When Hope is a Burden…

Have you ever felt that hope was a burden too heavy to carry? I was studying women of the Bible when this idea first surfaced in my mind. My first thought was how awful it must be to be in a place where hope is nothing more than an imminent disappointment. Then, I took a step back and asked myself if hope has ever been a burden in my life. If it had ever promised nothing more than assured heartache and self-destruction. I would say, yes, I have experienced a season of painful hope.

What is hope? It is a word, much like other English words, that has lost its weight because of flippant overuse. My favorite Webster definition of hope is “to expect with confidence”. Another is, “to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment”.

Hope most often becomes a futile act in prolonged seasons of suffering, or when deep-rooted expectations are met with deeply wounding disappointment. When the desire of your heart is to be married but singleness persists. When the expectation of what your marriage will be is shattered by the painful reality of unyielding selfishness and loneliness. When the longing for children is coupled with infertility. When the happiness of children is crushed by an unforeseen tragedy. When your world that once felt predictable and safe now feels chaotic and uncertain. These are merely a handful of examples.

What do you do when that desire, expectation, hope for a future outcome is ripped away and no amount of activity on your part will change the outcome? Our culture will tell you that hope is foolish, unrealistic, and only for the naive. Our culture will tell you that to be enlightened, to outsmart the system, to survive in this world you must be a realist, cynical, look out for yourself first and foremost because no one else will. You must live a life of what makes you feel good at that moment and have low expectations of others. A worldly view of hope – an expectant desire – pinned against the behavior or performance of others, based on the reciprocation of others, will most assuredly lead to some level of heartache and pain. People are imperfect, naturally selfish, and carry their own baggage or woundedness. Like we’ve discussed over the last month, you can control very little, and definitely cannot control people. Therefore, linking your hope to a situation’s outcome or a person is too much to ask of any situation or person.

The Bible says a lot about hope. Biblical hope seems similar but is vastly different than Webster’s definition. Biblical hope is to believe, ask, seek expectantly and confidently, (Philippians 4:4-9, Hebrews 4:16). Biblical hope is entirely based on the steadfast, unchanging character, and fulfilled promises of God. Hope in God will never let you down. It does not mean you will be free from heartache. It does not mean that your view of what it should look like is what it will look like. It does, however, mean that regardless of the situation you can rejoice in and hold firm to the hope given by a God that is working all things for your good and His glory.

Hope that is sustaining, hope that is unshakeable can only come from trusting in the Lord. Next month I plan to talk through what trusting in the Lord looks like. Ugh, every time I talk about trusting in God there is this little part of me that says, “I trust you Lord, but please don’t make me prove it.” That little part of me is cringing now talking about sustaining hope in the midst of deeply painful disappointment. “I know my hope can only come from you Lord, but please don’t make me walk in such darkness that your light shines all the brighter.” Does that ever happen to you? What I must remind myself is that God has never failed to show up. So, the part of me that fears the unknown of being bold in Him, is the part of me that tries to keep me isolated and stuck. It is the part of me that is wounded and selfish. The part of me not yet sanctified.

Hope is a Promise

When God makes a promise, it is a divine unequivocal truth that will come to pass: He is all-powerful (Psalm 68:34; Job 42:2), He cannot change (Malachi 3:6), and He cannot lie (Numbers 23:19), therefore whatever He promises is absolutely certain. God’s promises are ones we can truly rest in without fear or doubt. God’s promises are what we cling to in times of extended suffering that wears down the soul. Have you ever met someone that is suffering well? Maybe their spouse has a degenerative disease and they have become a caretaker instead of a partner. They so selflessly love them without one ounce of reciprocation or gratitude. Or someone that stays so positive even when their whole world has been turned on its head from a terminal diagnosis or a tragic loss? Do you envy those people or stand in awe of their character? I definitely have. Hope from the Lord is a promise.

• Isaiah 41:10 ESV Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (A promise that God is enough)
• Jeremiah 29:11 ESV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (a promise of restoration for the exiled)
• John 14:27 ESV Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (a reminder that God is trust worthy and He fulfills His promises)
• Hebrews 6:18-19 ESV So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, (A message of reassurance. Christ has “anchored” our hope of “refuge” in the very presence of God: the “inner place.”)
• Revelation 21:4 ESV He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (A promise of a time when all suffering ceases to exist)

Hope Endures

A hardened heart towards hope is one that has been repeatedly battered and bruised by hope itself. When our hope for joy, happiness, security, worth comes from our own abilities or from someone else it will be broken, or even lost. As our hope rests in the promises of the Lord it will endure regardless of circumstance or longevity of suffering.

When I was 18 years old the doctors found a tumor in my dad’s spine. This was a man that ran marathons, loved to hunt in the mountains of Colorado, engineered massive chemical plants, steel mills, and airports. A man whose presence made you feel special, seen, heard. A gifted teacher that made even the seemingly convoluted or contradictory history of the Bible accessible and approachable. To top it all off, he was a talented artist. When you hear spinal tumor, you start to wonder what will be left when they remove the tumor.

It was supposed to be a relatively benign surgery with little to no lasting effects. When the surgeon opened him up, he discovered a totally different beast. The tumor had attached itself to the spinal cord anywhere it could. It had even begun to grow outside of the cord along the Femoral Nerve. What was expected to be a four-hour surgery turned into a ten-hour surgery. My dad woke up from that surgery with no function from the hip down. Every medical professional on the case said he would never walk again. They also told him he would live in a great deal of pain for the rest of his life.

In the stillness of the nights following, all the “nevers” tumbled through his thoughts. Never hunt again, never run again, maybe never work in the field again, never live pain-free again. He struggled with hope and bitterness. Ultimately my dad yelled, pleaded, and cried out to God in that darkness. He held nothing back in his broken prayers. God showed up. My dad pulled his strength to fight for small progress from the truth of who he was in the Lord, wholly loved, worthy beyond measure of the goodness that God had for him. This new normal did not take any of that away.

After several months he learned to walk again. One leg never fully regained function but he walked for nearly ten years with only the assistance of a cane. He was able to back to work. While he would never run another marathon, he did help me in my efforts to become a runner after college. He also maintained his love for art and calligraphy. The chronic pain was very real but never stole his presence. Only my mom, and occasionally me, ever really saw the pain he was in.

Then, about ten years later, he had heart surgery which resulted in several mini-strokes. They caused the loss of his fine motor skills in his hands and completely took his ability to walk with just a cane. Another layer of suffering added to an already trying decade. Another sucker punch trying to steal his hope and joy. No more art, no more presence. Again, he struggled through dark nights of the soul and the alluring posture of bitterness. Again, he desperately clung to the hope and joy found only in the Lord. Again he used that strength to fight for small victories.

Today, he shares his love of art with my oldest daughter. They love to paint with watercolors together. A special bond for them that will grow as she grows and can master more skills. While the chronic pain coupled with labored mobility at times has affected him, he is still someone that can make you feel special and seen when you sit in a room with him. His hope is tried daily. He too must remind himself of the truths of God often, taking every thought captive. But his hope endures.

• Romans 12:12 ESV Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
• Isaiah 40:31 ESV But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
• Romans 8:24-25 ESV For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
• Psalm 31:24 ESV Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!
• Psalm 71:14 ESV But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
• Job 11:18 ESV And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security.
• Job 13:15 ESV Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.
• 1 Peter 5:10 ESV And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
• Psalm 38:15 ESV But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Hope is Eternal

Biblical hope is expectant. Waiting is an opportunity to trust God and allow Him to strengthen our character. I’m not a big fan of waiting, but it is inescapable in our lives. Although the war has been won (Revelation 12) we live in the space between. Eternal hope is knowing what awaits us after death (Revelation 21). It enables us to suffer well in the current day, where pain and suffering seem to be a constant companion. During these seasons of waiting and hoping without an end in sight, the spirit can be crushed. It is essential that we fall back on the truth of the nature and character of God and His promises. Our hope must endure and be expectant for God to fulfill those promises. The book of Revelation is written to seven churches that are experiencing unthinkable suffering, and certain death. It is a book written to instill hope and perseverance. I highly encourage anyone needing an eternal hope perspective to listen to this series done on the book of Revelation.

• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
• Lamentations 3:24 ESV “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
• Psalm 42:11 ESV Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
• Psalm 130:7 ESV O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
• Romans 5:2-5 ESV Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
• Proverbs 13:12 ESV Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
• 1 Timothy 1:1 ESV Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

Are you in a season that feels hopeless? Have you guarded your heart with low expectations, cynicism, or keeping safe distances – never being known enough to be hurt? Has the pain of prolonged suffering grown into bitterness and resentment? No matter how dark or how hopeless it feels, there is always hope waiting for you in the Lord. The grace and freedom found in Jesus is a gift that can never be earned and therefore never lost. So, whether you are a believer that has been worn down by life’s circumstances, or are a person looking around at your life asking yourself, “how did I get here?”, Jesus is patiently waiting with open arms. Draw near to Him and let others in. No one can do life in isolation.

I pray that you take heart in knowing that God never gives up on you. Also, I pray that you rest in the hope that never fails and always sustains.