The following is a reflection I shared during Lent with my congregation. Several laypeople took turns during these past six weeks to talk about their understanding of the hope we have through our Christian faith. The thoughts I share on this below represent one of the aspects of hope that comes to my mind as I consider how the presence of hope is shaped by the presence of Christ in my life. As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, questions, or other feedback in the comments section below, or on the Contact page.
Hope can be described in many ways, but as I looked through scriptures talking about hope this week, I noticed a theme of hope in God as something that we grab onto and hold tight in the midst of trouble and pain. As God’s beloved people, Christ’s light of hope is eternal and always with us. This hope in the power of God through Christ to deliver us from the brokenness in ourselves and our world accompanies us throughout our time here on earth. It guides our steps and calls us back into a redeemed relationship with God again and again, no matter the fear, suffering, and shortcomings that we face. This hope holds a promise of what is to come at the end our life when we are finally reconciled to God through Christ. Although we always carry Christ’s light of hope in our hearts, we may notice it more when we feel surrounded by darkness, because as the gospel of John says, “The light [of Christ] shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” I have personally faced times of darkness in my own life, and with everything going on in the world today, I think many of us can identify times we have felt a sense of darkness, a feeling of being downcast or disturbed by what is happening around us or within us. At these times, Christ’s light of hope burns brightly and becomes a torch we can grab hold of to shine the way. When we choose to grab ahold of God’s promises for us and put our hope in Him, God will provide for us. Scripture reflects this, like when the writer in the book of Lamentations expresses deep pain and grief, and then demonstrates this choice to hope, to wait expectantly, for God to fulfill His promises. The writer says… (Lamentations 3:19-25) 19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; If this sounds familiar, it’s because these verses are the basis for our beloved hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” I have sung this hymn many times on Sunday mornings in the midst of the trials and burdens of everyday life and found great comfort from its reminders. When the darkness of the world seems overwhelming, I treasure the hope I have in God even more. I had the opportunity to put this into practice recently as we were driving home one night. I do not like driving in the dark, and Jacob will confirm I am not even a good passenger because I get so anxious about not being able to see as well as I can during the day. On this night it also happened to be foggy and raining, so I was becoming very stressed and worried. Jacob was driving safely and being cautious, and I trusted him to get us home. Still, all the “what if” scenarios I was imagining haunted me, and I found myself in my classic position of staring straight ahead with a clenched jaw and gripping the arm rest with white knuckles. Somehow I knew it was silly to be trying to control the situation with my own willpower, but I was paralyzed by my fear. We knew from looking at the weather reports that the fog and rain were expected to continue for the next hour, and we only had a few more miles to go, so we journeyed on. Then it hit me – what is your hope in right now? Do what you have been preparing to speak about. Grab on to the light of your hope in God, and hold on tight because—real or perceived—this is your time of trouble and distress. So I prayed through some of the words from Lamentations I had been studying… 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. As I prayed, I was finally able to relax and trust that, no matter what happened, God would take care of us. Not only did we get home safely, but within the next few minutes, I noticed that the rain had slowed and the fog had begun to lift. God’s compassions never fail. Great is His faithfulness. Whatever troubles or challenges you and I may face today or tomorrow, we remember that Christ’s light of hope shines there with us. We can grab it and hold on tight, trusting that our hope in God’s promises is not in vain, and the darkness will never overcome it.
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AuthorRachel is a wife, mom, and follower of Christ. She is active in lay leadership in the United Methodist Church. Archives
October 2017
Categories© Rachel Yochum and Bible Bridge Ministry, 2017. All rights reserved.
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