Lent Day 40: Hope when all is lost

I wrote this three years ago, and am thinking about it again on this day between Good Friday and Easter. God is good - and trustworthy. When all we hope for is lost, He remains the same, yesterday, today, and forever...

--------
Their tomorrows were wiped away in an evening. All their hopes, dreams, ambitions, and aspirations attached to Jesus had come to nothing. For years, they'd followed him around the countryside, eating and sleeping where they were given hospitality. It hadn't been easy, but clearly he was someone special.

The day after Jesus died, the disciples were in shock: "He said he'd come to set up a kingdom, and we expected to be elevated with him." And, "We left everything to follow him, but it's been for nothing. He's dead. Gone. We can't believe it!"

Sometimes when hope is utterly dead, God is still at work. "It's not over until it's over." In other words, the outcome is determined by God, not by our understanding.

How could the disciples expect that, just when all was lost, the unthinkable was taking place. Not only a kingdom of earth and humanity was rising, but Jesus was proclaiming dominion over evil, hell, and even death itself. Unbelievable.

Unbelievable... until Easter morning.

In retrospect, it is easier to see the power and majesty of God. When we are wading through darkness, smeared with blame and guilt, drowning in unmet goals, we forget whose resurrection we celebrate. Each day, whether it is challenging or a walk-in-the-park, Jesus who died and rose again sustains us.

Hallelujah for the cross, especially when it seems, to our finite understanding, that all is lost.

Are there things you hoped for, dreamed of, that are on hold or have been lost? How might God be at work in the secret silences between your past and your future?

Read more:
*You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Psalm 86:5 ESV

*He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5 ESV

*Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:46 ESV

*But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Lord Jesus, what a precious gift you gave to all humankind—giving up your life so that we would have eternal life. We accept your gift and pray to use our gifts and talents to bring others to know your love. Amen.

Resurrection days

"Life from 30,000-Year-Old Seeds!" Wow - I read via the BBC that scientists have coaxed plants from seeds buried by squirrels. Very old squirrels, apparently. Chinese scientists also found a 300,000-year-old swamp formed "in a few days," beautifully preserved by catastrophe. I always wonder who verifies the dating process. Does someone get into a secret time machine and zip back to check the calendar? Scientists rarely follow their own rule that the simplest explanation is the place to start. Um, the Flood, anyone?

Like the seeds and the petrified swamp, many of us have dormant seasons. I feel like I'm looking ahead to life again. I submitted my dissertation yesterday. The committee will read it and I still have to defend it before it goes to the copy editor and bookbinder. This morning, after waking in a sweat to wonder if I should have read it ONE MORE TIME!, I decide not to look at it until later in the week.

I'm going grocery shopping instead. That may not seem like much of an outing to those who regularly visit Safeway or QFC. (I've been at a regular grocer 2-3X since last summer.) W and I typically visit Costco, Trader Joes, and Grocery Outlet twice or thrice a month. Our pantry is bursting but my eclectic shopping list has been growing for a month. We're low on rolled grains for Mueli, cornstarch, Asian-style corn oil, and silver polish. (The polish has lasted 24 years, purchased at JAFCO in Bellevue the year after we moved to Seattle.)

I'll send off the last tutorial this morning before I head out the door. (I may have to learn to drive the car again: W's been chauffeuring us to church and out to eat out at least once a week.) It will be nice to visit with our daughter, who's been here since early December but travels back home on Tuesday. My house needs more than the once-over that's been its weekly fate. The fresh and saltwater aquariums need an algae clearing. And - if the rain stops - the dogs could use a good walk.

Many of us currently live in stormy winters, dormant or tossed about by circumstances. Some of us can feel warmth ahead, a growing season with longer days and new sprouts shooting up where the earth has been bare and cold. Others enjoy a personal summer, fully blooming with fruit maturing and feeding those around us.

Before I do anything else, I pause to thank God for endings and beginnnings. We're glad our daughter's foot is healing from surgery. We're thankful for ongoing health and strength for W and me. We're grateful for baby Kinsey, who continues to delight with normal development. I'm awed by God's provision in 1001 other ways.

Please join us in praying urgently today for Donny Neary. A high school student, he's suffered loss of central vision in both eyes over the past two weeks and had stroke-like symptoms yesterday. He's in San Diego, where an eye specialist was to see him today. Instead, he's under observation at Children's Hospital because of the other symptoms. Please pray that God intervenes for him and his folks (Dan and Laurie). When children suffer, parents' lives also become turbulent; they need the sustaining prayers of others.

Meanwhile, our daughter's body has flared with severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms as the rain and winds blow across Seattle. How we would love for God to heal her! She's suffered for 15 years; we'd all be grateful for her complete remission.

Let's look around today to see where God is at work in his Family and in the world. Is he directing us to be his helping hand? A praying partner? An encourager and cheerleader? The one who cooks meals or cleans the house for needy sisters or brothers? The provider of rent or giver to missions? To visit someone in the hospital or a shut-in at home? (cartoon: http://cakeordeathcartoon.wordpress.com)

Let's be like those old seeds, reviving and thriving in surprising and perhaps unexpected environments. God, let us feel your touch today. Water us with the Word, warm us with your presence and interactions with Family, and guard the tender new growth as our prayers rise to you.

Read more:

*I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. Psalm 17:6-9 NIV

*Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28

*God has not left himself without a witness in doing good - giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy. Acts 14:17

Moravian Prayer: Creator God, you will not faint or grow weary of your people. Your love is endless and your provisions are bountiful. We joyfully give you thanks and praise for your goodness towards your whole creation. Amen.