A Word on Hope

You are in the middle now.  You are where the conflict is.  This is not an easy time; it's a time that is designed to rip away what you do not need.  But remember that conflict is written into a story in order that resolution would come.  This is hope.

Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthian church that our earthly house is being destroyed and a new house is being made for us in the heavens.  We are constantly being given over to death so that life can be seen in the stories we live out.  The more we are crushed, the more provision from God we receive.  Christians are most faithful in death because it pushes us toward the reality of what we hope for.

This is why Jesus told His followers to pray for the ones who crush, and love those who destroy.  In their attempts to harm, they only end up bringing more life.  Jesus proved this in the most literal way possible.

If you are in the middle, know that it is designed to bring you closer to where God is.  You will find that clinging to what God is taking away only brings more pain.  Hope suggests that running forward despite the blindness of unknowing will lead you to the home God has had for you all along.

(2nd Corinthians 4:7 - 5:10)