There are many people in this world that have no hope. And the first reason that they have no hope is that they have no one to turn to for help. In this society that encourages individualism and a do-it-yourself attitude, so many people have stopped relying on others. Did you know that sometimes just telling someone about your troubles is helpful? When you keep things to yourself, it can eat at you and frustrate you more. We have been created to be in relationship with others; and that includes sharing our troubles with each other.
A second reason why many people have no hope, is that they have no one who is capable of doing anything about the troubles in their life. I know that there are many times in my life that people come to me and share their struggles. I hear what they have to say, and I struggle with them. But I know that I can’t physically do anything to ease their pain. I cry out to God: “O God, what am I to do for this person? We need to be reminded that we can’t always do it on our own, or we can’t always help each other, but we have a God who can help us in ways we might never understand. There is hope in knowing that we have a God of strength available to us.
A third reason people feel like thay have no hope is they don't have anyone who is there for them. We need to practice the ministry of presence. What is the ministry of presence? It is just being present for someone in a time of need. Maybe you hear that somebody is in the hospital. You can’t make them better. There are probably no words you could say that would make it better. But you choose to go and be with them anyway. You know what? That is the ministry of presence, and is probably the best thing you could do for them.
Hope will come to us when we open up our hearts to God and cry out to God. Hope will come to us when we believe that God is always with us. Hope will come to us when we let God’s face daily shine on us. Hope will come to us when we understand that the discipline of God is there to restore us and bring us back into a right relationship with God. During this season of Advent my prayer is that we would have a strong sense of hope because we have a solid understanding of who God is in our lives, and share this hope with someone else. Tell me what you think. (pastorchrislogan@yahoo.com)
