The hope that has a name

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I’ve never felt more of a need to send words of encouragement than right now, and I don’t want these words to be empty.

I desperately believe we need to remind ourselves of the hope that we can root our entire lives on, and that hope has a name: Jesus. Jesus as the answer to our suffering, our joy, our frustrations, our problems, our [fill in the blank] isn’t just a nice platitude or some wishful thinking.

The fact that Jesus was raised from the dead, didn’t stay in that tomb, and ascended to God the Father in heaven, where He now sits, gives us incredible hope that no matter what happens in this life, it does not get the final say. This life is not our final destination: heaven is.

I feel a particular kind of weight to communicate this hope once again to you. Whatever you’re facing right now, whether you feel like it’s big or small, it does not get the final say.

There’s a reason why it’s repeated over and over in the New Testament from the Apostles’ teaching to not give up; endure to the end; remain steadfast with firmness of heart (Galatians 6:9, Hebrews 10:35-36, James 1:12, Hebrews 12:2-4, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Romans 8:25, Acts 11:22-24, 13:43; 14:22, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 3:8, 1 Timothy 3:9, 1 Corinthians 15:58, to name a few). Particularly that last one in 1 Corinthians: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

It can be overwhelming to feel everything that is going on right now and often think, “I have to do something more. What I’m doing isn’t enough. What I’m doing isn’t changing anything.”

Can I tell you that it is? Just by not giving up, loving, by keeping a tender heart, by being generous to the people in your life, by continuing to seek the Lord, that is making a difference.

I remember when there was a police shooting in Dallas years ago and the natural desire was to turn inward, to forget everyone else, and to just focus on my family and loved ones.

My dad told us, now is not the time to stop loving, but loving louder. Being even more self-giving, even more generous with our time, talent, and gifts, even more dependent on the Lord for everything, even more hopeful that this tragedy does not get the last say, even more committed to our prayer time with the Lord, to allowing the Lord to mold and change our hearts.

Now is not the time to shy and shrink away but to be bold in our life and especially in our love.

In Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord says, “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural ones.” I like to imagine that the whole of Christian living is allowing the Lord to gently chisel away the stony parts of hearts: the places that are closed off to the world, to God, those places where we don’t want to change or people we don’t want to love.

The purpose of Christian living is not behavior modification where we are just made into nice people, but a heart transplant where the Lord wants to give us natural hearts… His very heart.

So no matter what you’re going through right now, the Lord isn’t done. God’s promised Holy Spirit is still with you.

So go forth bravely, holding tight to the confession of your hope that Jesus is alive and lives in you!! Continue to run your race.

“We boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5