A Faith Journal

When I wrote this nearly 2 years ago, I had not experienced the pain of grieving Chris. As I was writing this series, I didn’t realize that Christmas season would be his last. This post hits a little differently now, but I still stand by it. Never does it say the pain will end on this side of heaven. If you are struggling with grief this season, know you are not alone and that while the pain may not end on this side of heaven, God still has a plan for you. If you need someone to lean on, reach out, I’ve got you.

Today we are going to stay with this idea of hope when everything seems quiet from God or when we are questioning His ways. During these times, hope may seem impossible. What good comes from bad things happening? Why can’t God give us answers in a clear way we can understand? I don’t have the answers for those types of questions, but I know of at least one time God went “silent.” It is a blank page in most Bibles, between Malachi and Matthew, that represents somewhere around 400 years of “silence.” I put quotations around silence because, can the creator of the universe really be silent? His creations speak volumes if we listen. Also, I’d be willing to bet He spoke to individuals, just not prophets, like the Israelites were used to.

A lot can happen and change in 400 years. To put that into perspective, the United States has only been a country for 247 years and A LOT has changed. We’ve experienced many growing pains in our past as we have tried to figure out this “experiment” we call the United States. We will likely continue to experience them as cultures and environments change and progress. We will likely never have a clear answer for why these events happen, but we can choose to trust that God is good, and He will lead us on the best path if we listen and obey Him.

Today, if pain and heartache try to steal your hope, remember the acronym H.O.P.E. (hold on pain ends). I would even say if that seemed too difficult right now, try “hold on pain eases,” over time. Grieving and questioning God’s ways are nothing new. During their 400 years of silence, the Israelites had to fight to keep their hope alive as well. The simplest and yet most difficult thing to do is to pray and give it all to God. However, just think what reward the Israelites got after 400 years of persevering; to walk this Earth with Jesus and learn from Him. Let’s keep our hope alive so that we can one day do the same.

Lord,
Many of us have questions. We would love answers to all our questions, but I know we can’t all handle the whole truth. Please give us answers or guide us on our right path. As we fight the pain and heartache that tries to steal our hope, give us peace that only you can wash over us. We seek you and your ways today and always, even when we don’t understand them. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

P.S. Here is a link to my favorite band’s (for King & Country) song titled Hold On Pain Ends if you are interested.