By Karen Y. Stevens

 

When I miss a few church services for whatever reason, and when I don’t read my Bible, after a few weeks, I feel hopeless, lost.  

My heart wants to return to that closeness with God, but guilt, shame, and laziness, all crowd out the desire to return to that safe place.  

Hope and purpose are what all our lives strive on.  

Hope means “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”  

When we aren’t hearing God’s word thru some sort of vehicle or leaning on Him, our hope somehow gets snatched away, and then we are on that back burner, simmering away into nothingness.  

Have you ever left a pot on the stove for too long?  Everything will disappear, but depending on what’s in the pot, depends on the mess it leaves.  If it’s just water, not much of a mess, but if it is substantial; a huge mess ensues.

That is like our spiritual lives.  

If we don’t have much substance, then there isn’t anything left after being away from Christ.  But if you have had a great relationship, grown with Him, walked with Him, then that mess left in your heart is huge.  You have turmoil, uneasiness, longing for that peace and settlement.

When I was fifteen, my mother left a pot on the stove, and the house burned.  I can still remember the big holes in the roof, walls, etc. and the black mess it left.  

Above, Webster’s definition states, “hope is a “feeling?”  

I have been told all my life that Christianity is not a “feeling”, but I think it plays a huge part.  

Just as when you meet that first love of your life, you’re overwhelmed with emotion.  Or right before you give that big speech, see your child being born, etc. All these produce emotions.  What is love anyway, without a feeling? It means you care, you have a desire.

I have been married for 30 years, and yes, the feelings grow weaker over time.  But, when my husband does something nice for me, that flame glows a little brighter to encourage that love.  

Just as our love for Jesus.  

When He does something for us, like help us financially, heal a loved one, or just being there, holding our hand, and giving us peace.  The love grows brighter.

In Romans 7:15-20 – Paul goes back and forth about wanting to do what is right, but he ends up doing what he hates.  I’m unsure what Paul’s dilemma was, but I’m sure the way he is rambling about being pulled back and forth, he felt the uneasiness and lack of peace.  But even through the uneasiness, Paul kept moving forward.

So, no matter what is going on in your life, pick yourself up if you have fallen, and keep moving forward with God.  2 Timothy 4:7-8 encourages us all to finish running the race!

And in the words of Christopher Cross – “I’ve got such a long way to go, so ride, or run like the wind.”

 

Karen Y. Stevens is the founder of Orange County Christian Writers Guild