With God's help I'll be back at work tomorrow after eight days off. It has been long time since I've taken that much time, but then this has been an extraordinary couple of weeks. And it is not over yet. I continue to lose fluids though I am trying hard to follow the BRAT diet. My eating has returned to near normalcy, and overall I feel pretty good. So I hope to have a mostly normal day tomorrow. After all, all that I really have is hope.
In fact, all that any of us have is hope. Yes, we have "ownership" of many things, but they are not ours forever. And some things we think we have (like time) are not ours at all, but on loan. So, I feel pretty safe saying that all we really have is hope. Of course, we can have hope in many things, most of them will disappoint along the way. Anything of this life here that we place hope in really become idols, when they become the object of our hope and trust. They become our everything, and we only realize the folly when we are threatened with their loss.
Even before the threat we recognize that those receptacles of our hope cannot help when we begin to experience the pain of this life. For this reason Jesus emphasizes his sufficiency to the disciples in the hours prior to his arrest (Luke 22:35-38). He had proven himself faithful to provide for them before, and they could be assured he would again, even though he would not be physically with them.
We have this same assurance today. Our life circumstances turn on a dime and we begin to sense our faith more acutely than ever before. Christ urges us to come and trade our burden for his leading where there is rest. It may not solve the circumstance you are struggling with, but you can persevere knowing you have a strong advocate who loves you to the point of death. Read Psalm 119. I realize it is the lonest chapter at 176 verses, but it is such an encouragement to trust God and his ways for my own. Walking in his way, with him, makes each day a blessed day.
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