After The Work

Hope can seem like a soft concept but is evidence of our faith. Hebrews 11 says “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We are taught by society to go and make our own fortune, carve out our own way, make our own destiny. To be fair, there is much truth to this in so far as we allow that God allows us to do and get what we work for. We think we put ourselves into situations and moments where we can change, grow or profit but will those times come? What we really do is ready ourselves for that moment. What we chose then falls upon us as our choice, for good of for bad. God is more like the weaver of the tapestry, placing us in the right place and time, whether we follow the pattern of the Gospel is our choice.

So we prepare, we learn, we pray, and we wait. We hope, not for a handout but for the opportunity and the moment to move forward. We read what God promises us and take on faith that God will provide what he offers in the scriptures. It is when we look around and compare do we feel the shakiness in our hope. The wicked prosper, we see what we do not have, our doubts creep in as our gaze turns from the Christ to the crisis. Like Peter when he saw the wind and the waves, he began to sink into the waters. We too sink in the waters. “What if’s” creep in and we can get discouraged.

Many of us are not good with patience. We have been taught to always be working, always getting results. I followed this philosophy without even realizing it. The harder I worked in the ministry, the less I looked to Jesus. Things could look great on the outside, but on the inside we are drowning in the waters. Christianity turns to dogma and religion when we are putting in our work to get results like growth, profit, and blessing. We forget who is the blesser, who allows us to have the opportunities we have. Are we ready to grasp a hold of God’s plan for us in the day if we are so discouraged by our surroundings. We are like ants on a log in a river. All we see is the waters around us and move about the log as if we are steering it. The reality is that our job is to go for the ride and be ready to move when it is time.

What are we to do when we wait on the Lord? Love the ones in front of us. The sad reality of our world is that it is so easy to focus upon busyness and not getting busy loving those next to us. Careers force children and spouses to the side, and when disappointment or disillusionment come, we can fall into despair and all the pratfalls of escapism our world offers. We are given opportunities to love our families, are we ready to do so when the moment comes? Or will we say “Later” or “They will understand”. They won’t and the only one to blame is ourselves. Parenting in particular is a calling where we pour into them, and when kids have to do their own parenting or even parent the parent, resentment and codependency is the result.

We hope on the Lord, but often our hopes are self centered. What will God give me, or show me, or lead me. Are we asking because we want to serve him? How about to help others? Or are we asking to we can have more and more? We even start asking for things we are not ready for because we are not focused upon Christ, but the crisis. Life is serious business, and the stakes are high. We may think we have time, or that we are hoping for God’s plan, but all the while be self centered in our motives. Are we hoping in Christ because we serve him or because we want something. It is a suptle inward shift, difficult to see because outwardly we are saying the same things like “I am blessed” or “I trust in the Lord with all my heart”. Why are you trusting God? To bless you or to serve him.

The difficult reality is that God will bless us, but our focus ought to be on his will for our lives each day. We will get what we need when we need it. It is on us if our expectations are out of sorts and we place selfish expectations upon God. Then our “hope” isn’t really what God is going to do, but what we want him to do. Eventually we desire the things God does, but our hearts must be upon Christ and his Gospel. Surrender, confession, and service are our Christ like callings. Remember that our Father in heaven delights in us in Christ, so in seeking Jesus we will be blessed with the innocent desires of our hearts that line up with God’s plan.

If we look in our lives honestly, we can find lists of things to be grateful for. Where has God blessed you? When we compare our cups with others we lose focus on Jesus and our hope turns to desire. Out of desire we find ourselves chasing after selfish things and will eventually resort to selfish means to do so. A successful career in the ministry is a noble goal, but what if we don’t understand why we want that? What drives us? It is possible we desire God’s kingdom to come, but what of proving ourselves to people in our past? Comparing ourselves to relatives and their successes? Feeling terrible inside if we fail? So much extra energy can build up, emotions we do not understand. When we crash, we crash hard because we are doing “God’s work”–but are we letting God work in us? Surrender, confession, then services. If we don’t understand ourselves, we won’t see what’s important around us because we are living to please the ghosts in our lives.

Hope then does not disappoint if it is in what God does and gives, not what we expect. We may be able to make great change in the world, in so far as God allows it. It is a great mystery how it all falls into place, much like the ant doesn’t understand their predicament on the log. He just knows build the colony and to be ready to move off when the shore is found. It takes surrender to let go of our selfish or broken motives. It takes confession with another to bring us to understanding. Then we are inspired to serve, to love as we are loved. Today are we ready to love the person in front of us for Jesus, or will we look past them into our own delusion?