Does God Care about My Mental Health?

Psalm 88 was my first ever sermon. It was the Summer of 2018, and I was taking intensive Hebrew, notorious for making Seminary student’s question their calling (or even sanity). And what came at the end of taking Hebrew II? My first preaching experience at Hope. It was nerve-wrecking; I was jittery the entire Sunday morning, but God certainly used that experience, even though I may have felt like a hot mess. In fact, if I had to pick a favorite Psalm, maybe even portion of the Bible, Psalm 88 wins every time.

            Now, perhaps you’ve never read this song before. Perhaps you are well-read in Bible trivia and you already know it. Either way, if you have a moment, go read it right now—seriously. I’ll wait.

            After reading this psalm, you’re probably experiencing a jarring sensation: “Did I just actually just read the Bible?” or more likely “Why in the world is this Jonathan’s number one Psalm?” The psalmist feels basically dead (v. 3-5), explicitly says God is the one who did this (v. 6-9), and questions whether there’s even an afterlife (v. 10-12). This passage ends with the writer rejected by God and abandoned by his friends, and his final words? “Darkness is my only friend” (v.18). You cannot find a more melancholic portion of Scripture.

            I spent most of my high school reading Fredrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. My favorite authors are Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut, and Gustave Flaubert. If you know these people, you can quickly peg my personality. Also worth noting, although it may at first feel disconnected from this: most of my adult life, I’ve struggled over serious problems with mental health. And please don’t read that as “Jonathan feels kind of blue once and a while”; it’s more like I regularly need to find professional help from a licensed counselor.

            While I’ve been a Christian, Psalm 88 has often been my cathartic release. Often, these words have been my own words, even while seeking to follow Jesus Christ; and if you’re willing to be honest, I’d hazard to guess that you have too, whether regularly or for a season. So why is this Psalm in the Bible?

            Sometimes, we can have a rosy picture of life, nothing goes wrong and everything is awesome. Yet Psalm 88 not only flies in the face of that paradigm but also throws all of us into the grime of daily life, when we get the diagnosis from our doctor, when we have the divorce papers we must sign, when we have lost whatever we hold dear in life. And for some, our natural reaction may be to escape with Jack Daniel’s or some form of narcotics, and that’s only the extreme reactions. It might be as mundane as junk food, exercise, YouTube, Netflix, and so on, and so on, and so on.

            We may desire to shake our fists at the heavens and the Lord Almighty Himself, and honestly, that may be exactly what we need for help. Notice that although the psalmist’ life and future is absolutely abysmal, he at least knows the direction to scream (v.1-2, 13). Christianity does not bring us into a care-free life. You will face darkness, you will face hardship, and you will suffer.

            And for some reading this, you may feel that that Psalm 88 is your worldview: darkness is my only companion; I don’t see a point in life; I don’t have hope for the future. In fact, you may even use stronger language than my characterization. I know I have. May I just say as one who needs it desperately, it’s okay to find help, and to one degree or another, everyone can benefit from professional counseling. Don’t let feelings of self-worth or your own darkness in life prevent you from talking with someone.

            Finally, know that some of Jesus’ own final words were “My God, My God why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus is the Savior who would likely be the chief singer of Psalm 88. He experienced the greatest form of suffering, darkness, abandonment, and wrath at the Cross. And that is chiefly why he wants you to call out to Him, because He gets it.

            Psalm 88 is in the Bible because of the reality of life. We will face suffering, we will feel abandoned, and we will feel as if God Himself has set His sights on us. Despite all of this, know that sometimes the best way to process these experiences is to let it out, whether to God or to someone. That’s okay. If you are not currently facing any of this, consider how you yourself would react if you knew someone facing these struggles.

            Finally, know that even in the company of darkness, he doesn’t have to be your only friend. You can find an authentic relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ; and in that relationship, you can yell and scream, kick your feet, shake your fists, cry, and do whatever fits that category. And you know what? He’s not going to just toss you aside like broken toy; he’s going to continue to mold you into His own image. Sometimes that process can be painful, but it can be the greatest form of cognitive behavioral therapy.

The Danger of Spiritual Indifference

Scripture does not single out special condemnation for the seven deadly sins of anger, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, and sloth. But these seven sins capture our attention because they span a wide range of common attitudes and passions that are the source so much wickedness and suffering. These seven sins also stand in contrast to the world’s view of what should be condemned and what should be celebrated. Many writers, entertainers, and thinkers have praised these seven sins as honorable and worth pursuing. For example, a famous monologue in the 1987 movie “Wall Street” has the line, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." From Tom Robbins, an American novelist, “Of the seven deadly sins, lust is definitely the pick of the litter.” From Euripides, an ancient Greek playwright, “I feel no shame in loving myself above all.” From Dave Mustaine, lead guitarist of the band Metallica, “The Bible and several other self-help or enlightenment books cite the Seven Deadly Sins. … That pretty much covers everything that we do, that is sinful ... or fun for that matter.”

               The list of ‘deadly sins’ has changed over the centuries, but perhaps none of these sins is more different from its original description than the sin of sloth, formerly acedia. We generally think of sloth as laziness, procrastination, and avoiding anything strenuous. But Dante, the 14th century Italian poet, wrote that acedia is the "failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul." Acedia is a spiritual indifference that has been called the noonday devil, and is a combination of weariness, sadness, a lack of purpose, and joylessness. Mishka, a reggae musician from Bermuda, has said that “acedia is sorrow so complete that the flesh prevails completely over the spirit. You don’t just turn your back on the world, you turn your back on God. You don’t care, and you don’t care that you don’t care.“ Acedia is often masked with everyday busyness, various distractions, and religious hypocrisy, hiding a spiritual emptiness.

               When we look to God’s Word, we find spiritual indifference repeatedly and strongly condemned. Lukewarm faith was severely judged at Laodicea but went largely unnoticed in this first-century church due to their wealth, prosperity, and self-sufficiency. (Revelation 3) When Jesus visited Martha and Mary, He rebuked Martha for being “anxious and troubled about many things” and busying herself with serving the crowd instead of spending time with Jesus as Mary did. (Luke 10) Jesus repeatedly pronounced woes on the Jewish religious leaders who excelled in legalism, self-righteousness, and religious hypocrisy while “neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” (Matthew 23) We are warned that on judgment day, many people who prophesized, cast out demons, and did many other mighty works will be shocked and stunned that Jesus “never knew them” as they are denied heaven and sent to hell. Religious busyness deceives many into believing they are Jesus’ disciples while their hearts remain indifferent to His call to bear fruit. (Matthew 7).

               God’s blessings and happiness are reserved for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. (Matthew 5) Thirst and hunger are natural, recurring impulses for the necessities of life, ranging from waiting an extra 15 minutes for lunch to a deadly famine. Jesus is using the imagery of genuine, desperate thirst and needy, suffering hunger. The paradox is that God’s blessings both satisfies those who strongly desire righteousness and increases the desire for more grace, holiness, and hatred of sin. Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Living Water; the basics for satisfying our most basic and our greatest spiritual desires. If our hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness is not what is used to be or should be, we might be caught in the sin of acedia. If so, we’re not alone. May we repent and confess our spiritual indifference.

Let Your Light Shine, Beat Back the Darkness, and Glorify God

Matthew 5:14-16 : “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)

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Late one night in August 2020, a medivac airplane tried to land in the remote town of Igiugig, Alaska to transport a sick child in to a hospital in Anchorage. But when they prepared for the plane to land, all of the runway lights had been vandalized and broken. When the villagers heard the plane circling at nearly midnight, they knew something was wrong. A few residents drove to the small airport to see if they could use their car headlights to light the runway, but the pilot needed more light. They called everyone in the town to bring their ATV’s, cars, SUV’s, and trucks to the small airport. Several dozen residents rose from the comfort of their beds to park their vehicles along the runway to light the pilot’s way so he could land safely. The vehicles stayed until the child was onboard and the plane took off safely.

 In the beginning, God created the sun to rule the day, the moon to rule the night, and the stars for signs and for seasons; each giving light on the earth and separating the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1) With so many man-made lights all around us, we may forget that the world is naturally in darkness half of the time; between sunset and sunrise. Battling the darkness is an ongoing battle. In our fallen and sinful world, man-made lights can be extinguished by sinful vandalism or the inescapable decay causing everything to wear out. Scripture uses the contrast of light and darkness to distinguish the Kingdom of Heaven from all who sinfully rebel against God. Jesus’ incarnation is described as the light shining in the darkness. (John 1, Matthew 4) Hell is compared to being cast into the outer darkness. (Matthew 8) When Jesus appeared to Saul/Paul, He told him to go to the Gentile and proclaim the Gospel which will open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. (Acts 26).

 As we experience physical darkness each night, we should remember that the spiritual darkness in this world is even more pervasive and dangerous. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus talks about the light of a community of believers shining before others and glorifying God. (Matthew 5) It might seem that whatever we do could not make a difference against the overwhelming power and diverse forces of evil all around us. Yet together our faithful Christian witness and proclamation of the Gospel honors God and shows others the way to salvation. We must not forget that the lives of others hang in the balance. And we are commanded to reflect the character of Christ even when it’s inconvenient or risky. Our God-given light is wasted if we keep it to ourselves. Other’s may shine brighter or more significantly, but God has placed each of us in a certain time and place among certain people to shine in a way that no one else can. May each of us and all of us proclaim, “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine” and “let it shine til Jesus comes.”

Hope in the Lord: And Focus on Eternity

“But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place, as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a person’s hope.”

---  Job’s prayer to God in Job 14:18-19 (NIV)

               When scientists study how things change, two ideas dominate: how quickly things change (rate) and the final state when changing stops (equilibrium). It is common to misunderstand and confuse the rate of change with the final, equilibrium state. For example, if the rate of change is very slow, the current state might be mistaken for the final, equilibrium state. One example of slow and steady change on a very large scale is erosion; the wearing away of solid rock by a combination of gravity, rain, ocean waves, ice, flowing water, and wind. Erosion is almost imperceptibly slow, but wind, streams, and rivers relentlessly wash away mountains to create spectacular valleys, gorges, and ravines, for example in the Grand Canyon.

               All of us are tempted to find some security in our friendships, health, savings & investments, physical distance from unsafe areas, and other stuff that will ultimately disappoint us. These blessings can make us feel independent of God. Job reminds us that God graciously and persistently destroys our idols and reveals our empty hopes and false dreams. Job compares God’s ways to the progressive erosion of mountains to rocks to stones to soil. Throughout our lives, God slowly undermines our self-sufficiency to show our need for Him. His pace may be slow, but He is relentless, and His goal is certain. He wants us to know that wherever we seek hope and security beside Jesus is destined for destruction. Our final, eternal state depends on who we are we increasingly trusting and placing our faith in.

               For all of us, there are at least a few areas in our lives where we continue to resist His calling. But God loves us too much to allow us to cling to undependable things that will break our heart and crush our soul. Sometimes mountains fall through the violence of earthquakes. At other times the slow trickle of a stream or the blowing wind wash away a mountain to merely more dust of the earth. The circumstances of our lives can be brutal or merely irritating, but God sovereignly orders His creation to redeem His people from sin for an eternity in heaven. Those who continue to resist His calling are heading toward a final, equilibrium state of hell. In the end, those are the only two final destinies for any one of us: heaven with God or eternally separated from Him in hell. With so much at stake, how much longer will we resist His calling on our lives when the final outcome is so clear? May God graciously continue to turn our minds and hearts toward what matters eternally, loving Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Hope in The Lord: And Stand Strong

               In 2012, Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker, politely refused to design a custom cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding. By refusing to make cakes with messages that go against his Christian beliefs, Jack has endured years of litigation, risked financial ruin, and received countless hostile threats. For simply standing up and defending his faith, Jack has become a target of ungodly hatred. How would we have responded in Jack’s circumstances? How will we respond when the cost of being identified as a brother or sister of Christ becomes a serious threat to our wealth, our friendships, our reputation, our health, or our job? If we think we can live a peaceful life and avoid suffering for our faith, remember that Paul told Timothy, “everyone who desires to live a godly, Christ-like life will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3) Jesus said that since the world hates Him, it will hate us too. (John 15) And if the personal costs weren’t important enough, it has been known since at least Plato’s time in ancient Greece that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph in society is for good men and women to do nothing. How we respond to temptations and persecutions have important and eternal consequences both for ourselves and for those we love.

               God’s people have repeatedly been called to stand strong in their faith. When fleeing Egypt and preparing to cross the Red Sea, Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord.” (Exodus 14) When Judah was about to be invaded, Jehoshaphat told everyone to, “…stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed … the Lord will be with you.” (2 Chronicles 20) In many of his letters to new churches in the Gentile world, Paul encouraged believers to be courageous, to be strong, and to stand firm in their faith. (ex. Galatians 6)

               When you are standing, you are not lazy or resting. Standing is a common metaphor for being courageous and taking action. Stand tall. Stand on your own two feet. Take a stand. Stand in the gap. Stand up and be counted. To stand firm is to not give ground or surrender. It can takes courage to defend the vulnerable and support others standing by your side. Someone standing strong is engaged in the battle, not merely being a spectator to the fight. And even when we’re filled with the power of God, standing strong isn’t easy in the spiritual warfare of our age.

               Our enemies fall into three groups who often work together against us: the world, our flesh, and the devil. (Ephesians 2) We can understand the devil better if we consider his many Biblical names, all of which he has earned: beast, deceiver, evil one, liar, murderer, power of darkness, slanderer, tempter, thief, and wicked one. Our enemies can instill a real fear in us, and that’s OK. Courage is standing strong and doing what’s right regardless of the danger and suffering that may come our way. We admire the bravery of Esther who risked everything by speaking to the king to save God’s people from genocide. (Esther 7) We remember John the Baptist’s courage to condemn Herod’s sin, and the high price he paid. (Matthew 14)

               Our enemies also have another emotion to use against us in this spiritual battle: indifference. The deadly sin of acedia, often translated as sloth, has been called the noonday devil. Acedia is a combination of weariness, sadness, a lack of purposefulness, and joylessness. Acedia is often masked with a flurry of busyness and distractions that are hiding a spiritual emptiness. The lukewarm attitude of acedia was severely condemned in the church at Laodicea. (Revelation 3)

               We may all be facing a time of increasing hostility to our Christian faith. Are you aware that a spiritual battle is raging? Do you care? How badly do you want to win? Being afraid is OK. Being indifferent is not. As our brothers and sisters have done for countless generations, we must stand firm, fight the good fight, and hope for the day when we will see the salvation of the Lord.

Lamenting Is Good. Complaining Is Bad

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most do.” On average, we complain a few dozen times each day. Our complaints can span the serious to the frivolous. Chronic complaining harms our mental and physical health, and damages our relationships. Listening to the complaints of others can be emotionally and physically draining. Complaining is an expression of powerlessness. It discloses what unmet expectations we have.  It reveals an unthankful heart. No wonder God commands us to do everything without grumbling or complaining. (Philippians 2) If we doubt whether God takes complaining seriously, we should remember how He punished the Israelites after their exile from Egyptian slavery when they repeatedly grumbled against Aaron and Moses. (Exodus 16 and Numbers 14)

               Yet lamentations are common throughout the Psalms. For example, in Psalm 6, “Lord my God … save and deliver me from all who pursue me … Vindicate me, Lord … Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.” In Psalm 10, “Call the evildoer to account for his wickedness.” In Psalm 13, “How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” In Psalm 43, “Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.” One book of the Old Testament is even titled “Lamentations”!

               How can lamenting be godly, but complaining sinful? How are lamenting and complaining different? At its root, complaining declares that God is not sufficiently good, faithful, loving, wise, or powerful. When we complain, we are passing judgment on God’s rule and reign over His created world. When we complain we are essentially saying that if God were as good as advertised, then He would treat us better or run the universe more to our liking. There was no more heartfelt and agonizing lament than Jesus’ words from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27) A sinful complainer at the cross might have cried out “why has God forsaken me?” or “see how God has forsaken me.”

               When Christians lament, we are expressing our suffering and the suffering of others because of sin in a fallen world. But unlike self-centered complaining, a godly prayer of lament shows that we know God is sovereign, good, omnipotent, and His lovingkindness is everlasting. Prayers of laments in Scripture often progress from one’s current negative circumstances to a hopeful future; from sorrow to joy; from fear to trust. Godly laments demonstrate faith and take comfort in knowing that Christ will judge sin in His way and in His time. Prayers of lament show that our ultimate hope is that God will renew and restore all creation.         

               Godly laments are prayers where we bring our deepest fears, our heartfelt concerns, and our overwhelming griefs to our Heavenly Father. We are honest about our pain and our sorrows. Then we boldly ask for God’s grace to help us, save us, and rescue us from the wickedness bearing down on us. At its root, lamentation prayers trust in God and praise Him for who He is. Godly prayers of lament are an opportunity to renew our confidence in our Lord in times of pain, anguish and despair. If we wonder whether it’s OK to prayerfully lament, remember we are commanded to cast all our cares on Him, because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5) If we have any cares or worries, we should bring them to our Heavenly Father instead of merely complaining to others who probably don’t want to hear our gripes anyway.

Remembering How God Fulfilled His Eternal Promises to Provide a Messiah

               Each Advent-Christmas season I try to focus on one aspect of the “greatest story ever told”. In past years I’ve meditated on the lives of Mary & Joseph, Jesus’ humanity & deity, the couple’s journey to Bethlehem, the angels & the shepherd, and prophecies of Jesus’ birth. After listening to a sermon by Bryan Chapell (former president of Covenant Seminary), this year I studied and reflected on what I had previous thought were some of the most boring portions of Scripture: Jesus’ genealogy. I know that Biblical genealogies confirm the historical reliability of God’s Word and that God accomplished His purposes through imperfect and sinful people; just like us. But this year I saw how often Jesus’ ancestors narrowly escaped the devil’s schemes to prevent fulfillment of God’s promise to provide a Messiah who was a descendant of Adam, Abraham, David, et al.

               So often in history the promise of Savior came within one life of being broken. Noah and Shem survived a global flood in a homemade boat. Famine nearly killed Abraham, Judah, Boaz, and others. Abraham and Ruth were childless until very late in their lives. Isaac was nearly killed by Abraham. Many kings of Israel could have died in battles before having any children, including David, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Uzziah, and Josiah. After the exile in Babylon, several generations of Jesus’ ancestors were at the mercy of their ruthless enemies. King Joash was the only heir to David’s throne to escape his grandmother’s scheme to kill all the heirs so she could be queen and assume power over the nation. As a child, he was hidden for six years in the temple with a nurse to save his life. (2 Kings 11)

               Even Jesus escaped several attempts on His life that would have thwarted His death on the cross.  He was nearly killed by Herod after His birth, but the family escaped to Egypt. One time a crowd wanted to throw Him off a cliff. Another time a crowd wanted to stone Him. Jewish leaders repeatedly plotted to kill Jesus. History teaches us that God can and has overcome the forces of darkness with His light and grace to protect His people and to fulfill all His eternal promises. History gives us great hope and confidence that God will fulfill all the eternal promises that we are waiting to be fulfilled, especially the return of Jesus Christ when we will all be united with Him.

Hope in the Lord: Regardless of Your ‘Sinner Score’

In the U.S., nearly all of us have a credit score which represents the likelihood that we will repay our debts and loans. The Chinese government has taken individual evaluations further and created a Social Credit System. Each citizen is assessed based on their criminal activity, political activity, credit worthiness, thoughtfulness toward their neighbors, and other conduct. One’s score is negatively affected by playing loud music on public transportation, jaywalking, failing to properly sort trash, playing too many video games, and other anti-social behaviors. Positive factors affecting one’s social credit score include donating blood, volunteering in the community, and being honest in business transactions. A poor social credit score makes getting loans more difficult, forfeits many discounted purchases, could result in one’s children being blacklisted from university admissions, is used by employers when hiring job candidates, and has many other negative consequences.

               Imagine if God kept a ‘sinner score’ for each of us. We might obsess about how many points this sin is worth, or how much that sin cost us. When our guilt level was high, we would be kind and generous to others so we could raise our score. At times we might wonder if our score was so poor that we might be beyond the reach of God’s grace. The bad news is that God does have a ‘sinner score’ for each of us and our ‘sinner score’ is zero with no hope of self-improvement. The good news is that no one is beyond the grace of God who can provide any of us with a perfect score. When Jesus came ‘to seek and save the lost’, He knew that throughout history people would scrutinize His every word and action. By singling out the worst of sinners in His day and restoring them publicly, Jesus let everyone know that the salvation He offers is available to them too regardless of their dismal ‘sinner score’.

               Think of some of the worst of sinners that Jesus saved. Jesus ate at the home of Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, and told him that “salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19) Jesus rescued an adulterous woman who was about to be stoned. Jesus told her, “to go and sin no more.” (John 8) Jesus healed a leper, a social and religious outcast who no one would come near. (Matthew 8) Jesus promised “living water” to an unloved Samaritan woman. (John 4) Jesus even restored Simon Peter after he denied Him repeatedly at His crucifixion. (John 21) And after His resurrection and ascension, Jesus saved Paul (Saul), who had been threatening Jesus’ disciples and cursing God. (Acts 9) Paul was amazed at the saving grace of God because he thought of himself as “the worst of sinners.” (1 Timothy 1)

               Our songbooks have many examples of the love, grace, and mercy God has for sinners. John Newton, the ship captain and slave trader who was famous for his extreme profanity, wrote “Amazing Grace” to describe the sweet and precious grace of His Savior. In Julia Johnston’s hymn “Grace Greater than Our Sin” she describes God’s grace as marvelous, infinite, and matchless. In Charles Wesley’s hymn “And Can It Be?” he sings of God’s amazing and divine love, and His Savior’s immense and free mercy. And if we still have doubts whether God’s grace is sufficient to save someone with our pathetic ‘sinner score’, just consider Jesus’ invitation to people in some of the most wicked cities in Israel, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11) It is only after facing the bad news of our sin that we can more fully appreciate the good news (gospel) of grace that Jesus offers.

Hope in the Lord: While Expecting and Waiting

Faith, hope, and love are important and distinctive characteristics of a Christian’s life. But what exactly is this divine hope that God provides for His people? Why does godly hope hold such power in difficult circumstances for so many people? How does the hope promised in the Bible differ from common, everyday thoughts of hope? Modern English grammar lessons distinguish between waiting, expecting, and hoping. Generally, waiting is how we spend our time until what we hope for or expect happens. Waiting is mostly physical. Expecting means that you are confident that something will happen. Expecting is mostly intellectual and rational. Hope means that you want something good to happen. Hope is primarily emotional. We can expect good or bad things to happen with more or less confidence, but hope is always directed toward a better future regardless of the likelihood.

               Hope is a desire for a favorable change in our circumstances. “I hope I win the lottery.” “I hope I get that new job.” “I hope to lose ten pounds.” “I hope the doctor has good news.” But hope without a rational expectation leads to disappointment. Some suggest that the key to happiness is to live without any expectations. They say, “avoid expectations to avoid disappointments.” But life without expecting a good future can become a life of despair. Where can we find a combination of hope and expectation to guarantee us a great future without disappointing us? The Bible promises that Christ the Lord is both the object and the source of a believer's godly hope regardless of how gloomy their present circumstances may be.

               In the Old Testament, waiting and hoping in the Lord are common prayers. “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” (Psalm 39, all ESV) “I will wait for the Lord … and I will hope in Him.” (Isaiah 8) “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope.” (Psalm 130) Even in terrible circumstances, this godly hope looks toward God for grace, joy, courage, and strength. “The hope of the righteous brings joy.” (Proverbs 10) “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3) “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 31)

               In the New Testament, we have an even clearer view of the “hope of the Gospel” (Colossians 1).  We expect God to fulfill all the promises of our restoration in a new heaven and a new earth. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2) “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (Timothy 4) Those whose “faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1) confidently expect, patiently hope for, and faithfully wait for their glorious future. Christian hope trusts Jesus for both the near future and an eternal future. This divine hope anticipates that God will fulfill all His promises to His people in His time and in a way that works all things together for our good. (Romans 8)

               Is this godly hope emotional? Absolutely. Is this divine hope intellectual and rational? Of course. Throughout history God’s people have relied on godly hope to sustain them in seemingly crushing circumstances. We are not facing struggles and temptations more difficult than others have faced. And God has not changed. He will never leave us and He has promised to strengthen us to be victorious conquerors until we reach heaven with Him. While we may dislike the waiting, we can rest confidently in a godly hope with the expectation of a glorious future beyond what we can ask or imagine.

How Do You Show an Unbeliever What They’re Missing?

In Mark 8, some people brought a blind man to Jesus so He could heal him. How did they convince the blind man to come to Jesus? How do you suppose those conversations went? These people knew Jesus, they knew how important it was to be able to see, and they knew Jesus could restore sight to the blind man. They had to convince the blind man to trust them before he would go along with them. Maybe they tried to describe a sunrise to the blind man. But even the best analytical explanation by a scientist or a terrific emotional portrait by a poet falls way short of capturing the beautiful shapes, the diversity of colors, and the motion of the clouds we have all seen in a sunrise. Or maybe they tried describing the man’s child’s smile. It was a big challenge to convince the blind man that he was missing something so important and to give him hope that Jesus could make his life dramatically better.

               The Bible uses many different descriptions for an unbeliever’s spiritual condition including being foolish, ignorant, and bankrupt. Scripture also makes several parallels between physical impairments and unbelief including being blind, deaf, lame, or dead. The challenge of evangelism is same one that the blind man’s friends had: explaining what people are missing in their life and how Jesus can make their life indescribably better in a way they cannot imagine.

               Just as unbelievers foolishly deny the grace of God, some people reject being healed from a serious physical disability. The Deaf community has been surprisingly hostile to cochlear implants; a device that allows many deaf people to hear. Why do the Deaf cling to their inability to hear? Many in the Deaf community do not want to be seen as having a disease or needing to be fixed. They are afraid of losing their place in their community, and they believe that gaining hearing is not worth the trade-off. Even if no one they know has given up enjoying music, listening to birds sing, and hearing their child’s first words to join the Deaf community, they remain unconvinced. C.S. Lewis summed up the human condition in this way, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. We are like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

               It would be cruel and painfully to continually remind the deaf and blind what they’re missing, if there was no way to fix their disability. But it would be even more unkind to not repeatedly tell the spiritually deaf and blind what they’re missing. Anyone can be cured and healed from their sin immediately. An eternal tragedy awaits everyone who is never healed from their spiritual condition apart from the grace of God. But actually opening spiritually blind eyes and deaf ears is above our pay grade. Only God can restore spiritually life to rebellious sinners, and He welcomes everyone who genuinely seeks Him. We are just called to proclaim the good news that “Jesus saves” to the spiritually blind and deaf people around us. It may take many conversations to convince these people to trust us and to come to Jesus to be healed. But few other conversations we have will have greater eternal significance.