The Bible promises, "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, HOPE; and HOPE does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He had given us." (Romans 5:3,4) As Bill Bright says in his book Living Supernaturally in Christ, "The marvelous truth of Scripture is that for Christians, suffering leads to HOPE." He shares this story: "Irena Dragas grew up in the Croatian region of Yugoslavia. When she was 16 years old, her only brother died in a tragic car accident on his way home from a mission trip. When she was 17, war broke out and her town was attacked by militant Serbians. After days of hiding in her basement, she and her family escaped only to find themselves refugees. They traveled from place to place living in other people's homes, hiding from bombs and dodging grenades. As she viewed the destruction of cities turned into ghost towns and heard heartbreaking stories of shattered lives, she often wondered how she could find HOPE in the midst of war and death. Because she was a Christian, she often tried to force herself to feel hopeful, but only met with disappointment. Then one night she lay in bed in a sparsely furnished apartment temporarily provided to her family by a refugee agency. Although it was a few days before Christmas, there was no Christmas tree, no decorations and no momentos of cherished memories from the past. Yet suddenly joy and HOPE rushed over her. It was not a joy in her circumstances. War is horrible and the hardships she had experienced were tragic, but she realized that she could find HOPE in the One who exists beyond the circumstances. Though her life was turned upside down, God's character had not changed. His love and integrity were still the same. Even in a strange apartment in an unfamiliar city in the middle of war, she could experience HOPE because she was in the palm of God's hand." Just like Irena, I sometimes try to force myself to be hopeful and it never works. I also have experienced joy and HOPE when my circumstances seemed hopeless. The theme for the blogs this month is HOPE. Even though my hope is in Jesus, the past few days have definitely not been hopeful. It's been a time of testing like never before, and I've come very close to just giving up. I have said to Jesus many times, "Are you sure you still need me here? I really just want to be home with you and Ty." His answer is always, "Not yet--I need you to persevere awhile longer and keep trusting Me." So... even though I haven't felt like it, I chose to cry out to Him just as David did so often in the Psalms. This morning it was so exciting because He gave me two things that encouraged me and gave me HOPE. My prayer is that they will also remind you of our Savior's faithfulness and give you HOPE too! The first message of HOPE came from an article by Marty Duren called Through Good Times and Bad. Mr. Duren says, "From the first days of coming to faith in Christ, believers are taught to trust God. Often we are reminded that "simple trust in God" will get us through any of life's hardships, no matter how difficult any such trial might be. At times we find this is easy to accomplish; our faith is strong enough to help us endure whatever difficulty comes our way. At other times we waver, yet finish strong. And, then, there are still other times that we stumble, falter, struggle, and wonder if the trial is ever going to end and if our faith will survive until it does." (that's where I've been lately) Mr. Duren goes on to say, "I think there is a fine line between faith and fate. Often when I hear, "Well, God is in control," there seems to be more of a "whatever will be will be" vibe with it. It is less about following Jesus no matter what the cost than passively waiting as if we have no relationship with God at all. Perseverance is not waiting for a fated existence with which we have no interaction. Perseverance is accepting God's will for us, while intentionally and consistently interacting with Him in it--just like Job, the prophets, or the apostles. They all trusted God, yet found themselves in periods of deep struggle--the same types of trials in which we sometimes find ourselves. In a reply to his friend Eliphaz in the midst of his severe trial, Job said this about God, "If I go east, He is not there and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him. When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him and when He turns south, I cannot find Him. Yet, He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold." (Job 23:8-10) The perseverance for which Job is known is not based on how he felt about God; it was based on the revealed character of God. It was expressed in the way that he pursued God even when God was silent. Job went on to say, "My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more that my daily food." (Job 23:11-12) These thoughts expressed by Mr. Duren at the end of his article are mine too. He says: "What I find when I persevere is that God never left the scene. He has never abandoned me, never left me alone. If I quit following God, I will never know the depths through which He will stay with me. It is only through persevering that I experience the fullness of His faithfulness." I know this is getting a little long, but I just can't leave out the rest of what Jesus gave me this morning. You might want to take a break and go get another cup of coffee before you finish reading!!! From Psalm 18, which if one of David's Psalms, the theme is "gratitude for deliverance and victory". Interestingly, that is what the Lord gave me this morning! Let verses 30-35 encourage you today in whatever you're going through. "As for God His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great." My Bible commentary says: "He strengthens, protects and guides us in order to send us back into an evil world to fight for Him. Then He continues to work with us because the strongest person on earth is infinitely weaker than God and needs His help. David was not a coward; he was a mighty warrior who, even with his armies and weapons, knew that only God could ultimately protect and save him. God doesn't promise to eliminate challenges; instead He promises to give us strength to meet those challenges. If He gave us no rough roads to walk, no mountains to climb and no battles to fight, we would not grow. He does not leave us alone with our challenges, however. Instead He stands beside us, teaches us, and strengthens us to face them." The past couple days Jesus has been right beside me even though He felt far away. It was hard, but I continued to seek Him and persevere even though He was silent, and I was discouraged. That perseverance led to HOPE this morning as He spoke so clearly to me. We need to continue to persevere just as Jesus did in Hebrews 12:1-3. "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." The "joy set before Him"? That is the key to perseverance and HOPE. Jim Henry, editor of Money Matters magazine, says: "It's the sure knowledge that there is something greater, higher, and grander out there--just beyond our sight--that makes whatever we're going through at the moment pale in comparison." Remember, this world is not home to followers of Jesus Christ. All of us who have a personal relationship with Him can look forward to the "joy set before us" of our forever home in heaven with Jesus. So...lets keep choosing each day to persevere and place our HOPE in Jesus. One day it will all be worth it when we hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." If any of you reading this do not know Jesus personally check out the HOPE page on this website. Nothing in this world offers the HOPE that a relationship with Jesus does. The song I've chosen to close with is "With Hope" by Steven Curtis Chapman. Some special friends of mine sang this at my husband, Ty's funeral. It offers so much hope to those of us who are left behind when someone we love goes home to heaven. As the song says, we can cry with hope, say good-bye with hope and let go with hope because we know it is not the end. If we have a personal relationship with Jesus we will see our loved ones again and be with them forever in heaven.
