Hope

Two months ago, I heard a very moving story on radio, told by a young and brave woman. The story was long and unfortunately, I did not have the time to listen to it. Later on, I typed the lady’s name on google and was pleasantly surprised to read the story in full. She had been abducted on her wedding day, got raped by the abductors, stabbed in the stomach and thrown out of a moving vehicle. She healed after several months and finally got married to her fiancé. Unfortunately, he died 29 days later due to carbon monoxide poisoning and left her a grieving widow. It was such a trying time in her life that she fell into a deep depression. The grace of God that reaches out to us when we are in impossible situations touched her life and she was able to recover completely. She became a pastor, got married and is blessed with a beautiful daughter.

There are many people who like the lady above, have gone through so much in life; they have experienced extreme pains, heartaches, hurts and they no longer have nor believe that there is still hope. In all these instances, God is always there, waiting for them to turn and lean on him for strength. He does care for us and it is when we feel all alone, discouraged and angry that he, in his love for us is nearer than ever. (Philippians 4:13 says that, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”) All we need is to keep our hopes alive in him.

Listen to the account Paul gives of the incidents and sufferings he encountered in carrying out the will of Jesus; (“Five times I was given the thirty-nine lashes by the Jews; three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been shipwrecked three times; I have spent a night and day as a castaway at sea. What journeys I have undertaken, in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from my own people, in danger from the gentiles; danger in cities, danger in the wilderness, danger in the sea, danger among false brethren! I have met with toil and weariness, so often been sleepless, hungry, and thirsty; so often denied myself food, gone cold and naked. And all this, over and above something else which I do not count; I mean the burden I carry everyday, my anxious care for all the churches.” 2^nd Corinthians 11:24-28.) He survived all that and never once did he lose hope. He became one of the most important instrument in spreading Christianity the world over. 

God loves us so much that he keeps assuring us in his words. Let us not allow these temporary setbacks take us away from that love and hope for a better day. God will act if we abandon ourselves to him. Paul the apostle of Christ was such an inspiration! (In Romans 5:1-5 he says; “Since we are justified by faith, let us enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access, by faith, to that grace in which we stand and we rejoice in the hope of attaining glory as the sons of God. More than that, we rejoice even in our afflictions, knowing well that affliction gives rise to patience, and patience brings hope, and this hope does not disappoint us; for the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”)

Once we recognize the insignificant and contingent nature of our earthly endeavors, the way is then open for true hope, a hope which upgrades all human work and turns it into a meeting point with God. An inexhaustible light then bathes everything we do and chases away the dark shadows of disappointment. Perhaps there is no greater tragedy for man than the sense of disillusionment he suffers when he has corrupted or falsified his hope, by placing it in something other than the one Love which satisfies without ever satiating. Just knowing that we are sons and daughters of God should fill us with real hope, which, being a supernatural virtue, adapts to our nature when it is infused in us, and so is also a very human virtue.

When you’ve been hit so much with life’s challenges and everything seems to come to an end, never give up. These periods when you feel like it is over for you, do not lose hope. Consider them like a bad chapter in a book that you are reading and if you keep turning the pages, then the chapter ends. God has put an intrinsic treasure in all of us; that of hope so do not quit and keeping looking up to him for strength. Let us grow in hope, thereby strengthening our faith which is truly (“that which gives substance to our hopes, which convinces us of things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1)

A Holy Interior Life.

Interior life is a life which seeks God in everything, a life of prayer and the practice of living in the presence of God. It connotes intimate, friendly conversation with Him, and a determined focus on internal prayer versus external actions, while these latter are transformed into means of prayer.

God wants to be our closest confidant and the only way that can happen is if we try to get to know something about him on a daily basis.  This can only be achieved by keeping a close communication tie with him; whether in prayer, just voicing out our thoughts to him, thanksgiving, reading his word or singing him praises.

Someone who keeps and watches over their interior life is poles apart from another who is just living life. There is some peace, calmness, joy and beauty that radiates from deep within the former. Below is the summary of a book Thomas a Kempis wrote, which is very simple and to the point.

Thomas a Kempis: Imitation of Christ

"The kingdom of God is within you," says the Lord. Turn, then, to God with all your heart. Forsake this wretched world and your soul shall find rest. Learn to despise external things, to devote yourself to those that are within, and you will see the kingdom of God come unto you, that kingdom which is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, gifts not given to the impious. Christ will come to you offering His consolation, if you prepare a fit dwelling for Him in your heart, whose beauty and glory, wherein He takes delight, are all from within. His visits with the inward man are frequent, His communion sweet and full of consolation, His peace great, and His intimacy wonderful indeed. Therefore, faithful soul, prepare your heart for this Bridegroom that He may come and dwell within you; He Himself says: "If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him."

6 Sins Against The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is our helper. He gives us Fortitude to face all our fears, Prudence to know what to do or say in any circumstance.Usually depicted as a dove.

Presumption: Assuming that God will save you in-spite of despite what you do. This means that you live your life as you see fit, without any connection to God since he created you and it's up to him to save you. Others go contrary to his precepts, while assuming that he still loves them regardless.

Despair: How can we give up when we know that his plans are the best? when we understand that we have been loaned this life and created with a purpose? yet, most of us often go through great depressions and despair, forgetting that we indeed have someone who talks constantly to us - Holy Spirit.

Resisting Truth: Even without being told, we know that God is the truth, his word is the truth and his laws are binding. He has clearly stated what he expects from us and we (as obedient children) need to follow that. However, most of the time we go ahead and participate in practices like abortion, using contraceptives, not bring up our children in the ways of God, living in trial marriages. If God is the truth and the devil a liar, whom are we imitating or looking up to?

Envy of another person's good: This occurs when we don't feel good whenever someone else is blessed or succeeds at something. We are our brothers keeper and we need to rejoice with them every time good befalls them.

Obstinacy in sinning: So, we have discovered that pre-marital sex is wrong and a sin before God, the next step would be to look for a way to get out of it and either get married or stop the relationship, wrong! mostly we tend to justify why we are doing it, while staying there and doing nothing about it. God hates sin and as we know where sin dwell, the Holy spirit doesn't dwell in there. 

Impenitence: When we lack repentance after sinning. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, how can he dwell in a filthy place? He can't and then we are left all alone without his guidance. 
 

Forgiveness.

                                 
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He was an ordinary boy, living an ordinary life, in an ordinary place. One day he felt a great discontent and decided to move out of that place. He wanted some sort of excitement and a new life. After some reflection, he approached his father and asked for his inheritance. His father was really sad; no parent wants to lose their child to the world no matter what, but he gave in and gave the son whatever he had asked for.   

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Years passed by, they always do and he squandered all his inheritance away on worldly pleasures. Suddenly his status among his new friends diminished and he became a nobody. Things were so bad, that he would eat with the pigs, because he had been judged and found not worthy to be someone anymore. Suddenly, he thought of home, back to that ordinary home and decided to go back as a servant because his father treated everyone in his household with love and kindness. 

His father saw him and welcomed him with an open arm; "Son, you were lost and now you are found. Welcome back home" How joyous the father was! Words can not really explain it. 

                                                   
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Forgiveness is hard! Most of us will probably struggle with it our whole life.

We can not keep grudges of everything that others do to us; it ties us down to that emotion - anger - which we know of so well. It also ties us to that person we have refused to forgive, in a very negative way. 

There is great relief and peace of mind in forgiving. Take the example of Christ; man sinned and did everything that displeased God and what did God do? He sent his son to come to the world to die for all humanity so that all our sins would be erased.   

Lacking forgiveness comes down to one major thing; PRIDE. There! If we can pray against pride, then we are on our way to practicing forgiveness.