Tag: hope

Encourage One Another (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain. (New International Version)

If life were always a bowl of cherries, we would not continually need to be encouraged. But, as you well know, we all need encouragement in order to keep going, be patient, and persevere through the hard slogs of this life.

The Apostle Paul, although sometimes coming across as a driven Type A sort of personality in Scripture, was nonetheless sensitive and attentive to the spiritual and emotional needs of the churches in his care. And because of that concern, he sent his young protégé, Timothy, to encourage the believers in Thessalonica and support them in their efforts to live a faithful life.

Encouragement is a vital practice for all people; it isn’t optional. To need encouragement is not a sign of weakness, any more than needing food is. Ideally, encouragement happens daily, just as much as we need three square meals a day. (Hebrews 3:12-14)

The church is to be a community of mutual support for one another. The world can be a tough, unfriendly, and lonely place. It’s easy to get hurt.

The word “encourage” is a beautiful word (Greek: παρακαλέω and English transliteration: parakaleo). It is actually two words smashed together (compound word) to communicate a wonderful truth. “Para” means to come alongside. It’s a word found in many of our English words (i.e., parachute, paramedic, etc.). The other half of the word, kaleo, means “to call out,” that is, to exhort someone to do something. 

When we put those two words together, parakaleo means to exhort someone to do something by coming alongside them and helping them to do it. Therefore, we do the dual work of saying helpful words and backing it up with helpful actions.

We are to do the patient work of building up and strengthening the faith of each other. Not everything goes according to plan in life; there are unforeseen delays and issues and problems which causes us to find creative work arounds. At other times, we just have to submit to the wait and not become upset or discouraged about it.

When it comes to faith, we are not to give up when things don’t go as we think they should, or as planned. In stressful situations, we must avoid tearing down one another. And we are not to look at other people as objects to be “fixed” when they don’t perform, or do, or say, what we want them to. 

Everyone needs a continual stream of encouragement to keep going so that we do not lose heart or lose hope. If we are in the habit of only pointing out things to others we don’t like, or consistently feel the need to correct people, then we really must say at least five encouraging things for every single complaint. 

“Do you see how everywhere Paul puts the health of the community into the hands of each individual?  Encourage one another and build each other up. Do not then cast all of the burden on your teachers, and do not cast everything on those who have authority over you. You are able to edify one another…. If you are willing, you will have more success with one another than we (pastors) can have. You have been with one another a longer time and know more about one another’s affairs. You are not ignorant of one another’s failings and have more freedom of speech, love, and intimacy. You have more ability than we do to reprove and exhort. I am only one person. You are many. You will be able to be teachers to one another.”

Saint John Chrysostom, 4th century Bishop of Constantinople

We encourage and edify one another with Christ – who is both our example and our substitute. Jesus is our example of leaving the comfort of heaven and coming alongside us in our human condition; he lived the holy life we could not live, and so, is our substitute. 

Jesus came alongside us and taught us how to live by showing the way of love and taking care of the sin issue once for all. After rising from the dead and ascending to heaven, we now have the hope that Christ will return.  Then we will no longer have to deal with the world, the flesh, and the devil dogging us at every turn, seeking to discourage us. 

The three indispensable elements of the Christian life are faith, hope, and love. We need all three in order to be encouraged and strengthened in faith.

For faith to be strong, it needs exercise through continual repetitions of handling hard and challenging circumstances.   

For hope to flourish, we need the confident expectation that God will make good on all divine promises.

For love to abound, it needs to become the very air we breathe. Love is to be so common and routine for us that we put it on every day just as we put on our clothes. We love one another by encouraging each other through meeting needs. We love each other enough to say what needs to be said, and back it up with help so that they will not become discouraged but will persevere and keep going.

The Holy Spirit of God is referred to by Jesus as the Paraclete – the noun form of the word for encouragement.  The Spirit is the one who comes alongside us and teaches us all things by helping us. The Spirit’s work is to sanctify us and make us holy. 

God does not shout commands from heaven; the Lord comes alongside us by means of the Spirit to help us live the Christian life. And that is how believers are to function – pointing one another to Christ, exhorting and helping and edifying each other until the Lord Jesus comes again. 

Almighty God, by your Word you laid the foundations of the earth, set the boundaries of the sea, and still the wind and waves. Surround us with your grace and peace, and preserve us through all the vicissitudes of this life. By your Spirit, lift up those who have fallen, strengthen those who work to rescue or rebuild, and fill us with the hope of your new creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From Infertility to Laughter (Genesis 21:1-7)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The Lord was attentive to Sarah just as he had said, and the Lord carried out just what he had promised her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham when he was old, at the very time God had told him. Abraham named his son—the one Sarah bore him—Isaac. Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old just as God had commanded him. Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. Sarah said, “God has given me laughter. Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” She said, “Who could have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse sons? But now I’ve given birth to a son when he was old!” (Common English Bible)

Abram and Sarai had settled into an uncomfortable comfortableness. They lived in Ur of the Chaldees, childless and past child bearing years. I’m sure they expected to live out the rest of their days in the land they had grown up in.

But then, God shook up things. The Lord comes along and calls the two of them to leave their familiar country and go to a new land. Along with the calling came a promise of making them the progenitors of a great nation. And the heir would come from their own biological bodies.

It did not all happen at once. And there were lots of questions. Each time Abraham brought up the issue, God simply restated the promise (Genesis 13:16, 15:2-5, 17:5-6). Abraham and Sarah were (understandably) at some points impatient and took matters into their own hands – which is how we get Ishmael, a son from Sarah’s servant Hagar (Genesis 16).

After Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, God informed Abraham that his heir will be born from Sarah – which (again understandably) evoked laughter. It was downright far-fetched to imagine a 100-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman giving birth to a baby.

It turns out that infertility, even with an old woman, can be surmounted by God. So, anyone settling into an uncomfortable comfortableness may need to switch to a comfortable uncomfortableness of knowing that nothing is impossible with God – which is, of course, what the angel said to a young Mary about becoming pregnant without having been with a man. (Luke 1:26-38)

Plenty of couples today struggle to conceive – even with the availability of infertility treatments and assistive reproductive technologies. And some families still walk away without a child, and instead come away with thousands of dollars of debt. 

I am heartened that Abraham kept bringing up Sarah’s infertility issue to God. And the Lord was never silent about it, but remained adamant that the divine promise would come from the two of them together.

Individual Christians and churches tend to shy away from conversations about infertility. Yet, it’s something for which many people need spiritual and emotional support. Fertile couples may feel awkward talking to infertile couples, but it is very much needed. God didn’t remain silent, so let’s not keep quiet either.

It’s okay to talk about the struggles of infertility. Sometimes we need to name it as an experience of suffering seen and known by God. Many couples need to experience the presence of God and know God is with them in their struggle. For, indeed, God cares about the feelings of women experiencing infertility.

For many families with children, they have the luxury of discussing infertility as a theological issue. And they may offer easy solutions of prayer, or to simply ask for a miracle (as if the barren woman hadn’t already done that a thousand times). Yet, for females longing to carry a child full term, this is a very real problem which involves the whole person – and not only cerebral arguments.

It’s important that the stories and experiences of those who live with the pain and disappointment of infertility are heard by us, and what’s more, honored and lifted up. Women experiencing infertility need our support, and not our silence.

The Lord was attentive to Sarah. We can be attentive to the Sarah’s around us. The following are some ways we can do just that:

1. Validate their feelings

Many women with infertility do not share their struggles with family or friends. This secrecy may lead to feelings of depression, anxiety or low self-worth.  Asking open-ended questions like, “How can I best support you?” or, “What can I do for you during this time?” shows that you want to understand their situation and are willing to have helpful dialogue.

2. Ask, don’t assume

Constantly trying to figure out if someone is pregnant can be upsetting for a person with infertility. Just give them grace and space to talk. If you want to know something, ask. But never try to pull information out of another person.

3. Don’t minimize their situation

Statements such as, “It will happen soon enough” minimize the pain and sorrow a couple may be experiencing. And being overly positive about a situation does not help. Acknowledging the uncertainty is more helpful than giving a false sense of hope.

4. Don’t compare

Every person’s journey with infertility is different. Comparing someone’s situation with someone else’s can create stress and make them feel as if they’re doing something wrong.

Avoid statements such as: 

  • “I know a friend who…”
  • “Have you tried…”
  • “Maybe you should just…”
  • “Relax. All that stress is causing your infertility.”
  • “Why don’t you just adopt?”

5. Be thoughtful

If you have kids of your own, don’t complain. Things like lack of sleep from caring for a newborn can be painful reminders of what your infertile friend has not been able to have. Yet, that doesn’t mean avoiding your own situation. Be honest and real, but be thoughtful and sensitive. Let another be part of your life, while at the same time, asking about theirs.

6. Be involved

People don’t like to be excluded from knowing details about your experience with kids and want to be invited to important occasions. Let them decide what they want and can do.

If we learn to cry with others in their wondering and discouragement, we will be able to laugh with them when joy abounds. Just ask Sarah.

God of Life,
You fill what is empty,
You make abundant what is scarce,
You bring to bloom what is barren.

We ask your presence and care for all those who seek to be parents. Bless them with the conception, healthy delivery and joyful rearing of children made in your image and likeness. Dwell with them and console them as they wait for the gifts given in your good time.

With Sarah and Abraham, we are bold to pray. Amen.  

A Word of Faith (Genesis 15:1-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.
    I am your shield,
    your very great reward.”

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut them in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, (New International Version)

Abrahamic Covenant II, by Wayne Forte, 2007

A Word about Abram and Sarai

We meet Abram and Sarai (later to be known as Abraham and Sarah) as a non-descript couple from a place called Ur of the Chaldees, a few chapters earlier in the opening biblical book of Genesis. It’s noted that Sarai is barren, or childless. (Genesis 11:30)

The Lord decided to choose a people for God’s own name, a singular people to become a kingdom of priest and a holy nation. The idea was that God would bless all the other nations through this one nation.

So, in what becomes something of a divine pattern, God chooses a most unlikely couple (old and childless) to become father and mother of this new nation to bless all other nations on earth. The Lord called them from their country of origin to leave and go to a new place. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Lo and behold, Abram and Sarai did just that. They left all they ever knew and journeyed to the new land, believing the promise of God, even though it didn’t make much sense. And there, they waited for a child, who would become the first of their many descendants, the child of promise.

And they waited. Time passed. They made a few sojourns into Egypt and back. But still no child. More time went by. Abram and Sarai were old when they came to the new land. Now, they’re really old! And still, no child. Then, finally, the Lord broke the silence.

The Word of the Lord

God’s initial words after all this time were, “Don’t be afraid.” We discover that anytime we hear that phrase spoken by the Lord, something good is about to happen. In fact, it’s great news.

But Abram seems discouraged, even with a fresh heart-to-heart with God. He and Sarai are still without a child. Instead of joy over God’s speech, Abram laments the ache of childlessness. Even though, by this time, Abram was wealthy, prosperous, and of good reputation, he feels the sting of a promise yet unfulfilled. God has still not granted him progeny for blessing the world.

A Word of Lament

Lament is, at its core, a complaint – an expression of grief in losing something or someone, or as in Abram’s case, of never having that something or someone to begin with.

It’s actually important for us to essentially make our problems into God’s problems. To tell God about our deepest hurts and unmet hopes is to implicate God in those hurts and hopes. It is to involve God in our disappointment.

In lament, we cry out to God in the belief that the Lord can and will respond to our painful cries and our deep desires. We believe God has the power and ability to respond. To complain to God is to have faith that God is faithful to divine promises—in spite of any nonsensical present circumstances.

Concerning matters about which God has made a promise, to complain is to remind the Lord of those unmet promises. In his lament, Abram was implying that God had not kept the promise, and had not yet proven faithful.

A Word of Response

Far from feeling perturbed that Abram laments instead of rejoices, God, in fact, responds by doubling-down on the original promise. Not only will there be a child, but that child’s descendants will be too many to even begin counting.

The Lord invited Abram to move his head from looking down at the bare ground to looking up at the magnificent stars. And in gazing upon the heavens, listening to the God whom he serves, Abram believed the Lord. And it was this faith which was credited to him as righteousness.

God is okay with being implicated in our problems. In fact, God welcomes it. Our deep grief, and our prayerful complaints, are a way of speaking which reminds God that God has promised to be faithful to divine promises. God doesn’t at all mind being held accountable to promises made.

Then, the Lord further responds by making a tangible expression of the intangible promise by means of a special sacrifice. God instructed Abram to involve some animal sacrifices and arrange them a certain way. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between the arranged pieces of the sacrifice.

A Covenant Word

On that day, through a ritual observance, God made a covenant with Abram.

To make a covenant in the ancient world, animals were cut in half, and then the persons making the covenantal commitment walked down the middle between the animals.

In Abram’s ritual, however, it was the Lord—in the form of a smoking pot and a flaming torch—who passed down the middle and thus was the one making the promise.

The symbolism of the covenant ritual is this: The one making the promise passes between dead animals as a ritual promise that, if they should be unfaithful to the terms of the covenant, they are to be cut in half just as the sacrificed animal.

In other words, when the Lord passed between the cleaved goat, sheep, ram and birds, God was pledging complete commitment to Abram.

A New Covenant Word

In Christianity, the gospel is a free promise by God that requires the death of God. The promise of God to Abram, Christians believe, ultimately led to the very death of the Son of God, Jesus.

In order to be faithful to the divine promise, to Abraham and Sarah and their descendants, and to David, God took on human flesh, walked between the pieces, and died so that we might have life.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. (Romans 4:16-17, NIV)

Amen.

Faith, Hope, and Love (Acts 27:13-38)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 

As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 

We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 

Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 of us on board. When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. (New International Version)

An engraving of the Roman prison ship, by Henry Adlard (1799-1893)

Keeping your courage in the face of an intense stressor is more than challenging. Yet, the Apostle Paul did it. Not only that, but he also had the wherewithal to help keep up the spirits of the people around him – even though he was on a prison ship in the middle of storm.

How did Paul do it? How did he remain encouraged himself, while also encouraging others? What’s the answer? Three words which are essential to the Christian life: faith, hope, and love.

Every believer knows from experience how difficult it is to practice these in daily life, especially the crucible of multiple stressors. One reason it’s so doggone hard, even when we want to please the Lord, is due to the confusion between our inner feelings and our outer actions. Yet once we understand the incongruence, and how to evaluate our inner experience, then it’s a whole lot easier to make daily decisions of faith, hope, and love.

In the beginning God created humans in the divine image. Humanity’s relationship to God was central to daily life (Genesis 1:26; 2:16-25). And God created people with the capacity to interact with the divine through our ability to think and reason. (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10)

Before there were broken relationships between Creator and creature, our original ancestors had complete self-control, along with unity and harmony between one another and God. (Genesis 1:31; 2:7, 16-25). 

It’s vital for us to recognize the distinction between human being and human doing; there’s a difference in who we are and what we do. (Romans 1:21-32; 6:16-22; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Ephesians 4:21-32)

And if we fail to grasp this distinction, we’re going to have some big stress in living as Christians.

In Adam and Eve’s disobedience toward God, humanity took on its own authority, and started making decisions independent of God. In other words, the source of authority switched, and we began relying upon ourselves.

The problem with this is that our brokenness has left us in disparate parts, badly in need of integration. The fall of humanity compromised our integrity, and so, we have a messed up sense of what to do, how to feel, and how and what to think.

This is why rational people do irrational things, and why fear, stress, and anxiety rule so much of our lives. Many a church pastor, not understanding this dynamic, is forever frustrated and flabbergasted that parishioners do not simply take what has been taught them, and go do it. (If it were that simple there would be no place for the Holy Spirit!)

There’s more. In our fallen state, we lost control of our capacity to function well – and are now vulnerable to manipulation from others, and from Satan. (Ephesians 2:2-3; Galatians 5:16-21)

As a result, our inner conscience has become confused. We are not always certain of right and wrong, or what needs to happen whenever we’re distressed. We end up misunderstanding what life is really supposed to be about. We’re disconnected from our original source of faith, hope, and love.

However, the good news of Christianity is that through the redeeming work of Jesus, and a new birth, the bondage of shame and disconnection is reinstated. God once again becomes central to daily life. The Lord’s gracious authority is restored.

In this renewed relationship, we can again receive truth through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures. Our daily practical experience of this relationship brings freedom, joy, assurance, peace, and self-control. Yet, even though one is redeemed by Jesus Christ and believes in him, it is still possible to regress into conflict, doubt, fear, anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and confusion. (Romans 7:14-25; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4)

We must, therefore, make daily decisions of faith, hope, and love based in our identity as God’s image-bearers:

  • Recognize you have the ability to function in faith, hope, and love as God’s beloved child.(2 Corinthians 7:1; Romans 8:14-17)
  • Understand the difference between your being and doing. Evil thoughts and emotions do not make you evil. What you do with your feelings and thoughts is what’s vital. (See how Jesus handled this in Matthew 4:1-11).
  • Know that you can take charge of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. (Galatians 5:22-23)
  • Know also that you can reject whatever is harmful and out of sync with your basic identity. (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:5-9; Titus 2:11-12)
  • Respond to God and God’s Word by daily obedience. Learn to think and act on the basis of truth. (Acts 27:25)
  • Discern that practicing the truth will result in freedom, and a re-patterning of thinking and functioning. (John 8:32; Titus 2:11-14; Philippians 2:12-16)

Supportive communities help one another live into shared values and commitments. Faith, hope, and love exists and grows in the context of community.

Paul had faith by believing what he heard; hope by looking ahead to the end of God’s promise; and love by reaching out to his fellow prisoners and the ship’s crew. Whereas stress moved to distress for most on the ship, Paul found strength, within that same stress, by practicing faith, hope, and love.

Almighty God, give us true faith, and make that faith grow in us day by day. Also give us hope and love, so that we may serve our neighbors according to your will; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.