I have hope....

"Where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?" Job 17:15

Last night, I had the privilege and blessing of accompanying 2 families of the congregation I serve and a couple who has visited the church twice to see the band Building 429 in concert. I had seen them a few years ago, and knew they would be great. They didn't disappoint. But their new song "Listen to the Sound" was one I was looking forward to hearing, as it has become one of my "anthem songs" over the past few months. The third song in, I knew when they started the instrumental part, this was it! But God laid something completely different on my heart. Instead of listening to the music be amazing, sing along at the top of my lungs, my heart was focused on the words. Oh, I still sang at the top of my lungs! But the chorus starts off with the words "Listen to the sound of hope that's rising up over your old horizon". I could not and still can not stop thinking about those words. I knew them before I showed up for the concert, but the idea of hope struck me in a new and different way.

The past year personally and ministry-wise has been challenging. Pretty much, both influence and affect each other. I have wrestled with family health struggles, financial struggles, my wife's ministry position being cut, whether or not I am doing what I am supposed to to be supporting my family, whether or not I am being the dad, husband and church musician that I best can be, and having another child. All of these things have knocked me down emotionally, and have challenged me on many, many levels. But the one thing as a believer in God is that I have hope. Hope is a topic that comes up plenty in the Bible, and I've had revelations recently about hope.

Hope comes through faith. I've known that. But, it's more than that. I had a revelation that hope comes through patient trust in God's promises. A few examples from the Bible. After Adam and Eve sinned and God banished them from the garden, God promised salvation. For hundreds and hundreds of years, God's people hoped for a Savior. That hope came from trusting in the promise. The promise of Jesus' return has given many hope throughout the centuries! That hope comes from trusting that God's promise is sure. Those are just two examples out of many. At the beginning of this post I quoted Job. Job is one of my favorite books to go to in times of struggle, because in all of the calamity and hardship Job had, HE DID NOT LOSE HOPE! Why? He trusted in God's promise. That's what I cling to. I don't know where everything will lead, but I see signs already of God's healing and strengthening and working through those challenges I mentioned before. But, I know from experience that He uses those challenges for much, much more than we think!

The next line of the chorus to "Listen to the Sound" continues..."And listen to the sound of a new beginning, oh, this is where the old is ending". As believers, we know that we daily (and even every second) have the opportunity for a new beginning. What do we do with that new beginning? Do we shout from the mountaintops the amazing things God has done to strengthen, encourage us and give us hope? Or do we keep it inside of ourselves? The congregation I serve has recently struggled with a major decision regarding the ministry of our childcare. We voted to close it, then at the urging of a few members, reconsidered and it will stay open. We've made plenty of challenges for ourselves, but there is still hope! Why? God has promised to never abandon us, never forget about us! He's also given us brains, talents and abilities, so we must use those all, united together to serve Him and the community around us! God has given us a new beginning as believers, as a congregation, and we MUST share it with the world around us! If you've noticed, the world needs hope. Let us be the lights of hope in our world! God will strengthen us, give us the words and actions necessary, as long as we listen to that sound of hope!

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?" Romans 8:24