Tag: Hope

Hope is found in exile

by Innermost Being, posted in Living in Exile, Uncategorized

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could have bowed down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s gods to avoid the furnace and save their lives. They chose to be faithful regardless of the consequences.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Daniel 3:28

Our lives are built around ease and comfort. We do everything we can to avoid the furnaces of life – the dangerous, difficult places.

Sometimes, the places or situations we want to avoid are  the places we meet God and find hope. God is with us in the flames!

We do not need to defend ourselves. We do not need to fight the battles. God is able to deliver us in every situation.

God did not deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the furnace. He delivered them in the furnace.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3 NIV

Lord, I worry needlessly in these trying times about the schemes of the wicked. You are with me. You are my living hope.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Contentment

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Earlier this year, a Day One prompt asked a really good question:

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

My normal emotional state is contentment. Contentment doesn’t mean that I have everything I want. Contentment doesn’t mean everything is going well in my life. Contentment is not dependent on the circumstances.

Daniel Cordaro asked, What if you pursued contentment rather than happiness? Cordaro quoted Dr. Dorji Wangchuk, who said that contentment is “the highest achievement of human well-being.”

Cordaro shared the origin of the word contentment.

The root of the word contentment comes from the Latin contentus, which means “held together” or “intact, whole.”

Contentus asks the question, “How whole do you feel inside? How complete are you as a human being?”

Daniel Cordaro

Cordaro and his team concluded that human beings use two strategies to achieve well-being – what they called a More Strategy and an Enough Strategy. The More Strategy is used by people who try to achieve happiness by getting more of something external – more money, more stuff, more recognition, etc.

King Solomon would surely have agreed that the “more strategy” is pointless. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, a man of great wisdom, concluded that striving for wealth and achievement is meaningless, like chasing after the wind.

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (NIV)

People who find the source of well-being within themselves practice the Enough Strategy. Their lives have value regardless of wealth, social status, or achievement.

To be content means you have enough, regardless of what is going on around you. Contentment means being satisfied with your lot in life.

To be content regardless of circumstances, I process all the emotions I experience – good or bad – and find the strength within myself to manage them. Circumstances may get me down, but I can’t stay down. I change the circumstances if I can. I adjust my expectations. I practice gratitude. I never give up hope.

My source of well-being isn’t just within myself; I believe in a higher power. God has promised to work things out for the good of those who love him. I put my trust in him.

The Apostle Paul understood the “enough strategy.” He was beaten and imprisoned for spreading the gospel, yet learned to be content.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Philippians 4:11-12

I have been through some trials this year. I expect the next few years to be difficult. Even so, it is well with my soul. I am holding myself together. I have much to be thankful for. I have hope.

Failure is a teaching tool

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I can’t think of a time when failure “set me up” for future success, but I have learned much more in my life from my failures than from my successes. When you let failure teach you something, you come out stronger and better positioned for future success.

Failure is a teaching tool. Failure tells you to reassess and try something else.

Failure teaches humility. You’re not invincible. You have limits. You can’t do everything. You can’t change other people, only yourself.mn

When you fail, it may mean that you weren’t up to the challenge. Try, try, try again. It may mean that whatever you were doing doesn’t work. Try a different approach.

Failure can be humiliating. It can be painful. But it can teach you perseverance, and perseverance builds character. Character produces hope.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

It’s important to not internalize failure. If you fail, it doesn’t mean that you are a failure. It does not mean you aren’t good enough. It means you need to get back up and try again.

The Middle Way

by Innermost Being, posted in Pursuing God

Recently, my pastor shared a quote from Blaise Pascal. The quote I found online at Good Reads was translated differently:

The knowledge of God without that of man’s misery causes pride. The knowledge of man’s misery without that of God causes despair. The knowledge of Jesus Christ is the middle course, because in Him we find both God and our misery.

Blaise Pascal

In the version shared by my pastor, the word ‘wretchedness’ was used in place of the word ‘misery.’ For me to better understand the quote, I have to make it more wordy.

The knowledge of God without knowledge of your wretchedness results in pride. The knowledge of your wretchedness without knowledge of God causes despair. The knowledge of Jesus Christ is the middle way because in Him we find both God and the cure for our wretchedness.

The knowledge of God without knowledge of your wretchedness results in pride.

The first part of the quote makes me think of two types of people. One type is the person who says things like, “I’m a good person. I’ve made mistakes, but I’m doing fine on my own. I don’t need religion. I don’t need to be saved.” This person uses other people as their measure of goodness. When talk of religion comes up, this person may bring up the second type – the religious hypocrite.

The word ‘hypocrite’ comes from the Greek word ‘hypokrites,’ meaning ‘an actor.’ The religious hypocrite has knowledge of the Ten Commandments and religious virtues but lacks knowledge of their own wretchedness. They are self-righteous and self-important, pious, holier-than-thou. They make a display of their good works. They look down on and condemn other sinners.

Both types of people are relying on themselves to earn salvation. Thinking you are morally superior to others is a form of pride. But anyone who does not acknowledge their own sinfulness in relation to God is using a false measure of righteousness. The proper measure of righteousness is not other people. The right measure is God. We all fall miserably short of our glorious, holy Father.

The knowledge of your wretchedness without knowledge of God causes despair.

The second sentence makes me think about people who compare themselves to others and conclude that they are inferior, unworthy of love. They may even say, “I’m a bad person. I’m a failure.” Perhaps they have been criticized and verbally abused by others so much that they have no self-esteem. They feel remorse for their mistakes and wish they could undo them. They feel wretched. They can’t stop thinking about the things they have done wrong.

The person who has knowledge of their wretchedness but no knowledge of God may feel hopeless, especially if they have never been shown grace. They know that they can’t earn their way to salvation. They know they don’t deserve to be forgiven.

Jesus is the middle way.

In Jesus, we find both God and the cure for our wretchedness. Many people have knowledge of God but they don’t know God. Jesus shows us who God is because He is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:6-7

My sinfulness created a vast canyon between me and God. Jesus is the bridge between us. Jesus makes it possible for me to have a personal relationship with God.

Jesus taught me that God’s commands are more than a list of do’s and don’ts. God’s commands are about love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Jesus pushes me to be a better person than I would be if I just followed the Ten Commandments. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Turn the other check.

Jesus taught me that the contents of my heart are just as important as my behavior. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.

Jesus sees right through hypocrisy and condemns it. Do not do what they do for they do not practice what they preach. Everything they do is done for people to see.

Jesus taught me that God has compassion for sinners, for the outcast, for the least among us.

Jesus taught me that God rejoices when the lost are found. Even in our wretchedness, we are as precious to Him as rare pearls.

Lord Jesus, you are the way and the truth and the light. You are the cure for my wretchedness. Thank you for saving a wretch like me. In you, I see God and know His love and mercy.

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Matthew 5

Matthew 22:37-40

Luke 15

Colossians 1:15-22

Photo by Stephen Walker on Unsplash

Good News in Bad Times

by Innermost Being, posted in Faith and Culture

I pray for church pastors who are charged with leading their congregations during these difficult times. They know that the congregation, like the country, is divided politically and that many people are frustrated and angry.

A couple of weeks ago, my pastor encouraged the church to spend more time with Jesus than we spend with our sources of information, whether that be social media or a news/opinion network on TV. He made a really important point. How can a weekly sermon at church override the negative influence of everything we are exposed to outside the church on a daily basis?

I have to admit that I spend more time watching or listening to news/opinion shows every day and reading articles than I do reading my Bible and praying. I know that constant negative news and exposure to the toxins of social media aren’t good for me.

Too much exposure to bad news and negative people can take our eyes away from the hope we have in Jesus.

The kingdom of God has come near. Turn away from your sins and believe the good news!

Jesus, Mark 1:15

No matter what happens in this world, the good news of the gospel is still Good News!

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Photo by Jesse Gardner on Unsplash