If faith is the foundation of our hope, then what is the outworking of this hope?
Lola and I have been in Portland for a little over 6 months now, and I have a confession to make: I’m finding it rather difficult to maintain high hopes. Don’t misunderstand me; we are doing well enough. We have a warm [and tiny] home to come to every day, jobs that keep us afloat, and cats to snuggle with (most crucially). By all functional measures, we made it, and life could continue at this pace until we retire or die. American success.
But most days, I would rather fight a cougar than work at a job that will never amount to anything, it seems. Portland can feel like this inescapable sprawl, especially being centrally located; sometimes [most of the time], I just want to be in a forest with no one around. Both of us are really struggling with being so far away from friends and family.
Happy Holidays then can feel a bit of a misnomer when you’re feeling decidedly unhappy.
Once again, the Scriptures turn out to be a close friend. The Old Testament is packed with moments of sadness, depression, and dissatisfaction with the world. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes essentially fights back against the authors of the Proverbs, saying that this life is hevel, a vapor that vanishes. Some might even say meaningless. There’s an entire book dedicated to sorrow - Lamentations. It’s okay; I know you’re busy and haven’t gotten the chance to read it this year. If you want a bit of seemingly heretical catharsis, Psalm 88 is, in Lola’s words, a banger.
Lord, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.
I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend. - Psalms 88 (the whole thing - good job!)
The TL;DR version of that is “my life is terrible, and God, it’s your fault.”
Life is harsh most of the time for most of humanity. We live in an age with the common blessing of antibiotics and proper hygiene that have allowed us to escape many pains of the past. We live in the richest, most powerful country in the history of the world. But trials and suffering will still find us. And that makes smiling hard. It makes getting through the day a struggle.
But God…
Reaching into our story, revealed himself so that we may have joy.
...“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” - Luke 2:10
Joy is a strange thing. Many things can bring us joy. A day of rest, an awesome vacation, a promotion at work, or even a glass of wine, according to the Bible (Psalms 104). Party animals, rejoice. But a lot of times, the negative can outweigh the positive, so joy can be something hard to muster up.
The solution to this, if one could call it that, doesn’t rest in the special Greek or Hebrew words for joy. There are plenty, and they are each special, absolutely worth looking into. But what’s important is not necessarily what joy means rather where it comes from.
Paul tells Philemon that their friendship have given him joy.
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. - Philemon 1:7
James thinks that trials and hardships can bring joy.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. - James 1:2-3
Peter describes trust in Jesus, who most people never got to meet, as great joy!
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. - 1 Peter 1:8-9
Sojourner, you church family can bring you joy in the middle of crisis. In those trials, you can count it as joy that you will come out closer to God than before. Above all, you can be joyful in the reality that Christ dwelt among up, revealing our God to us in the greatest display of love ever known. That is where you will find joy.
Life is still hard. I (Nate) find it hard to be joyful at the moment. And I’m not saying that there isn’t room for sadness and mourning. Cry when it hurts. Be angry at injustice. It’s even okay to be confused by it all. But find joy in Christ. Grab on, and even if everything burns down, don’t let go.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13
