Dashing Dashed Hope
Thursday February 28, 2013
God invites us to life, a life that is wonderful and filled with many beautiful and satisfying gifts. He created us for that. When our world and our lives became broken through sin, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to deal with sin and suffering and to offer us a new way back to loving relationship with God, our Heavenly Father. Initially we were grateful to hear and respond to God’s invitation to life.
A few weeks or months into the journey with God, without the comfort of our addictive substance, one of the greatest temptations we face is the doubt that we could actually have “the good life.” The battle against addiction, struggles with poverty and related issues seems endless and hard. We hardly know how to handle things on a good day, let alone deal with the frustrations on the bad days. We get discouraged and tempted to give up and not bother trying anymore. It seems easier to hide away from life in front of the television or just “pass the time” with friends, helping here and there, as a way to fill our time. We live with boredom or frustration and sometimes give in to impatience, blame, angry communication, or even fits of violence. When we linger in this kind of space we’ve given in to the temptation to give up.
We need to challenge ourselves in the middle of these difficult circumstances. The first challenge is to believe God’s word is true and his promises are trustworthy and look for the source of our problems elsewhere – in what we are thinking or saying or doing.
What is amiss in us that has caused us to be in this negative space? Maybe our perception of what is going on around us needs to change. Perhaps we are looking to people, places, and things once again to satisfy us when only God’s goodness on the inside will keep us contented over time. Have we forgotten to live one day at a time? Are we taking time to notice the gifts that surround us even though they may look different from what we thought? Are we trying to play God again rather than simply seeking to be faithful in the little things, trusting that more will be entrusted to us at the right time?
Audio for Dashing Dashed Hope
Recent Meditations
Giving Hope
Partners in Hope is supported wholly by our friends and community. We are thankful to everyone who partners with us to help bring hope to the discouraged, hurting, and hopeless.