HOPE, Suffering, Perseverance, Character and back to HOPE

Circle of HOPE

I recently accompanied the youth group that I’m involved in on their mission trip to a group work camp.  The theme of the week was FORGED.  Like the metalworking process, God forges us, shapes us, and transforms us through life’s journey.  Most of us spend the majority of our lives in comfortable seasons of hope.  But we all go through suffering.  All of us.  We aren’t expecting it when it happens, but it is guaranteed to be a part of life.  We learned that suffering is part of the Circle of Hope.  God gives us the gift of hope.  Whenever we face difficult times yet persevere, we will learn & grow stronger.  God promises that.

My Grandfather passed away early the day after we returned from the Mission Trip.  I’m reminded of the impact my grandparents have had on my life.  When I was a young boy, around 11 or 12 my grandparents asked me if I wanted to be saved.  I said that I did and we went into their bedroom to read scripture and they helped me pray and invite Jesus into my heart. 

The day Jesus saved me was one of the most hopeful times of my life.  I felt prepared to do or face anything.  What I didn’t realize at the time was that this circle that we learned about is real and I was not prepared for it. 

The way the week’s programs and devotions were written forced us to reflect on our journeys. 

• Sunday – HOPE
• Monday – Suffering, it’s a part of the journey
• Tuesday – Suffering produces perseverance
• Wednesday – Perseverance produces character
• Thursday – Character produces HOPE
• Friday – Forge ahead

As I thought about my time between being saved as a young boy up until 5 or 6 years ago I saw how much of my journey was spent wandering, attempting to find my way, making a lot of bad decisions, heading down the wrong path.

It seems there are different types of suffering, the kind that happens to us (losing a loved one, getting sick, etc.) and the kind that is the result of our sin and decisions we have made.

The circle I was reflecting on included much suffering as a result of my sin of addiction.  As I’ve written previously, this has been very painful.  My sin resulted in suffering for not only myself but caused suffering for my family and for my children.  It caused suffering that we all feel today and suffering that I’m sure to feel for the rest of my life.  Unfortunately, I can’t change that.

Here’s what Tish Harrison writes about suffering in her book Prayer in the Night: For those Who Work or Watch or Weep:

Suffering strips away the self.  This sounds terribly painful, and it is.  But the meaning and object of suffering isn’t pain; it is to learn to give and receive love.  God isn’t a sadist who delights in using agony to teach us a lesson.  But in the alchemy of redemption, God can take what is only sorrow and transform it into the very path by which we learn to love God and let ourselves be loved.  This is the strange (and usually unwanted) way of abundant life – the dying necessary to bring resurrection.  Scott Cairns writes, “The hard way is pretty much the only way that most of us manage to learn anything.  Affliction, suffering, and pain are – even if they are nothing else – remarkably effective.”

If I’m being completely honest, as Cairns wrote, the only way I was going to learn was the hard way.  The reality that I was possibly going to lose everything I loved is what it took to get my attention.  That’s embarrassing to admit, shameful – but it’s true.

But the beauty of the gospel and God’s love for us is that God uses all suffering to produce something in us if we let him.  Jesus is Hope and that is something I’ve been extremely blessed to have experienced. 

On the way home from the Mission Trip I heard Austin French’s song Jesus Can.  Wow!  What a great description of what I’ve experienced in recovery:        

Everybody’s got that hurt they wished that never happened.  Everybody’s got that pain they wish they could undo.  But wounds become scars & scars become stories – and when it comes to the story of you – who turns a broken dream into a life redeemed?  Who can turn your worst defeat into your victory?  Who saw me where was and led me where I stand?  My life is living proof that only Jesus can.

Jesus took my worst defeat, redeemed me and now I have victory and hope in Jesus.  He can do the same for you!  My Hope on the Mission Trip and anytime I’m given the opportunity to share my story is that it will help others to see the Hope we always have in Jesus.

Crew 17 and 18

To the crews I spent the week with on this Mission Trip.  As this was my first mission trip I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I am so thankful for each and every one of you, it was truly a blessing to spend the week with each of you.  The love you showed to me as I shared was amazing.  I miss working with you and especially miss our devotional and prayer time together.  May we always remember what we learned about Hope during our time together and I pray for God’s blessings over you and your families.

OTHER BLOG STUFF – Songs and Quotes…

HOLD ON

Song by Katy Nichole

Smoke clouds
All around
Couldn’t see Your face
Darkness consumed me
Stuck in the bitterness

But I know there’s a light
That’s waiting up ahead
So I’ll stay in the fight
And look to the One who said

Hold on just a little bit longer
I know it’s gonna be okay
These days are gonna make you stronger
You’ll find purpose in the pain
Hold on just a little bit longer
Deep down there’s a well of faith
Let hope arise as you’re lifting up My name
And just hold on
Just hold on, hold on

Your promise
It still stands
It’s chasing after me
The rainbow
Through storm clouds
Is how I’m gonna see

That there is a light
That’s waiting up ahead
So I’ll stay in the fight
And look to the One who said

Hold on just a little bit longer
I know it’s gonna be okay
These days are gonna make you stronger
You’ll find purpose in the pain
Hold on just a little bit longer
Deep down there’s a well of faith
Let hope arise as you’re lifting up My name
And just hold on
Hold on, hold on

Just wait ’til you see what’s at the end of the road
A new life is ready to unfold

Hold on just a little bit longer
I know it’s gonna be okay
These days are gonna make you stronger
You’ll find purpose in the pain
Hold on just a little bit longer
Deep down there’s a well of faith
Let hope arise as you’re lifting up My name
And just hold on
Hold on, hold on
Just hold on
Just hold on

We ought to give thanks for all fortune; if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.

C.S. LEWIS