Hope

April 13, 2020

Some things in the Bible don’t make sense till you experience it yourself. Jesus said, “he who seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will find it.” On the surface, that doesn’t make any sense. It’s only when one lets go of this life in order to grasp the life of Christ that things begin to fall into place.

In Romans 5, Paul made a statement that has long puzzled me. He said, “We glory...in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was was given to us” (vv. 3-5).

How tribulation produces perseverance I understand, and how it produces character I understand. But how does it produce hope? I think I know. The enforced confinement of this COVID 19 is a long way from genuine tribulation, no matter how much we grumble and gripe about it. For most of us, at most, it is an inconvenience. To be sure, for those infected, for those who have died, and their families, for those who have lost jobs and businesses, this is perhaps the greatest trial they have ever faced. But most of us will weather it just fine. Nevertheless, what this has done for me is to release my grip on lesser things that I believed were of pretty high importance. Activities that filled my days and evenings, commitments that became a never ending round of busy-ness that gave shape to my days and weeks. 

We all experienced the dashing of hope when plans laid months before came skidding to a halt. Graduations, weddings, vacations, anniversary celebrations, sports events...suddenly there was nothing! We had set our hopes on these activities, on the gatherings, and almost overnight, our hopes were dashed. Yet Paul says, “Tribulation produces...hope.” Only when we let go of our hold on lesser things are we able to reach for that which is eternal. We wrap our grubby little fingers around our plans and dreams, our programs and activities, not realizing that we only have two hands, and cannot long hold onto two different realities at the same time. This temporary trouble has pried our fingers from the lesser that we may be able to grasp the greater. I’m seeing more clearly than before how loosely I was holding on to the things of God, and how tightly I was clinging to my own plans and dreams. 

This present trouble has caused me to re-evaluate, to reassess, to examine where my heart has really been. Yes, tribulation produces hope, by taking away all the weak and false hopes that were in the way of the real thing. And for that, I am thankful tonight.