Steadfast Hope and Watchful Prayer.
What does it mean to hope in Christ but still hope for certain things without accidentally hoping in those desired outcomes rather than in Christ?
This is a question I have not only asked myself, but have often been asked by many dear friends and those God has allowed me to counsel. And I am sure, that if you are honest with yourself, you have struggled with this, as well.
So what does it mean to keep our hope in Christ and not place it in our circumstances and/or the outcomes of our prayers?
All throughout Scripture, we see that hope comes from nothing and no one apart from Christ. As you and I know from the brokenness we experience every day as a result of sin and living in a broken, fallen world, when we hope in anything other than Christ we end up heartbroken, frustrated, angry, hurt, confused, and hopeless.
Even though we can agree with this reality, we unintentionally end up hoping in particular outcomes and fulfilled desires. We see this in the things that we pray for steadfastly, day in and day out, yet never seem to see come to fruition, and as a result, we find ourselves easily in a place of despair. Or maybe not even despair, but rather a place of apathy. The statements "well, God just isn't listening to my prayers because He is answering this" or "God doesn't care about me or this concern of mine, and He obviously doesn't want me to have this, so there is no point in continuing to ask for it." These thoughts are untrue and are bathed in false hope.
In 1 Peter 1:13-16, we read, "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”"
As I was reading this text one morning, I was stopped by multiple thoughts and faced with multiple reflection questions, and I would love to invite you to answer them for yourself, as well.
Am I truly preparing my mind for action each and every day? Am I being still (physically, mentally, and spiritually), assessing thoughts and feelings, taking these thoughts and feelings captive, and renewing my mind with Truth and the hope of His Word and Promises to me as a child of God?
Am I setting my hope fully on/in Christ? Or am I trying to find hope (or the lack thereof) in my current realities and hard circumstances?
Am I seeking the passions of my former ignorance? Such as: looking to relationships with others to fix my feelings of loneliness, ignoring/avoiding the true feelings and thoughts at war in my heart and mind, and relying on my own strength and ability to fix my circumstances and make it through.
Am I truly seeking to live a holy (set apart) life, one that points others to Christ in all of my words and actions? Do others see the hope of Christ in me and in my response to the various circumstances in life, or does it look the same as those of the world: despair, anxiety, anger, etc.
Am I truly finding joy and satisfaction in Christ alone?
Loved ones, the reality is, we are not guaranteed anything in this life except for that of which we have received by grace through faith in Christ alone. This is hard for us because there are so many things that we desire. Oftentimes our ongoing struggles and unfulfilled answered prayers are good things and desires that are of the Lord, but they can just be out of order in our hearts. We often think "if I just had ________ then I could do this" or "if _______ were true of my life then I wouldn't struggle with this anymore", among many other similar thoughts. However, the reality is, we have all that we need first and foremost in Christ Jesus. Now, I am not diminishing the reality of the true emotions and struggle of a good desire and the active surrender that may be going on in prayer, I am simply standing with you and refocusing our hope to be in the One who meets all of our needs and can satisfy all of our deepest longings and desires. When our hope is solely in Him, then we can remain steadfast in hope because He is a good and perfectly sovereign God and loving Father, and we can trust that His plans for our life are, indeed, good and purposeful, including the timing of them. Our hope and satisfaction are not dependent upon the outcome of our prayers; rather our hope and satisfaction are in God fulfilling and accomplishing His great plans and purposes in and through us. We must cling to the Truth and find rest in His promise that He will give us all that we need to fulfill His purposes for our lives.
Lately, my prayer and genuine response to my dear sisters walking by my side through some tough stuff has been, "I just want to be okay. Even if _______ never happens, I just want to be okay because I have God and know that He is with me and for me. I just want to truly believe that I lack nothing and have all that I need in Christ." This prayer has been one of great surrender yet met with such a deep peace.
As we are faced with the many desires and grievances here on earth, I pray that you would see the beauty of fellowship to which God has invited us through Christ Jesus. I pray that today, whatever you may be walking through, you would cling to the hope of the Gospel. If you have trusted in Christ alone for salvation, then loved ones, you have a Hope that goes much deeper and is much greater than anything this life here on earth can offer you; we have a hope and peace which surpasses all understanding and leads us to a place of surrender and trust in God alone, even when nothing about our circumstances makes sense to us or those around us.
I pray that you would not stop praying those prayers and hoping for certain things to come to pass, but I also pray that you would ask God to help you surrender the outcomes of those prayers so that you would not grow weary in hope. I pray that He would help you see His presentness, sufficiency, and provision in the waiting and in the "no". I pray that you would cling to His grace and press into the hope that He is who He says He is. I also pray that you would rest in the present moment and give thanks for all you do have. I pray that you would have the courage to remain steadfast and hopeful in prayer, being watchful to see how God chooses to answer those prayers, even if it does not look the way you had imagined or hoped.
May we learn how to steadfastly and fully hope in Christ without growing weary in casting all of our cares on Him and courageously hoping for the things we are surrendering to the Lord in prayer.There is a beautiful grace and a sweet fellowship that awaits us in this process, as we humble ourselves and seek Him earnestly.
Soli Deo gloria.
“God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knew.”