Hurt and Hope

 

Scripture

Psalm 91:14-16

¹⁴ Those who love me, I will deliver;
    I will protect those who know my name.
¹⁵ When they call to me, I will answer them;
    I will be with them in trouble,
    I will rescue them and honor them.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy them,
    and show them my salvation.    (NRSV)

 

Devotion

Hope.  We laud it.  We encourage people to hold onto it   But what is it?  Why do we need it?  What do we do with it?

People often think of "hope" as a noun, but it is also a verb.  Webster's Dictionary defines it as "to cherish a desire with anticipation; to want something to happen or be true."  Oxford Learner's Dictionary adds to this definition by saying that when we hope, we think that the thing we want to happen is possible.   Behind both of these definitions is that things are not all right...or at least that things can and should be better than what they are.  We hope because we deeply desire for something to change...and we trust that it can.

 When I think of people who understood the power of hope, my mind travels to the psalmists and prophets of old.  These people wrote about of all that God would do and all the not because life was always sunshine and roses...but because it was so very hard.  In the words of the singing duo the Bengsons, "hopes comes from the place where the hurt comes."  And the people who wrote our scriptures weren't just hurting; they and their entire people were often often teetering on the brink of annihilation.  They needed deliverance.  And they trusted that no matter how bleak things may get, God would provide it.  

Hoping that God would rescue the people from what ailed them did not excuse the psalmists and prophets from taking action.  If anything, it motivated them to do their part in making what they desired to happen into a reality.  For some, this meant calling kings and other powerful people to repent of their evil ways.  Others taught the people how to hold true to God's word and survive as a people during time like the Babylonian.   Still others led the people into battle....or organized building efforts...or did a thousand other things aimed at living into their fervent hope that God will both rescue them and show them God's salvation.  

I think we can agree that there is a lot of hurt and anxiety in the world today.  War, famine, pestilence, and death are all very present in our lives.  Our landscapes, bodies, relationships, and spirits have been poisoned by the "toxins" we have allowed ourselves and others to spew.   There are times when it all looks so very bleak.   But even amidst all that is so very wrong, I take heart in knowing that hope comes from the very places that are hurting.  If we can just admit that this is not the way things are supposed to be--if we can tell God that we are not all right, envision a better existence, and then actively hope with all our might--then our Savior will rescue humanity from the painful mess we've made of things.  The day of salvation will arrive.

So how do we hope today?  Presbyterian Disaster Assistance always lifts up three ways people around the world can bring hope out of chaos:

•  We can GIVE to organizations working to rescue people from the bonds of both natural and human-made suffering.  
• We can ACT by volunteering, contacting those in a position to change things, publicly speaking out, etc.  Finally
• We can PRAY for the Spirit to move among us and save God's people from whatever ails us. 
  

My prayer for all of us today is that when the weight of the world's woes and our human sinfulness makes us feel heavy-laden, we can keep hoping...just like the psalmists and prophets before us.  May we live into that hope in ways that help soothe the world's pain....just as Jesus taught us.  And through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us, may we never forget that however deep the pain may be or how precariously we may totter on brink of annihilation--the God who knows us all by name will be with us in our time of trouble.  

Friends, the hurt is real, but so is God's merciful love.  God has promised to rescue us.  And as people who actively hope in God in God's promises, we know that we will see salvation.

 

Prayer

 Jesus, we are not alright, but we know that you will get us through this chaotic night.  Give us the strength, wisdom, compassion and endurance to help each other in your name.  And may our joint hope shine in the darkness as we await the dawning of your promised salvation.