Hope

When Your Pain Becomes Fuel for your Fire

Blog_FireHave you ever been through something so painful it was hard to believe anything good could come of it? It felt like the fury of hell was unleashed against you—the forces of evil at war with your soul. Everywhere you turned, you faced a weapon built to destroy your faith.

God’s Word speaks of a time when His people will take the weapons once used against them and use them for fuel: “Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel” (Ezekiel 39:9-10).

There is no trial so great that God can’t turn it around and use it for good. When seasons turn, you will see the greater purpose for all that you’ve lost. God will enable you, by His grace, to use every weapon once used against you as fuel for your fire.

I’ve heard stories of those who’ve gone through unimaginably dark circumstances, yet their trials birthed in them a passion for something beyond themselves. They chose to take their impossibly difficult circumstance and use it to bring hope and healing. In the midst of their ashes, they found strength and beauty.

Though she had endured the loss of hearing and sight, Helen Keller was able to say, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” Though she could not see, she had vision for how her lifelong struggle would be used to bring hope and change to her generation and beyond.

My prayer is that you will find the purpose for your pain. May the Lord open your eyes to see the good that can come from your trial, and enable you to bring hope and healing from the ashes of your suffering. For every weapon forged to destroy your faith, may your faith increase—and may those weapons become fuel that sustains you and brings light to others walking through the dark seasons of life.

Strengthened by Struggle

Blog_ButterflyChrysalisSo it looks like my butterflies-to-be will be coming home with me for Spring Break. Though I was hoping my students would be here to witness metamorphosis, the timing just didn’t work out. But the coming transformation is something I definitely do NOT want to miss. How sad if it were to happen in an empty classroom, for no one to see.

Unfortunately, that’s how most ordinary miracles are, happening every day, all around us—yet we fail to see. But that’s another blog post.

What I’m thinking about now is…struggle. The other morning, my co-worker gave me some pointers on caring for newly hatched butterflies that turned out to be profound wisdom. When they emerge, the butterflies will struggle. I’ll want to help them, of course, but helping them would hinder a necessary process. Because it’s through the struggle that they gain strength.

How reflective of life, these butterflies. We struggle, fight, and flail—all the while praying to get out of the trial we’re in. If only we lived free of struggle, we’d be strong…or so we believe.

Yet it’s in the midst of struggle that we become strong. The burdens we bear seem to weigh us down, when in fact they’re building us up. Soon, our wings will be strong to fly, if only we endure.

Though it’s hard, I’m learning a new prayer—not that God will take the trial from me (unless He wants to!), but that God will make me stronger through the trial. As Jesus prayed in the garden, so I pray, “My father! If it is possible, may this cup of suffering be taken from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Still We Have the Cross

Blog_CrossHillWhen the ground beneath us shakes
And all we have is swept away
Still, we have the cross

When the oceans roar
And what was once is no more
Still, we have the cross

 

When the earth trembles, and the mountains fall
And there is nothing left to call our own
Still, we have the cross

When the fires rage
And consume our faith
Still, we have the cross

When the wind destroys
What was once our joy
Still, we have the cross

When the womb is empty
And the heart is cold
And it seems the promises once told
Are lost
Still, we have the cross

Still, we have the cross
Still, we have the cross
All once gained is counted loss
But still, we have the cross

Still, we have the cross
Still, we have the cross
It’s possible to hope again
For still, we have the cross

Let the empty womb meet the empty tomb
Reap the joy of the cross

Victory in the Field of Broken Dreams

It’s fascinating to watch the most stoic of sports fans erupt in various displays of emotion over their favorite team’s plays. Forget the game—I’d rather grab some popcorn and watch that typically passive guy become a drama king when the ref makes a bad call. The spectacle is far greater than the most exciting of sports competitions. And when the team wins? You’d think nothing could surpass the exhibition of sheer elation. And that’s for the pre-season games. Just wait until the play-offs.

So, the underdog team overcomes the odds and wins the big game. What next? There will always be another game, another season, another chance to win or lose. And believe me, emotions will be spent on those wins and losses.

What about the daily game of life? Emotions aren’t so readily displayed for the wins and losses encountered on a daily basis. If we’re honest about the latest news headlines, we see a lot of defeat. It can get pretty discouraging. Super Bowls come and go with different teams taking the ring, but still there’s news of unprecedented human trafficking centered around the event. The Final Four makes another round, yet would-be fans refuse to travel certain states due to bias and fear. Another team will take the NBA Championship this year, and still nothing can dispel the wars and rumors of war around the world.

I was around for the Chicago Bulls three-peat and four-peat and so on, yet in the years to pass witnessed different teams come and go. In sports, no victory is lasting. In life, the forecast seems increasingly grim. The world is a field of broken dreams.

What has the power to overcome the evil, fear, and hatred in this world? Martin Luther King Jr. once so eloquently stated, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Love alone has the last word, the final victory. As we celebrate Good Friday, we think of the words of the man who died on the cross for the sins of the world: “Father, forgive them—for they know not what they do.” Words of forgiveness. Words of healing. Words of love.

Words of victory.

Yes, this world is filled with unimaginable suffering. Most often, this suffering stems from the hardened hearts of men unwilling or unable to love. Yet in the midst of such suffering, consider these words of Helen Keller, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” And what is the one, lasting victory in this world of hate? LOVE.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Source: Victory in the Field of Broken Dreams

Glimpses of Spring

Blog_FlowersInSnowIf you live in the Midwest, it’s not a good idea to pack away your thermals for the summer or to box up your t-shirts for the winter. Weather-wise, you never know what you’ll get out here. You could be wearing flip-flops in February and long johns in July. It wasn’t long ago that Snowmageddon hit and we were snowed in for a good chunk of winter. This year, it seems everyone’s been outside jogging in their shorts since the end of January.

In my perfect world, winter would last from Thanksgiving to a few days after New Years. We’d have five months of spring, a few weeks of summer, and five months of fall. It’s not that I don’t like winter or summer, just not the extreme temperatures that come with them.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in my perfect world. Winter typically comes a little too early and stays way too late. Summer gets impatient and takes over before spring has a chance to say goodbye. And fall’s colors never stick around long enough. But, like I said, there are always surprises.

This has been a winter of surprises, with a relatively mild January, and February racking in a record number of above average temperatures. Still, we all know it’s not over yet. Though in a few short weeks the calendar will tell us it’s officially spring, we can’t get too confident. Winter might decide it’s hungry for a few flowers.

Despite the inconsistencies of Midwestern weather systems, I refuse to complain. Spring has fought a good fight already, breaking through into winter…giving glimpses of things to come.

Life has it’s own seasons. Too often we linger in frigid cold. Yet in the midst, God intervenes, bringing glimpses of spring as a reminder that winter will come to an end. Spring is like hope. It’s heaven breaking through, reminding us that there is a glory that far outweighs our light and momentary trials here on this earth.

Life and Loss

EternalEncounter_LostAndFound_Large

There is always another side to our pain.  There is always a place where we will break through the clouds and see the sun—if only we will lift up our eyes.  There will always be a time when we come out the other side of our dark tunnel and find it was leading us somewhere far greater than we ever imagined. #ThereIsHope

Where There’s Life

theAverageJen_NoLostCause

Hope will always prevail over doubt. Light will always prevail over darkness.

Life will always prevail over death.

#thereisalwayshope