We Have Hope

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus said these words to his disciples in John 16. James, Peter, and Paul all affirmed that we will have trouble in this world. We will face trials in our lives. This is an unavoidable reality of living in a fallen world. And we are left asking the question, how do we live with hope amid difficulty? Fortunately, we believe in a God who is faithful—one who gives us great hope, even in the midst of significant trials. In this blog, we are going to take a look at some Christian practices that allow us to experience the hope offered to us by the Father, even during a difficult time.

First, we must be anchored in Scripture. The Bible is God’s Word. It is his absolutely true and consistent special revelation of himself to his creation. He has left us with the Bible so that we know who he is, what his character is like, and how he has worked to redeem us through the work of Jesus. Without the revelation of Scripture, we are lost. This is especially true when we are facing hard times. When we have received a bad diagnosis, when someone has died, or when we are faced with economic uncertainty, we are often left feeling adrift on a sea of fear. Scripture anchors us in the midst of that. The Biblical truth that God has promised to care for us (Matthew 6:25-34) brings calm. The stories of God’s faithfulness we see in the lives of David, Peter, and Paul bring us assurance. The comfort of a Savior who weeps with those who weep allows us to grieve (John 11:32-36). The Bible offers us hope and comfort even when we feel all may be lost.

Second, we must be anchored in prayer. We are blessed to worship the one true God over all. And this completely holy and supreme deity allows us to boldly approach his throne and receive mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:16). Our God wants to speak to us. He wants us to speak with him! Prayer is the way in which we communicate with our Father. When we are facing challenges and difficulty, prayer is the most vital source of support. This is most evident in the Psalms when we find the authors time and again throwing themselves before the Lord and begging for his help (Psalm 13 and 121 are great examples). Seeking our Father through prayer sustains us at all times, especially during hard times.

Third, we must worship. Any action we take during our day can be dedicated to the Lord as an act of worship. This includes our work, our hobbies, our parenting, and our chores. There is an ancient idea of practicing the presence of God in which even in the midst of the most mundane activities, we can focus our hearts on the Lord. That being said, creative activities and especially music often hold a special place in our hearts and minds when it comes to worship. Music can lift our hearts and encourage our souls in ways that many other activities cannot. A song I often return to when I am facing a difficult period of life is “Carry the Fire” by Andrew Peterson. I will admit, it's a bit sad. But it consistently returns to the hope we have in Christ even in the midst of our hardest days. I think my favorite lines are probably:

And we dream in the night
Of a feast and a wedding
And the groom in his glory
When the bride is made ready

What a gorgeous image of our future with Jesus. Give it a listen.

Finally, we must remain grateful. Gratitude is a regular command throughout Scripture. Paul tells us to always give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)! I encourage all of my counseling clients to practice gratitude by sitting down at the end of the day and writing down three specific events for which they are grateful from that specific day. This practice focuses us on what God has given us today and cultivates a heart of gratitude in our day-to-day lives. As hard as it can be, there is something to be grateful for on even our worst days. The day our son Micah was sent to the ICU at CHOP, I have never been more grateful for the support of this church family. The sunset on the day my father died might be the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen. Life can be hard, but we can be grateful in the midst of all of it because of the God we worship.

Today’s blog post might feel like a bit of a downer. But in the end, what I hope we remember is that we have immense hope. The supreme God of the universe loves us. He knows us and desires a relationship with us. He has promised to bring a new heaven and a new earth for us to live in at the end of days. He has promised a bodily resurrection and an eternity in his glorious presence. As we face the difficulties of life, Scripture, prayer, worship, and gratitude remind us of these truths and remind us of the overwhelming hope we’ve been given.