Two Tools for Hope

Two Tools for Hope

In "Hope is Complicated" I talked about not comparing ourselves to others and the stability of Jesus. I wanted to allow people to look past simple answers offered by many people and except the truth that life is complicated. Our desire to live hope filled lives will not be simple and "easy".  When I first though about writing this next section I thought I would title it "Two Keys for Hope." I realized upon reflection that "keys" implies what is needed to open a door and walk through. Developing hope is more difficult than that, it is more work.

I choose "tools" because I wanted a word that implied work. Tools, as I want you to think of them here, are not a device to use that is an end in themselves. While you could call a key a tool, I want you to think of tools as something you use to build with.  A saw and sawhorse, a drill and bits or a shovel and wheel barrel are more of the ideas of tools I want you to consider. So with that thought in mind, let's look at thanksgiving and nature. Things we are going to work at, not just open.

"Thanksgiving" and "give thanks" are two phrases that appear often in the Bible. I have included a list at the end of this section. For most of us, thanksgiving is something we know we should do. Finding the time or the feelings to give thanks, often evades us. If you are going through tough times, giving thanks can feel superficial or insincere.  When we don't feel right in giving thanks it can feel like we are being manipulative. Christianity is not about developing "word power." In following Christ Jesus we develop a heart, an inner man, that leads us to express ourselves. From our heart our mouths speak. So as disciples of Jesus we express what is in our hearts. In world power a person is trying to use words to change their reality, to change their being. Word power is like practicing magic. Expressing words with power that bring about change is not the same as expressing words that are in agreement with God. Word power bases the cause as the words. Christianity bases the cause as Christ Jesus.

I think the following verse from Hebrews expresses this.

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

(Hebrews 13:15-16)

Thanksgiving as a tool allows us to look at our life and God to see what He has done for us. In the battles of life we can become so focused on the trouble we fail to see any good. When we take the time to give thanks we look both at our life and at God. This turning of our heart toward the Lord allows Him to work in us an understanding. As we understand our heart is awakened that even in our trouble our life is more than just trouble. We can give thanks, offer praise and ever rejoice. This giving thanks is not "what we do to make our life better." Thanksgiving is what we do because God has done things and we "through him" see, understand and speak words.  This inward agreement leads to more.

It doesn't always happen  this way, but often it does. Our heart agrees with God, causing our expressions to be thankful which lead us toward doing good and sharing. We find strength and courage to give away. This giving is in the midst of our pain and suffering. Caused by God, we find that the quest to give thanks results is words and deeds. We not only find hope, we have some to share.

This view of giving thanks is undertaken through seeking the Lord. Find a comfortable place to rest and turn your thoughts to the Lord. You may be in such anguish you are not able to calm yourself to this point. Don't pretend you are in a different condition than you are in. You may not be able to calm yourself to think about the Lord. Use that time to seek to develop your ability to focus. Don't condemn yourself for hurting, but work at pushing the pain aside. Everyone needs the Lord to think about the Lord and you are developing skills at doing this is pain. God will bring others into your life that need this practical skill. Everything we do in Christ is beneficial for our lives and others. Don't waste your pain.

So, finding a place of rest I turn my thoughts to the Lord to understand what He is doing in my life. I encounter the need for courage to embrace hardship. I calm myself and seek not to react to pain or discouragement. I sink deep in faith as I trust God with my condition, situation, future. All the  time I am not seeking answers but activity. I want to see if God is doing anything in my life to give thanks about. Do I have friends or family loving me? Do I have a deepening of compassion? Is God changing attitudes and thoughts?

God often takes the time of our pain and works on us and in us the reality of giving thanks. Where once we took no thought to friends, food, family, ability to work or daily living without pain; now we value these  things. God is not beating us up, trying to beat us into appreciation. But God does take advantage of our situations and seeks to use are condition for the most good.

As you are awakened to what God has done in your life, speak it out. Whisper a prayer, sing a spontaneous praise, offer up a verse about His activity in your life. Expressions about food and drink, family and friends, shelter and security are not insignificant. Much of the world lacks what we call the basic essentials and being thankful for them is a foundation for being a person of great thanksgiving. To end this section let me encourage you to spend 5-10 minutes each day, giving thanks.

The second aspect of increasing hope in this article is nature.

God is the creator of all things and most of us as children  learned about the days of creation in Genesis.

Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

(Genesis 1:9-10)

God saw what He created and expressed that "it was good." Beholding what is good allows us to interact with goodness. Each person is unique. God has made each of us to encounter and know Him in many and different way. Some of us grow by encountering the Lord through nature. When I say this, I am not promoting nature as an end in itself. I am desiring us to use nature as a tool to interact with the Lord. Scripture is another tool that many of us are familiar with.

When a person uses Scripture to encounter the Lord they usually read the passage, meditate on it, look at the passages context and see where the passage conflicts or is harmonious with other texts. The same exist for nature. We can learn to read nature, to understand the place of storms, rain and heat. We can see the beauty in a sunrise and also in the passing seasons. We can encounter God through the bird in flight and the mosquito bit. God speaks through what He has made. Learning to read nature is more than being conscience of nature. It is encountering God through creation.

Nature has its own sound. I am often awakened to the Lord through listening to the sounds of nature. Going to some location where man made creations are limited, I find a place to sit and listen. I am not seeking to listen to something, but everything. I want to hear the leaves breaking free from the trees and the insect crawling on the ground. I want to hear the wind in the trees, to contrast that to the wind in the grass and on the water. I want to listen to things I cannot control and find peace.

Through this window of encounter I want to gaze on the Lord. Who is He who makes such thing? What is He like? Why does He make things to live, to age, to pass? How are things connected, or disconnected? In time I will come to the thoughts of this is the world God made for me, for humanity. This was Gods goodness expressed in creation. I was made for this home and this was made for me. I belong here. Belonging is a powerful enhancer of hope.

In Summery

Using the tools of thanksgiving and nature we develop ways to encounter God as He works in us and through creation. We set ourselves in a position for God to awaken us to what He is doing in us and around us. Breaking free the bondage of hopelessness, we practice disciplines that work at building greater awareness of God and His activity. While trying to avoid a "one size fits all" mentality we seek God who is diverse, creative and caring for us as a good shepherd.

thanksgiving

Lev_7:12; Lev_7:13; Lev_7:15; Lev_22:29; Neh_11:17; Neh_12:8; Neh_12:27; Neh_12:46; Psa_26:7; Psa_42:4; Psa_50:14; Psa_50:23; Psa_69:30; Psa_95:2; Psa_100:1; Psa_100:4; Psa_107:22; Psa_116:17; Psa_147:7; Isa_51:3; Jer_17:26; Jer_30:19; Jon_2:9; 2Co_9:11; Php_4:6; Col_4:2; Rev_7:12;

give thanks

2Sa_22:50; 1Ch_16:7; 1Ch_16:8; 1Ch_16:34; 1Ch_16:35; 1Ch_16:41; 2Ch_20:21; 2Ch_31:2; Neh_12:24; Psa_6:5; Psa_7:17; Psa_9:1; Psa_18:49; Psa_30:4; Psa_30:12; Psa_33:2; Psa_35:18; Psa_44:8; Psa_45:17; Psa_52:9; Psa_54:6; Psa_57:9; Psa_75:1; Psa_79:13; Psa_86:12; Psa_92:1; Psa_97:12; Psa_100:4; Psa_105:1; Psa_106:1; Psa_106:47; Psa_107:1; Psa_107:8; Psa_107:15; Psa_107:21; Psa_107:31; Psa_108:3; Psa_109:30; Psa_111:1; Psa_118:1; Psa_118:19; Psa_118:21; Psa_118:28; Psa_118:29; Psa_119:7; Psa_119:62; Psa_122:4; Psa_136:1; Psa_136:2; Psa_136:3; Psa_136:26; Psa_138:1; Psa_138:2; Psa_138:4; Psa_139:14; Psa_140:13; Psa_142:7; Psa_145:10; Isa_12:1; Isa_12:4; Isa_25:1; Isa_38:19; Jer_33:11; Dan_2:23; Rom_1:21; Rom_16:4; 1Co_10:30; Col_1:3; 1Th_1:2; 1Th_5:18; 2Th_1:3; 2Th_2:13; Heb_13:15; Rev_4:9; Rev_11:17;