In life, Hope is one of the greatest things we have, sometimes it is all we have. . . the most devastating place to be in life is in a place where you have lost all hope....I do not think that any torture could ever be as harmful as loosing hope. How many people loose hope and end up loosing life? Sometimes even literally. People who give up fighting to overcome a disease because there hope is damaged or broken. People who can't take the pressure of life and sink into a deep depression, so deep that it alters their body's chemistry and they loose the ability to function in the real world? Addicts who want to break out but don't have the hope to fuel that desire and so succumb to their addictions stronghold. All around us is a world without Hope....even in the church, there are a lot of people without hope.
But in the church sometimes its more hidden. We are scared that people will see our broken hope and judge our faith. So we put on our christian mask to hide our hurting hearts. Proverbs 13:12 tells us that Hope deferred makes a heart sick. Loss of Hope is incredibly powerful, and those who are feeling hopeless, in the church, fear judgement and clam up and try work it out on their own. Love should cast out fear....and as a body we should be moving in love, so why do we fear judgement among ourselves. And I think that often we respond to someone's broken hope by trying to build their faith. But their faith isnt the problem.
I know there are many times when I have still had Faith in God and His word. I have not "lost my salvation" nor "my way" but have lost my hope. And I still read my bible daily, met with God and attended church. Often when I spoke to Christians about how I was feeling they would tell me that I need to worship more or fast or pray in tongues or read the word....but I was doing those things....
And yes we all need our Faith ministered to. But Hope is not faith and faith is not hope although the two are often closely woven together. And sometimes Hope only comes through perseverance which comes through standing strong for a long time in a situation that sucks. I know that is a simple way of putting it. But go and read Romans 5 - suffering not only produces character....but then produces perseverance....which then produces hope.
So yes we will come across those suffering, and its more often than not in our suffering that our hope takes a beating like a ship in a storm tossed about the waves.... Yes we need faith to help us persevere. but we also need love and support to minister to our broken and bruised hope. We also need the time and space sometimes, to walk through our situation so that we can develop character and perseverance and finally hope.
We don't need the quick fix solutions. We need the person holding our hand as we walk the path. We need the words of encouragement. We need people praying for us. as well as loving us. as well as building into our faith.
1 Corinthians 13:13 says that these 3 things remain...Faith, Hope and Love....I think these 3 things are closely intertwined. Almost like our soul,spirit and body....all separate yet one....when 1 is affected then all 3 are effected. truly I believe it to be true. . .
But remember that the path to Hope, or restored Hope often is the path of pain and suffering and its a longer journey to get there....but well worth the journey....Just like faith has to be tested and proved by the fire...it appears hope has to ride the storms of suffering.
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