Hope for the the Future by Remembering the Past
When you're faced with your new struggle-problem-crisis of the week, what's the first thing that runs through your mind? Where can I find some chocolate? How fast can I book a flight to Cabo? Why do these things always happen to me? We all have our go-to tapes we hit "play" when we're interrupted with the inevitable issues of life.We talked about this at our home bible study group this past Thursday night. We were reading the book of Ruth in the Old Testament, where Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, were left penniless after both their husbands died. In that culture, a woman with no husband or family to provide for her was in a precarious situation. Naomi felt like God's hand was against her and changed her name to "Mara," meaning bitter, because of the hopelessness of her heart.
What do we do when life seems hopeless, or at the very least, difficult?
When life is not awesome, I try to remember two things:
- A biblical story that mirrors my own situation, and remember what God did to help.
- A time in my own past where God rescued me (or a family member).
God's word is full of stories of real people who faced real problems that are real similar to ours.
The Bible is a constant source of hope to me that God is involved in my life and has solutions that are infinitely more creative than anything I could dream up. In the story of Ruth, a distant family member of Naomi's named Boaz comes to their rescue, marries Ruth, takes Naomi in, and redeems their hopeless situation. Boaz and Ruth have a baby who eventually becomes the grandfather of King David, and they live happily ever after.Like Naomi, when I'm in a crisis, too often I can just look at my circumstances and get bitter. Because I can't see how it will work out, I can doubt God. And if I get stuck there, I miss the story of redemption He's writing.In the picture above, taken in the same year that John F. Kennedy took office, are five of six kids. (The last, my brother Jeff, arrived a year later.) As siblings raised by a mother who loved Jesus, we all have stories of challenges, rescues from death, and blessings that I often refer back to as evidence of God's faithfulness. Susan, the oldest who is looking down at me in the picture, has a story of God's mercies in illness even as He led her home to heaven after battling breast cancer. She was the first to see Jesus face-to-face, and I know she looks down on me even today.Bill and I have amassed volumes of our own stories of God's faithfulness in crises. (I'll make a plug for journaling here--it's one of the best ways to remember the details of your history!) And when a new crisis presents itself, all I need to do is remember. Remember God's faithfulness in the past. It gives me hope for the future.What about you? What situation are you in now, where remembering God's help in your past, (or someone else's past), would renew your hope?"Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done." 1 Chronicles 16:12