Protect Your Hope
God’s been speaking to me about protecting my hope. I encounter hopelessness in others and
sometimes in myself. Nothing inspires
hopelessness like the conversations I end up having when people start asking
detailed questions about my son’s brain tumor.
I fight to stay hopeful. I was
talking with someone last week about it and they were asking me if it was ok to
share some of what was going on with others so that they too could be praying
for my son. As I answered I could feel
that my response was a bit foreign to them.
I said it was alright as long as you emphasize what God IS doing,
instead of just what is “wrong”. As long
as you talk equally about how courageous and amazing he is being in the
midst of this. As long as there is
“equal or more” time given to the goodness of God in the journey and the hope
that is sustaining us. I went on to
explain that Phil and I feel called to
live in hope and we’ve got to protect that.
It can become wearisome to encounter the hopelessness of others as they
view some circumstance in your life. You
have to battle to return to a place of heavenly perspective, a place of viewing
fear from the position of victory and hope.
Because our children deserve to be raised in an atmosphere of hope, I
am determined to fiercely protect the hope I carry and see it grow in the face
of fearful situations.
I want to share the connection I saw in scripture as I
pursued, in prayer, this idea of “Protecting My Hope”. Hebrews 11, the great faith chapter,
chronicles the testimonies of the “heroes of the faith”. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Moses, Rahab and
others are celebrated for their faith in response to adversity, the unknown,
danger and fear. Chapter 12 begins; “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud
of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the
sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that
is set before us, fixing our eyes of Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” It occurs to me that this “cloud of
witnesses” is not just intended for the early church….they are MY witnesses….they
are YOURS! These men and women witness
me and you in our journey of faith. They
witness our life on earth from the perspective of heaven. In the midst of the worship that surrounds
the throne of God, where Jesus is crowned “King of Kings”, they look to earth
and see YOUR faith and MINE. They cheer us on!
I think of the others that are there in my cloud of
witnesses. My paternal grandfather is there, with incredible faith and testimonies of provision and
protection. My childhood friend, Becky,
who came to know life with Jesus the summer after our 6th grade year
and died only days later is there in that crowd that witnesses my life. I think of her faith and love for Jesus, so
new and innocent. It was never tainted
with disappointment or lack. She met
Jesus face to face while still glowing in her initial introduction to His love
for her. On the other end of the
spectrum there is my friend Margaret, who died at 102 after 70+ years of loving
Jesus. I only knew her for the last few,
but her faith changed me. Don North, a
humble pastor from Oroville, CA is there smiling at me. A true HERO of the faith, he pursued God with
wild abandon and zeal and made an immeasurable mark in Phil’s and my life.
I’ve never thought before of these people who have gone
before me standing alongside David, Esther, Abraham and Moses; witnessing and
AVAILABLE to encourage my journey of faith.
I say available and this is what I mean:
I can draw strength and hope from their testimonies and encounters with God. I read the accounts in scripture or I
remember the lives of the men and women of great faith that I have known
personally, and I am compelled to worship their God! I see the reality of His power in their
lives, in the midst of desperate need and I am encouraged, my faith increases
and my hope is strengthened. Their
testimony of Jesus becomes prophesy in my life as in Revelation 19:10 . My hope begins to soar… “If God did this for them, He will do
it for ME”.
Last week, after the conversation about my son that I
referred to earlier, I was talking to God about what we are facing medically. I asked Him what He had to say
about a brain tumor. That’s another
story, but as I began to pour out my heart about how it feels to face this I
began to hear my words come back to me about protecting the hope inside of
me. I asked the Holy Spirit; “well how
do YOU help me protect my hope?” and He took me to 2Kings 6. Phil preached on this passage recently so it
was fresh in my mind. In my spirit I
heard the words of verse 16; “Do not fear, for
those who are with us are more than those who are with them..” The king of
Aram, weary of Elisha’s prophetic gift and how it had thwarted his war against
Israel, has planned to capture Elisha and surrounded his city at night with an
army, horses and chariots. When Elisha’s
servant sees the vast army surrounding them his response is fear. Elisha speaks the words above to him and them
prays; “O LORD, I
pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servants’
eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire all around Elisha.” (v.17) I
prayed this prayer for me, open my eyes to see those that are for me in this
battle. It was then that I saw Hebrews
11 in a personal way and saw that surrounding me and my battle for hope was
this army of faithful ones, men and women of hope. I realized that as fear, the unknown, the
look of fear or pity in the eyes of others, and the hopelessness of others
comes against my hope there is an army waiting on the hills….and those who are for me are MORE and GREATER than those who
are against me.
I pictured the enemy of fear and the suggestion that our
situation will become hopeless and then I shouted at it; “look at them!” “Look at the great cloud of witnesses that
surround me!” I do not have to answer to
fear or the suggestion of hopelessness.
I can turn and look into the faces of those that look at Jesus! I’ll respond to the testimonies I know of God’s
power, provision, healing, and victory.
I think of the wealth of hope stored up in that great cloud of
witnesses. Their hope is for me; God
stations them around me in my battles and protects me as I face the fear that
today brings me.
Asking to have my eyes opened to see them is one way I’m
learning to protect my hope!
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