(MarJean Peters is back with us today. She reminds us where the foundation of our hope must lie. A must-read! I pray you’re encouraged. -Stephanie)
WHEN we hold our sweet babies in our arms for the first time, we never entertain the thought of them turning from us and from God. We would give our very lives for them and trust they will grow up to honor us and glorify our heavenly Father. Yet so many parents experience heartbreak over the choices of their growing and grown children.
When we take a new church or ministry, we don’t go in expecting the church to split or the ministry to crumble. We go in trust that it will grow and prosper. Yet so many times we suffer under accusations, misunderstandings, and conflicts.
Merriam Webster says hope is “to cherish a desire with anticipation,” and “to expect with confidence: trust.” The definition of “hope against hope” is: “to hope without any basis for expecting fulfillment,” which God called Abraham to do, “Who against hope believed in hope…” (Rom 4:18).
How long do we hope our wayward children will return? How long do we hope for a ministry to heal and thrive? Is there ever a time to write “anathema” over the door, shake the snow off our bunny boots, and move on? 1 Corinthians 16:22 (KJV) tells us, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” Anathema means “without hope of being redeemed.” Maranatha in this context means, “Our Lord is coming, and he will judge those who have set him at naught” (Strong’s G331 Anathema; G3134 Maranatha).
If we base our hope on people or institutions, that foundation will most certainly crumble. But 1 Peter 1:21 says, “…your faith and hope are in GOD” (emphasis mine). In 2:6, Peter says, “the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Hope remains steadfast during difficult times (1 Corinthians 13:7 AMP). Surely the prodigal son appeared as a lost cause, yet his father’s hope remained alert to his return, to the day his hope would become a reality and the lavish celebration begin.
Anathema actually was much more a possibility for the son who refused to celebrate, for the religious child who learns to pretend instead of confessing the sickness of his soul and repent. There is more hope for a prodigal sinner, than for a Pharisee. There is more hope for a struggling ministry than for one steeped in dead orthodoxy which piously holds to correct doctrine without love for prodigals, slow learners, or the radical new generation.
Love always hopes, and in that hoping gives grace and mercy regardless of it being appreciated, received, or returned. Hope is not something we can conjure up ourselves. Hope is evidence of the Holy Spirit within us, the fruit of His divine presence. He alone can fill us with hope and keep it alive. Only as we abide in Him—the Vine, can we experience the miracle of hope within our hearts.
A time may come when we experience a necessary ending for our part in a ministry or our reins on a grown child. A time comes to let go of the controls and release our ideals. A time comes to move on and trust God Himself to complete the work He began. The foundation of our hope must lie in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, in God’s promise to continue the work He began, to complete it, and to present each of us before His glorious presence without fault and great joy (Phl 1:6; Jde 1:24).
Hope is not defined by control, it actually means to release and finally trust God to do what we cannot do. Love always hopes in an all-powerful God.
(All Scripture reference are taken from the New International Version unless otherwise indicated).
More from MarJean:
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, A STORY FOR MOMS
THROUGH THE KNOT HOLE – FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
THROUGH THE KNOT HOLE (PART 2) : PRACTICAL TIPS TO DEAL WITH HARD THINGS
MarJean began life in the North Canadian Prairies but spent her teen years in Dallas, Oregon. She graduated from Fresno Pacific University with a BA degree in art and literature and married Conrad Peters in 1969. She taught high school art in the Portland area to put her husband through Seminary and they have ministered to churches in California, Saskatchewan, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. MarJean has taught personalities by God’s design since 2000 to individuals, couples, at retreats, seminars, church classes, and to mission groups. In 2005 they joined Arctic Barnabas Ministries in Kenai, Alaska to strengthen and encourage bush missionaries and pastors’ families. MarJean has published “Courage For Bush Ministry Women” for over ten years. She now continues to encourage others to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts (see Acts 11:23) through writing, poetry, and illustrations from Spokane, WA. She is a mother of three sons and a daughter and delights in her 17 grandchildren.