God refuses to “shut up”….Grounds for eternal hope
One of the things I love about scripture is the way it asks the deep questions that we have inside of us but often don’t have the language to articulate the feelings. My hunch is that we all have and struggle with the side of God that suggest God brings about trouble in the world. My hunch, is most of you are like me and are uncomfortable with the idea that God’s brings about all the trouble in the world but are equally uncomfortable with the idea that God doesn’t bring about any trouble in the world. However, I’m even more uncomfortable thinking about how I am supposed to hope in a God that brings about trouble in my life. It seems counter productive. Why would I hope in the one that brings about trouble?
It’s a great question and one that I didn’t come up with but a questioned that is awakened in my soul after reading the question in scripture (2 Kings 6:33). The response to this question from the prophet Elisha is profound and gives me great comfort today. Elisha begins the response with “hear the Word of the Lord.” I’m reminded today that if I can “hear the Word of the Lord” then I can have hope. Hope is tied to hearing the Word of the Lord. More importantly, Hope is tied to the reality that God speaks. Hopelessness is only merited in the event that God would refuse to speak. However, in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, God promises to never “shut up”; God promises to speak. And as long as God promises to speak I have hope in spite of whatever my present confusion might be.
Today I am comforted by this promise of hope that is rooted in God’s promise to continue to speak to His people. My hope for you today is that you hold on to this same hope throughout the struggles of your questions. May you hold on to the promise of hope that God promises to continue to speak throughout your journey of life, which means that a piece of your story will be about “hearing the word of the Lord” and this is grounds for eternal hope.
Peace from Pastor P
