it, or even when we believe that we believe it. We believe something when we act as if it were true."


So, practically lived out - what does is mean to HOPE? 


I can tell you what it has meant for me.


To me it has meant to cling to the Truth that although the world is corrupted, not everything will end in disaster. Maybe we have to take chances in this terrifyingly dark world. But maybe it's those very same risks that will lead us to the bravest, most beautiful chapters of our lives.


To HOPE means to go to war each day with the voice inside that says things are "too good to be true", and that every precious thing we treasure will crumble to dust before we ever feel its touch.


HOPE flies in the face of fear with the cry that HE IS NO LONGER ENTOMBED -


And this changes everything.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When You Wonder If You're Qualified

There's a whole, wide world out there. Does it sometimes seem too wide?  A bit too big for little old you and me? Maybe it's because we feel too small for the job.  Maybe we think somebody else could do it better.  Moses certainly thought the same thing.  In Exodus 4, it is written -  " But Moses said to the  Lord , “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but  I am slow of speech and of tongue.”   Then the  Lord  said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the  Lord ?     Now therefore go, and  I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”    We tell ourselves that there are better leaders out there, better friends, better writers.  But here's the thing - if God wanted somebody else to do your job, He wouldn't have given it to you.  1 Corinthians 7:17 says "Only le...
Read more

He Asks For Who We Are: (how what you have is enough to give, and why)

Currently I am in the throws of preparing for a season of camp ministry close to St. Joseph, Missouri.  This will be my fifth (and final) summer doing so. It would be a lie to say there aren't many mixed emotions involved in the process of preparing. I am choosing to make this my last time there not because there are some "divisions", "quarrels" or "scandals" about the place. It served me well, and I have given my all serving the people there. I am leaving because the direction He intends me to pursue with my life now lies elsewhere. But please, do not let your eyes glaze over at my reasonings. I am writing you today because I want to assure you that although life changes - and we may feel both vastly in awe of what is ahead and astounded at how we shall rise up to meet these new callings: What is necessary is not that we should have every issue resolved or each doubt silenced. If we are to step out of the wardrobe and into a world as wild and wondrous...
Read more

Why You Don't Need to Fear Feelings

I've always been a deeply feeling person. Whether it's a tragic book ending, a triumphant battle-cry, a friend's depression, or the changing of Earth's seasons - my heart is greatly invested in the joys and the sorrows of the things and people around me. "This is their problem, not yours.  You don't need to concern yourself with it." "Yes, they're leaving.  A lot of people do.  Someday you'll just have to get used to it." But for some reason, I'd rather not get used to it. Maybe I am overcaring and sensitive - but I don't want to live life numb.  I would rather be vulnerable and risk letting my heart be broken sometimes than to be blind to the beauty of this world.  Even the beauty of the broken things and the broken people. I believe that God created us with emotions.  Though it is inherently sinful to let our feelings guide us to the point of murder, covetousness, and idolatry - it is not sin to feel other things. It...
Read more