#DevotionsWithTee - Hope Within 4 Walls
Being stuck indoors has me sinking back into depression. I’m suddenly forced to be alone with my thoughts. I’ve been made to come to a halt from the everyday frenzies of life and just… rest?
It’s funny because how do I truly rest when all around the world a pandemic is actually happening. Everyday the death toll rises. People’s lives literally just become a statistic on the news. Lives have been shifted. Jobs lost. Loved ones gone. No vaccine. No idea of when this will end. So how do I relax? How do I trust God? How do I continue to keep hope alive?
Being indoors for an indefinite period made me begin to think back to the story of Noah (Genesis 6 to 9). I was so confused as to how he and his family stayed on that big boat just floating around earth for so long. I even had to ask my mum the question. First the rain came. Who knew when it would stop? Then when it did stop they probably thought “is it time to get off the boat yet?” but no… it was far from time.
Any who, the answer my mum gave me really hit a nerve. She said, “He done it in the Lord’s strength”. It hit a nerve because being raised in a Christian household I feel as though I’m supposed to know that. I feel as though I’m supposed to do that. In fact, I know I should do that. Truth be told, it’s so easy to let life’s circumstances overwhelm you that I even forget God promised He would be my strength (Isaiah 40:31).
This lead me to think about the power of God to bring us through uncertainty and “keep hope alive” whilst we are in our 4 walls (to be honest I’m blessed to even have the privilege to have an inside to sleep in).
PSA: It may get a little long as we’re about to delve into scripture!
Often times I forget that life isn’t actually supposed to be smooth sailing. I feel as though Christians believe they're immune from a lot of things and end up getting a little too comfy and when something distasteful comes our way we get agitated. We feel as though we have been treated unfairly. However, Jesus himself said that if we are to follow Him then we must deny self and take up our own cross (Luke 9:23). Paul takes this even further and tells us that because Jesus did suffer, as followers of Christ we must suffer too (1 Peter 2:21)
But Jesus provides words of comfort in John 14:27 where He says:
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
If there’s one thing I’ve realised this world wants you to live in fear. Fear is a controller. The media will create hysteria and panic and sit back and watch the results as their pockets get bigger. Jesus isn’t like that though. As Christians we were never promised a life of bliss and continuous happy endings. This isn’t Disney. We were given the promise of peace through our trials. We were told that Jesus would always be right by our side regardless. If I stop here that should be enough to keep hope alive right?
Well… I’m not done yet!
Worry and fear will actually kill you. Fear actually weakens the brain, it can send you into depression, it can cause you to age faster, can result in high blood pressure and more. Luke 12:25-26 (EASY English Bible Version) says:
Even if you are always thinking about your life, you cannot make it go on any longer, not even by one hour! No you cannot even do a small thing like that. So if you are always thinking about the things that you need, will that really help you?
Essentially, worrying is a waste of time. It won’t change anything. Fix anything. Ease your pain. Instead we are instructed to “Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually” (1 Chronicles 16:11). This is because; God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalms 46:1). The Psalmist goes on to say that even when madness is happening right under our feet and the world is in a state of manic, “we stand fearless” (Psalm 46:2 MSG Version) simply because “The Lord of hosts is with us” (verse 11).
The last verse I shall leave you with is a verse to reflect on in this time. 1 Corinthians 2:5 (KJV):
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
I really love the way the MSG Version puts it:
“Your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me [Paul] or anyone else”
When I reflect upon this verse and link it to the verses before I realise that time and time again we are shown God’s strength. We are shown the miracles He can do. So why do we doubt? Because we give into fear. We tune our hearts into the hysteria and mania of the world and turn away from trusting God. We forget God’s power and thus lose faith. We are no longer responding because we are no longer listening.
Noah saw God’s hand in the midst of his season. God spoke to Him and gave Him instructions. God lead every animal two by two to the ark as promised. God closed the Ark with His own hand. God said it would rain and sure enough it rained. How could Noah, after seeing ALL OF THIS, then lose hope? How can we after seeing all and knowing all that we know lose hope?
https://youtu.be/MxWMhKt2J-0