Hope from Unexpected Places

Judges 16:22 …Samson’s hair began to grow.

Jonah 3:1 …The word of the Lord came a second time to Jonah.

Joshua 7:10 …”Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?”

I love these verses. I love how concrete these images of hope are.

- A shorn, eyeless, lust-filled judge’s hair starts to grow.

-A fish-vomit, rebellious prophet hears God’s word a second time.

-A disillusioned, dust-biting leader is told, “get up!”

I see hope here. I see myself here. I have had my strength shaved right off of my head and felt the cool breeze on my scalp! I have run the opposite direction of where I know I should be going, and if I inhaled deep enough, smelled the innards of a rather large fish. I have expected victory and instead met failure and groveled in the dust disillusioned with who I thought God was and how He worked.

But these passages aren’t hope-filled because I can climb into them and see my bald head, pukey garments, and dust-biting moments. They are hope-filled because God is in these stories. He shows Himself as amazingly patient and merciful. He doesn’t give up on failures. No. He makes hair grow, speaks again, and sets us on our feet. Perhaps even more astounding, He knows our frailty. And not from some far off distance, but Jesus climbed into our story, into our very skin and sympathizes with our weakness.

More hope-filled verses:

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In Christ are the most vivid images of hope:

-Not a shaved head, but a thorn pierced brow.(Matt 27:29)

-Not a fish’s belly, but an empty tomb. (Matt 12:40)

-Not groveling in dust, but leading us in victory to our eternal promised land. (Rev 19:11-16)

Are you feeling bald, puke-covered, or dirt-faced? Run to Jesus, our only hope! He loves to restore people like Samson, Jonah, Joshua, you and me!

The Best, Worst Year

August 2, 2010 – We packed our van and left Akron, Ohio to come back home to Maryland.

August 2, 2011 – Jason’s first day as Pastor of evangelism and outreach for Sovereign Grace Church of New Jersey .

When I consider the time between those dates, one theme emerges against the black backdrop of a very painful season of our lives: God is a faithful Father. I could never wander too far, sink too deep, run too fast that the faithful hand of God didn’t restrain, rescue, and restore me over and over again. I think about the image of the horse led by bit and bridle. I have felt like that horse stubbornly heading down the path of unbelief and even bitterness, but that is the wrong image. I am a child (sometimes throwing temper tantrums because God wasn’t doing things my way) and yes, I have experienced discipline, but more than that I have experienced being drawn not by bit and bridle, but by the tender hand of a loving Father.

How can this be? How is it that the Maker of heaven and earth, the One who holds the oceans in the palm of His hand would see me in my struggles and sin and reach down that very hand and rescue and restore me? I know it is only through Jesus. I experience what I have seen of Jesus in His Word. He loves the harlot, the tax collector, the thief. He heals the broken, the leprous, the blind. He feeds the hungry. He responds to desperation. He has mercy on the sinner. And like never before, I see myself in these stories. But like never before, I see Jesus like He is in these stories. What a precious gift this year has been for such a revelation of His love and faithfulness. I can honestly say I am grateful for this, the best worst year. And I look forward to what lies ahead knowing that though the circumstances of my life will be different, the story of my life will be the same: God is faithful.

What has been the theme of your year? What has God revealed to you about His character this year?