He Who Has An Ear: Find Hope

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7

My 92-year-old grandmother lies dying in her home as I type. Dying from nothing more than old age, her body reaching its limit on this earth. Breaths away from a desire each of our souls long to have fulfilled—the desire to live forever. Eternity.

Yet, unless death comes knocking on our door, we try our best not to think of it. Rather, we look at this life around us and long to fully live, today, in this moment, fully alive to enjoy this one life. We desire a fully lived life in the present and an immortal life in the future, all in hopes of escaping death, of never having to face the uncertainty and uncontrollable fact of death.

But because of our sin, death of this body is inevitable. (Romans 6:23) The day it arrives already written in God’s history, already known. (Job 14:5) However, as a child of God, I do not fear the death of my soul. All others must.

He who has an ear, let him hear.

To the children of God who overcome, God promises He will allow us to eat of the tree of life in His Paradise. Which means at some point in all space and time, when my God-fearing grandmother breathes her last breath here on earth, she will enter the presence of her Jesus in His home, His Paradise. Then, after being unable to stomach a bite of food for over a month, she will eat of the tree of life. And she will truly live fully, freely and forever. The aching desire deep in the soul for more life will be completely satisfied and satiated. What hope!

Hope for whom? Hope for those who overcome. Overcome what? Overcome the temptation to leave their first love, Jesus. (Revelation 2:4) Overcome how? Reignite the love. Fully surrender to the One who stands in the gap between God and man, reconciling and redeeming our sin for His glory. Oh, how He loves you and me! Have you lost that first love?

There’s no other way to overcome this life, to receive the hope of our deepest desires fulfilled, met, and quelled than through a living relationship with Jesus Christ today, in the here and now.

It is arrow prayers shot in the moment of despair.

It is morning tea conversations about the truth in a Bible verse.

It is comforting silences of enjoying His company while watching a sunset.

It is wrestling with hard truths and expressing deep emotion with Him and to Him.

It is praise and adulation of the soul for the goodness He shows, showers, and provides.

It is words of reverent thanks given.

It is the stillness of listening to His voice or for His voice.

It is the minor course corrections you make because you felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit.

It is the JOY of fully surrendering all of life’s disappointments to the One Person who can work them all for my good and His glory.

Without a personal, daily, hourly, moment-by-moment relationship with Jesus, there is no hope. There is no overcoming—in this present moment or in the future to come. Tomorrow will always look as bleak as today. It will weigh just as heavy. We mere mortals were not created with the strength to overcome this life on our own. We were created to rest in Jesus, to rely on His strength and power, and to live fully through relationship with God because His breath alone can bring us to life. (Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4) Imagine the possibilities of living life fully aware of His presence!

“Abba, thank you for Your promises. Thank you they apply yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Thank you for making a way and a plan to fulfill, meet, and quell all my deepest desires, needs, and fears. I choose to lift my eyes to You and your promises today, Lord. Thank you for providing a way to overcome. Amen.”

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
         Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
              In the light of His glory and grace.  –Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, Helen Howarth Lemmel

Devotion in the Dark

“You have taken from me friend and neighbor—darkness is my closest friend.” Psalm 88:18

There’s no glossing over the hard things of life—the depression, anxiety, stress, death, pain, hurt, and heartbreak. We can’t ignore them, bury them, or make them pretty or easier to endure. In fact, when we choose to follow Christ, we sign up to carry His cross and sign on the dotted line for all His promises, one of which is that in this world we will have trouble. When the days and seasons of trouble come, we can feel helpless and useless sitting with darkness, our closest friend.

Truth is we are never helpless or useless because even in our deepest dark Jesus’ sacrifice gives us the gift of honesty, of openness, of unobstructed communion with God the Creator. The opportunity to be real with ourselves and with our God is a powerful tool against the enemy.

Psalm 88 is a psalm of lament. When you read it, the despair and agony of David’s soul is evident and pure and real.

David proclaims darkness as his closest friend, yet even in the dark he continues to speak, to cry out. He claims God has taken everything from him, yet David continues to keep the lines of communication between him and God open.

Therein lies the treasure of this passage, the beauty in the authenticity of God’s Word. Even in his lowest of lows, David never stopped talking to God. Not only did he keep talking, but he didn’t edit his feelings either. He didn’t try to gloss over the ugly truth of the condition of his heart. He didn’t try to dress up his words and feelings for a conversation with a holy God. He never stuffed all his raw emotions into a box labeled “shameful”.

No, instead, he wrote them all down, quite possibly even sung them out loud. He gave all the ugly words and hard feelings air to breath, but most importantly he was unabashedly honest with the one Person in his life that could handle all the hard things. His God. Throughout all the psalms—especially this one with no satisfactory ending—David stayed honest with the God he had staked His life on more than once. Even knowing God had allowed these hard things doesn’t keep him quiet.

He kept talking to God, out loud and in writing, through all the pain, amid all the questions, and despite knowing God had allowed his circumstances.

What trust! What refreshing vulnerability! What courage.

“Father, increase my faith to have the courage to bring all the hard and ugly directly to You, first and foremost and often. May my unedited soul find comfort in You alone because I know you hear my voice and the cry of my heart. You alone, Lord, can handle all my bitter brokenness. Though I feel darkness is my closest friend, I know You sit right here with me. Amen.”