It has been a while since I have posted and posting is mainly for myself. I do have a few "readers" and I hope that those few will keep me accountable for the posts to follow.
I am beginning (and hopefully will stick with) two-30 day blogs. The first blog will focus on looking for hope and the second will focus on looking for joy.
After some serious "introspection", I have decided that there are two things that I desperately lack in my life: hope and joy. I think one must first find hope in order to obtain joy. As many might know, joy is not "happiness". We live in a culture obsessed with being happy. Happiness is based on circumstances while joy is something found more "deeply within" - even in light of negative circumstances.
I am not sure where my emotional apathy began. Maybe it first reared it's ugly head after taking a course on "At Risk Children" as part of my Masters Degree. Hearing about child-soldiers, human trafficking, abuse and neglect of children world-wide put a wound in me that maybe I did not want to acknowledge. This wound grew deeper with multiple senses of betrayal throughout a long career in ministry and various dimensions that come with that call.
I am convinced that the fight against human depravity, whether personal or societal, is the most difficult fight humanity ever faces. Personal demons or national atrocities seem to be in abundance. As a Christian, I have to believe that there is redemption to be had. As a human, I want that redemption to happen in the here and now, not just wait until Jesus comes back.
So, day one in my search for hope begins...
Sometimes hope can be difficult to find - especially on a daily basis. I fear that this may be a daunting task if I undertake this on my own. I don't want the search for hope to be inauthentic. I don't want it to be the kind of thing we experience when we are told to, "Say something nice about a person," and the only thing we come up with is, "I really like your shoes." I may need help and encouragement to find hope.
I suppose it would be cliche to say I always have my hope in Jesus, but truth be known, sometimes I need to see "Jesus in action" and, more than likely, that is going to have to come through other people. Some of those people may not even be Christians. I do believe that God can use ALL things and ALL people to bring about hope - even if they do not call upon His name.
Day 1 of Hope - https://www.operationundergroundrailroad.org/
This organization is headed up by ex-Special Forces and former Navy Seal Operators. Where governments fail to declare war on sexual perpetrators and those who run human sex trafficking rings, these folks step in and take care of business. In Matthew 18:1-9, Jesus gives a profound warning to those who would harm children or cause them to be taken advantage of.
My hope today is that God would use Operation Underground Railroad to dramatically eliminate sex trafficking of children and that hope would come to these rescued children.
I put my hope in my family and myself. I put my faith in God that he will guide my hand to not only do the right thing but make the right decisions. I feel because of him I have everything I could ever want as a man. Matthew 7:7 I am far from the perfect Christian or even the perfect man but God is always there when I need him. My family has always taken care of me in my needs and prayed with me when times were rough. Sure now I have the house 2.5 kids boat and the life of a better than middle class man but I feel that is because I listened when God spoke. He spoke to me or through my family but I know he is the reason I am where I am. I often think of those not as fortunate as me or those children that have been abused or families torn apart from tragedy. I pray for them daily. I know I cannot change the world but feel that being a role model for my children will spread through their children and so on. I admire the Christians who live in these lands and help these people and I know what you feel but that is not my calling. perhaps I am just selfish in the life I have been given I don't know. I know this I love my family so much and am so thankful in what God has given me. Yes I struggled there were times I didn't know where the next meal or how to pay my electric, but I stayed strong through my faith that God will provide. My wife would worry and I would say don't stress it will happen and of course it did. So enough rambling the bottom line is my joy comes from my family and my faith is in God. I know I can't change the world and perhaps that is a "copout" but I can believe in my God and my family and change the world around me.
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