Tag Archives: Hope

by | January 10, 2024 · 11:57 am

“How to Have A Happier New Year”

Happy New Year! Of course, that’s what everyone always says this time of year, and I sincerely mean well whenever I say it. I also like it when someone says it to me. But the truth is, what I really wish for you is that you would discover greater peace, joy, meaning, and love this year, no matter how happy you may feel on any given day.

In other words, I’m not satisfied with just expressing or receiving wishes for happiness. I want so much more for myself and for you. And there’s so much more that goes into finding happiness than just wishing or making resolutions. If I am going to experience more of the abundant life that Christ talked about, I’m going to need to lean into my relationship with God in a big way. And I’m going to need to make a lot of good decisions about how I think, how well I stick to my daily habits, and how I choose to respond to life’s troubles and to other people who annoy me or cause me pain.

For me, it starts with attitude. I always look forward to the start of a new year, but first, I find it very encouraging to pause long enough to count my blessings from the year just ended. Despite so much grief, frustration, and uncertainty everywhere I look, I thank God for all the good exists amid the pain and struggle. I am particularly grateful for the love of my family, a new granddaughter, many good friends, and wonderful colleagues and co-workers. I treasure the many precious Spirit-filled moments I experienced with family, friends, students, and other people that I care about. 

I can easily find many things to complain about, but I choose to name and celebrate all the love and goodness in my life amid the darkness and suffering. That’s my starting place for preparing for a happy new year.

As you look back on 2023, what do you see when you look at your experiences through the eyes of faith and gratitude? For many of you, the year has been full of tears, frustrations, and painful memories. Can you see the blessings, too? 

As I look ahead, I assume that God will continue to be active in my life in loving for good ways. I also accept that I have a part to play in securing my own happiness. But the key here where I’m going to look. As a Christian, I believe that I will find the greatest satisfaction, meaning, peace, and joy in life by living for Christ and prioritizing love of God and neighbor, as Jesus taught us. 

For me, this means asking the right questions and seeking answers that will qualitatively effect how I think and live. For example, what habits do I need to form or strengthen so that I could know, love, and serve God better from day to day? How do I need to structure my prayers, reading, and giving so that I could better support and strengthen my brothers and sisters in Christ? What disciplines do I need to put into place so that I will “not be overcome by evil” so easily, but will be better able to “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21)? What changes do I need to make in my calendar, my attitudes, and my interactions, so that I will keep growing as a person, husband, father, grandfather, boss, co-worker, mentor, and friend? Above all, what spiritual practices will help me to keep my eyes on Jesus and to keep listening for the “still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of my life, every day?

What are your hopes, intentions, and prayers for 2024? What is your part in pursuing and securing your own happiness?

No matter what may happen (or not happen), may God work in your life in ways that you can perceive and appreciate. May you get clear about your role in seeking and securing your own happiness. May you see that what you most want and need is God, and that your inner peace and joy depend upon your relationship with Jesus Christ and on staying firmly in the sacred love flow—God’s love to you and for you, and God’s love flowing through you to others.Though we often cannot understand the ways of God, we have the promise in Scripture that God does indeed work all things together “for good for those who love him and are called according to his purposes” (Romans 8:28). Though sometimes we cannot see any good coming from our suffering or the evil deeds of others, this promise reminds us that we’re not alone amidst our struggles and suffering. For me, the thought that God is present and active in my life for good motivates me to order my life, thoughts, and priorities in the best possible ways. And to stay positive and keep going.

May you find the peace, joy, meaning, and strength you are looking for in 2024 by loving God and devoting yourself to serving his good and loving purposes. This is Christ’s pathway to the life you were called to. And this is what I mean when I wish you Happy New Year.

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by | December 23, 2023 · 5:51 am

“What’s worth celebrating this Christmas?”

The angel announcing Good News to the shepherds (Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France)

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah (Christ), the Lord.”

Luke 2:8-11 (NRSV)

Every year at Christmas time, these beloved verses from the Bible are read in some 37 million churches and in countless Christian homes all over the world. They concisely express why Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus year after year and why he is the focal point of their faith. In fact, the Greek verb, euangelizomai, which is translated, “bring good news” in verse 10 is a cognate of the Greek noun, euangelion, which is usually translated “Gospel” (literally, “good news”). In other words, the good news of the Christian Gospel, which has been preached and throughout the world over the past 2000 years, has its roots in the angel’s “good news of great joy for all the people,” the birth of Jesus.

Yet, as I sit in the comfort of my relatively safe and secure home in Minnesota, surrounded by all the privilege and material abundance of the American context, I can’t help but wonder how these verses sound to the millions of people in my own country and elsewhere around the world who must suffer daily from hunger, deprivation, or violence. I’m thinking about those who are abandoned, neglected, alienated, or simply alone without loved ones and friends at Christmas time. I’m imagining what it must be like for the 100 million internally displaced people and refugees who live in war-torn countries such as Ukraine, Myanmar (Burma), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Sudan, Syria, and other such places, some of whom have been or are my students. Amid such terrifying, unstable, or oppressive conditions, is there any “good news of great joy” for them? Is this Gospel message really for “all people” or only for those fortunate enough to live in peace, abundance, and security?

To answer these important questions, we have to get back to what the angel meant by “good news of great joy” and to what we can learn by observing the response of the shepherds to this good news.

In context, according to the Jewish writers of the New Testament, Jesus’s birth was the supreme moment in history when God fulfilled his promise to send a Savior to a troubled world. However, he didn’t arrive as a king, a political mastermind, a great warrior, or super-hero. Jesus identified with the most disadvantaged and beleaguered people in the world by living in poverty and suffering unjustly. Jesus was “God-with-us” (Immanuel), who experienced the same pain of discrimination, oppression, and mistreatment that afflict so many around the world.

Amid such difficult circumstance, Jesus lived with integrity, courage, faith, and compassion despite how he was mistreated and the obstacles he had to overcome. Even though he was forced to die a hideous and cruel death, he did not shrink back from his faith or devotion to God the Father. Evil-doers could and did take his life, but they couldn’t touch his soul. They could nail him to a cross, but they couldn’t keep him from changing the course of history and giving hope to billions of people globally.

In other words, Jesus’s birth was good news of great joy for all people because of what it signified about God’s faithfulness and what it announced about God’s intentions to provide a way of salvation through Jesus, despite our circumstances. 

  • By God’s incarnation in the form of Jesus Christ, God became one of us, identified with the suffering of humanity, and showed us the way forward.
  • By Jesus’s teaching, we understand that the most important thing in life is to seek to know, love, and serve God with all our beings and to love our neighbors as ourselves. 
  • By Jesus’s death, he demonstrated the extent of God’s love for us and invited us to share in his life and love through faith and obedience.
  • By Jesus’s resurrection, God proved that there is life after death and thus hope for all those who follow Jesus.

The overall message of Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection is clear: We need not be crushed by distressing circumstances and suffering. Even the most tragic life can be so much more than the sum of the injustice, misfortune, and suffering that we may have to endure. We can choose how we are going to be in the world and how we are going to respond to our troubles. By keeping our eyes on Jesus, we can face our adversity with greater strength and courage. And when we reach our limits, and even stumble and fall, Jesus is there to show us the way to get back on our feet again. And when we cannot even get back on our feet again, Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He saves us. 

I don’t know how much of all this the lowly shepherds would have understood when the angel announced good news of great joy that first night in the fields. But they didn’t need to understand it all at once. They simply needed to believe that God did in fact have good news for them of great joy. And they needed to start looking for Jesus. 

This Christmas, I cannot guarantee for myself or anyone else that the day will be merry or that the year ahead will be better than the year just finishing. However, because of the birth of Jesus, we have a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Despite our circumstances, there is always good news of great joy worth celebrating. 

Sculpture of worshipping shepherds (Chartres Cathedral)

*Photo credit for two images: ©Jill K.H. Geoffrion https://jillgeoffrion.com/

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by | September 29, 2023 · 10:15 am

When God and the Church Let Us Down

I find myself thinking a lot about God and the role religion is supposed to play in the world. And I’m not happy. I wish that God would do more to help those who cry out to him for relief from their suffering. I wish that the Church would do a better job at reflecting the love and light of Christ and stop failing the people so miserably. And I wish I were a better follower of Christ myself and could be less selfish and self-serving. 

But God is who God is. The Church is who she is. And I am who I am. I will never fully understand God. The Church will always be flawed. And I will continue to struggle with my own demons, sin, and shortcomings until the day I die. Nevertheless, I have found this to be true as well: my faith and relationship with God has filled my heart with a peace that surpasses understanding, with joy I could not produce on my own, with love like no other, and with meaning and purpose in a chaotic world that sometimes seems bent on its own destruction. 

There is so much in this world and in myself that I wish were different, and so much more that I would like God to do, but I cannot imagine grappling with life’s challenges without God’s help, guidance, and encouragement. Though I have had to swallow the bitter pill of disillusionment and disappointment with God, religious leaders, and even with myself, my faith keeps evolving and producing hope—only now in more realistic ways. 

I now understand better that Jesus did not come to solve all our problems for us, at least not in this life. Rather, he came to show us the way to God and the way to know, love, and serve God in our daily lives, as we struggle along with the rest of humanity with all that is wrong with our troubled world. The more I let go of what I cannot change and what God chooses not to change, and instead focus on God’s priorities of loving God and neighbor, the more God seems to appear. The more I shift my focus from asking God to fix everything to seeking wisdom, ability, and opportunities to grow through my adversity and to serve others instead of myself, the more I truly believe that we flawed human beings can still make a difference. Living by faith and God’s love is both our calling and our opportunity to “not be overcome by evil,” but to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:9-21).

On my 66th birthday this past week, my loving wife, Jill, gave me a special tour of the beautifully restored south transept of the Chartres Cathedral in France. Among the many splendors were stained glass windows depicting many Old Testament prophets and New Testament Apostles, such as Peter and Paul. I was particularly drawn to the window of Micah (pictured above), who summed up God’s requirements for human beings in the familiar command to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8). I was also touched by a window portraying two doctors (pictured below), who were being honored for treating the needy for free and sharing the Gospel with those  who did not know the way of salvation.

Outside, on the south porch is a tall, striking sculpture of Jesus, le Beau Dieu (the Beautiful God). He’s holding the Book of Life and is surrounded by his disciples, almost all of whom gave their lives to share the Gospel and bear witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Underneath him is a much smaller sculpture of a wealthy donor, accompanied by two assistants, who are busy distributing bread to the hungry. 

What a perfect combination of images: Prophets and apostles, who teach us about our Creator’s intention for humanity and who show us the way to God. Powerful and privileged members of society, who nonetheless demonstrate their Christian faith by generously serving the needy, at their own expense. Jesus—the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)— alongside a faithful follower of Jesus, who shows us what faith looks like when those who are blessed with abundance are surrounded by those who lack the basic necessities for living. 

Suddenly the pieces came together for me. It was all there. In the windows and the sculptures, the answer to my broken, anguished heart. Light. Life. Love. Hope. My tears began to flow. Some emotional dam broke. It never felt better to let it all out.

Despite all that is wrong with the world, the Church, and me, and despite all my disillusionment, frustration and disappointment, the message of the Gospel is as relevant today as ever. There are countless individuals who are sacrificially serving others with kindness, compassion, and mercy. The power and presence of God are real. Christ does transform lives. There’s still a way forward for me. 

“Lord, thank you for another year and for the precious gifts from your Holy Spirit this morning. Please hold me close to you especially when I begin to doubt and feel so discouraged. Help me to see and accept the life-giving messages of the prophets and apostles. Help me to keep my eyes on Jesus, my heart open to the needs of those around me, and my hands busy serving others. May your will be done more and more.”

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by | September 14, 2023 · 4:35 pm

Does God Care?

What Jesus’ raising of Lazarus says about God’s heart.

Jesus raising Lazarus in stained glass window (Chartres Cathedral, France)

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.”

John 11:33

Normally, the well-known story of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-43) is told as evidence of the miraculous power of Jesus Christ. It also vividly illustrates the hope of all Christians. God the Father will give eternal life to all those who put their faith in God’s son, Jesus, the promised Messiah and Savior of the world (11:25, 41). All this is true to the biblical story. But there is more.

When we pay attention to the emotion of the story, we can also perceive the heart of God. John tells us that Jesus “loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus” (John 11:5). After Lazarus’s death, when he spoke with Mary and the others who were grieving, he himself was “deeply moved in spirit and was troubled” (11:33). Then, when he saw the tomb of Lazarus, “Jesus began to weep” (11:35). In other words, through Jesus’ emotional response to the tragic death of his friend and the grief of his sisters, we learn how deeply he loved and cared about his friends, despite his decision to delay in traveling to Bethany after he heard the news of Lazarus’s sickness.

Jesus had known that his delay would result in Lazarus’ death. Nevertheless, he deliberately waited, because, as he explained to his disciples, he knew that raising Lazarus from the dead would bring more glory to God and to God’s son than if he rushed to Bethany to save him from dying (11:4). But we should not think that his interest in bringing himself glory came from egoism. No, bringing glory to himself was ultimately for the sake of the people he loved. The greater he was held in their esteem, the more confidence they would have to look to him for eternal salvation. In other words, there was a reason that he delayed in going to save his friend, but it wasn’t because he didn’t care. 

In troubled places like Myanmar (Burma), western Thailand, and Eastern Congo, where I teach and minister, sometimes I hear Christians who sound a lot like Mary and Martha. Why doesn’t God rescue us? Why doesn’t God do more to help us? If Jesus would come quickly, then so many people would not have to suffer and die.

Indeed, there is so much evil in this world that defies explanation for those who believe in a loving, all-powerful God. We know that sometimes we suffer because of the sin of others, who abuse, neglect, or exploit us. Sometimes, we cause our own suffering, because of our ignorance, foolishness, or outright sinful behavior. But, other times, we simply cannot fathom why God allows his children, people God has created and loves, to suffer so horribly and painfully, day after day, year after year. 

Throughout time, humans who believe in God have wrestled with the perplexing problem of evil. If God is both good and all-powerful, why does evil exist? Why does God not intervene to alleviate human suffering and put an end to evil? In the Bible, the Apostle Paul taught that the whole world is under the curse of sin and will not be delivered until Jesus returns, when God will save all those who put their trust in him (Romans 8:22-30). But why did God create a world in which evil even exists, and why doesn’t God do more to rescue his loved ones from their suffering while they wait for Jesus’ return?

Some theologians suggest that the explanation for human suffering lies in God’s decision to give humans freedom. Only those who are truly free can love from their hearts and with their wills. But when we have ability to choose to do good or to do evil, to love or to hate, to care or to harden our hearts in indifference to others, etc., sometimes our choices are going to make things worse.

Other theologians speculate that for some mysterious reason, either due to how God designed the universe or due to the very nature of God, God is powerless to stop the suffering on his own. God cares and is active among us but can only produce positive change in the world in conjunction with the actions of his human creation. In other words, perhaps God cannot stop human suffering unless human beings choose to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s leading to overcome evil and alleviate one another’s suffering.

We may never be able to solve the problem of evil or explain God’s actions or inaction in face of human suffering, but one thing we can hold on to. The story of the raising of Lazarus illustrates that God does indeed care about his children, despite God’s delay in coming to rescue or save us. Jesus was moved by the grief of Mary of Martha because he loved them. He wept at Lazarus’s tomb, because his heart was broken.

I pray every day for God to deliver the Burmese people from their oppression, to provide for the IDPs and refugees in Myanmar and Thailand, and to bring peace to Eastern Congo. And I agonise over God’s delay and grieve with those who have lost and suffered so much. But one thing I do not do. I do not doubt God’s love. I may not understand God’s ways and delays, but I believe that God cares. I believe that God is grieving with us, and he hears our cries and weeps alongside us. I believe he will continue to supply the love, courage, and strength we need to keep caring for one another. And while I struggle amid so much grief and suffering, I trust that God will not delay forever. Jesus Christ is already with us now by his Spirit, and one day there will be resurrection and eternal life for all those who put their faith in him.

That’s the kind of hope we find in the Bible. Not freedom from all suffering in this life or the promise of a human-created utopian society on earth. But an eternal relationship with a caring God and his crucified son, who lived, died, and was resurrected for us.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Photo Credit: Jill K.H. Geoffrion

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by | October 22, 2022 · 3:54 am

Coping Better with Unwanted Change: Four Steps to Greater Peace and Joy (Conclusion)

Conclusion

The four-step restorative process that we have been discussing in successive weeks—See, Accept, Appreciate, and Delight—is simple in theory, but often takes a fair amount of work and patience to move through all the steps fruitfully. Are you seeing progress? If not, go back to the earlier steps, and spend more time thinking, praying, and processing until you feel ready to move forward to the next step.

No matter how much you may still be struggling with one or more steps, the way forward will surely include thinking positively, prayer, and applying your faith in concrete ways. Paul’s teaching to the Philippians speaks directly to this spiritual truth.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice….

Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything, with thanksgiving,

make your requests known to God.

And the God of peace will fill your hearts and minds

with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble,

whatever is right, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me,

or seen in me—put it into practice.

And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4, 6-9, NIV

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians, he was in in prison for his faith, facing the possibility of execution. Yet, amazingly, he was able to be at peace and find joy in the midst of his suffering. He accepted his difficult circumstances and appreciated the opportunities they gave him to serve Christ and the Gospel ministry. He gave his heart to those in whom he delighted, and he laser-focused his mind on all the good and beauty he could see and perceive in the world and in others.

Such positive thinking and faith will not spare any of us from loss, unfair treatment, and suffering. You will struggle with many painful things throughout your life, just as I do every day. Yet, when I focus on what I’ve lost or can’t have or do, I get grumpy or depressed. When I focus on trying to please myself, I may feel happier for a while, but the feeling doesn’t last or doesn’t satisfy. However, when I delight in my relationship with God, in loving my family, friends, and neighbors, in thinking more about what I could give than what I could get, and in all the beauty and goodness in this amazing world, my life is often delight-full. And peace and joy are frequent companions.

In Practice

What step are you ready to take next? See? Accept? Appreciate? Or, Delight?

Find a quiet place where you can sit and breathe deeply for a few minutes. Detach yourself from whatever emotional turmoil you might be feeling and quietly observe yourself. Then, depending on where you are in the restorative process, choose one or more of the following steps to take.

Step 1: Name the unwanted change or loss in your life that is troubling you. Ask God for help by praying, “Loving God, please help me to see what I need to see. Give me courage to face the truth, and wisdom and strength to act on whatever you reveal.” Then, when you feel ready, tell yourself, “I can face this. I will face this. I want to be able to go on with my life.”

Step 2: When you can clearly see the troubling turn of events that you cannot change, take a deep breath, exhale loudly, saying, “The truth[CK2]  is clear. This is the way things are now. It’s not what I wanted, but I can accept it.” Repeat these sentences until you can express them with conviction and power in your voice.

Step 3: When you feel that you’ve let go of most of the emotional charge you’ve been carrying, turn your attention to your blessings and opportunities. Say aloud, “There’s more to my life than what I lost. I’m ready to start counting my blessings and looking for the opportunities that God may give me. I’m ready to move forward with my life.” The first few times you try to say these words, you may choke up or break down in tears. If moving on were easy, you would have done it a long time ago. Don’t give up. Keep saying these words until you believe them and feel your energy start to shift.

Step 4: Give yourself permission to enjoy your life again. Pray, “Loving Creator, please help me to delight in you more than in anyone or anything else. Please enable me to love what you love, to enjoy what you have given me to enjoy and to do, and to order my life by what you most desire.” Then, make a date with yourself. Perhaps it’s as simple as taking a day off or spending time in the garden. Maybe it’s sitting at the piano, singing a song, holding a baby, playing a game, or going for a walk. It’s time to laugh and love.

Bottom Line: Think positively and keep your eyes on your Creator and on Jesus. In life, there will always be so much that you cannot control, and so much suffering that you cannot avoid, but the more you focus your mind on and open your heart to whatever is good, beautiful, admirable, and life-giving, the better. The more you put your anxieties and grief in God’s hands, the sooner you will know the peace that surpasses understanding and the joy your heart longs for.

Suggested Prayer

“Loving God, I want to experience greater peace and joy, and I want to be the kind of person who brings more peace, joy, and love into the lives of others. Please draw me closer to you and lead me out of all those places where I feel stuck emotionally. Help me to see, accept, appreciate, and delight more and more in you and all the good you have for me to experience and to do. Thank you. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

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by | September 25, 2022 · 7:00 pm

Coping Better with Unwanted Change: Four Steps to Greater Peace and Joy (Step 3)

By now, if you’ve been working through Steps 1 and 2, you know how hard it can be sometimes to face the truth about something you don’t want to be true. Even when you think you’ve accepted whatever you’ve lost or the burden you must carry, sometimes the old feelings of resentment, anger, or sadness can come surging back without notice. At such times, you may wonder if you’re ever going to heal or be able to let it go. This kind of regression is fairly common in my experience, but over time, the pain will diminish, and new life will begin to bud and then blossom once again.

Taking Step 3 can help.

Swiss Alps

Step 3: “Appreciate”

Then Jesus said to [Bartimaeus], “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again. Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Mark 10:51-52, NRSV

The story of Bartimaeus is about seeing one’s need, reaching out to Jesus for help, experiencing healing and transformation, and setting out on a new path. It’s not a formula for how to experience a miracle, but a testimony about someone who lived in blindness and despair whose faith led to regaining his sight and infusing his life with new meaning and purpose. “Immediately he regained his sight and followed [Jesus] on the way.”

As I struggled with accepting that the doors had slammed shut for me to return to Myanmar, I didn’t want to get over it, at first. I felt sorry for myself, and I didn’t want to imagine a new life or start a new ministry. I wanted the old one back. Yet, over time, as I began to accept reality more and more, I became less willing to stay stuck in my misery and more ready to notice and appreciate what I had gained in place of what I had lost.

For example, I began to see that not being able to travel abroad due to safety concerns was giving me more time with my family, and I loved it. Since I was now stationed in Minneapolis, I was now free to regularly conduct webinars on multiple continents, in Asia, Africa, and North America, sometimes all in the same week. Meanwhile, the crises brought a demand for me to write articles and a book, which were eventually translated into several languages for distribution in several countries. My point is, none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been forced to stop traveling abroad, and if I hadn’t been willing to look for, notice, and appreciate the silver linings, blessings, and new opportunities that were coming my way.

I am not suggesting that acceptance implies being thankful for every loss or unwanted change. Some things in life are so painful or downright evil that you can only grieve them. What I’m saying is that the restorative process requires not only opening your eyes to see the truth about your situation (Step 1). It also entails accepting what you can’t change (Step 2) while simultaneously opening your eyes to see beyond what you’ve lost to appreciate how God is still at work in your life for good (Step 3).

In Practice

According to the dictionary, the word “appreciate” means “recognizing the full worth of” something or someone. When you allow yourself to stay consumed with your negative emotional reactions to your circumstances or to annoying or burdensome people, there won’t be much room for peace and joy in your life. If instead, you open your eyes to appreciate (“recognize the full worth of) all the love, resources, opportunities, and gifts that are also part of your life, then you will experience a positive shift in your attitude and feelings.

However, to move from acceptance to appreciation, sometimes we need help. Bartimaeus asked Jesus to open his eyes, because he knew he was blind and that he couldn’t restore his sight on his own. Likewise, you may have reached the point where you want to believe there is hope for your future, but you just can’t see any. Here’s where good friends, pastors, counselors, and prayer can be immensely helpful. You don’t have to heal yourself on your own. You need to want to move forward and to be willing to get the help you need. You need to keep believing that God has not abandoned you and keep asking the Holy Spirit to help you to see what you cannot see (or appreciate) on your own.

Since experiencing your loss or unwanted change…

  • Who has come into your life or is contributing to your life in a new way?
  • How have you changed (in your heart, attitude, values, or priorities), for the better, because of how you have suffered?
  • What new clarity has emerged or is emerging?
  • What doors have opened to you (new opportunities)?
  • How do you sense God leading or calling you to something you highly value?

Bottom line: Self-pity or endless grief will only increase your sense of isolation, loss, or burden, while simultaneously blinding you to the very people and resources that you most need and value. Focus, instead, on what God is doing in your life for good and see where that takes you.

Suggested prayer: “Loving God, open my eyes that I may see all the good that you’re doing in me, and want to do through me.”

“Open My Eyes that I May See”

(Hymn by Clara Scott)

Open my eyes that I may see

Glimpses of truth thou hast for me.

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Next week, Step 4: “Delight.” Peace and joy are real possibilities for those who learn to delight in God’s blessings once again.

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by | September 18, 2022 · 7:00 pm

Coping Better with Unwanted Change: Four Steps to Greater Peace and Joy (Step 2)

To help you cope better with unwanted loss, change, or burden in your life, the four steps in this restorative process provide a road map to greater peace and joy. The timetable can range from minutes, days, months, to even years in some cases. Don’t try to rush the process. If your head and heart can move in concert with one other, the process will work better.   

In Step 1, we looked at the importance of fully seeing the truth about whatever you’re going through. Feel your feelings. Assess and name what is real about your circumstances. Let yourself grieve, as ancient Israel did when forced into exile to Babylon. Then it’s time for acceptance.

Descending a treacherous path in the Swiss Alps

Step 2: “Accept”

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles

whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.

Take wives and have sons and daughters;

…multiply there, and do not decrease.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile,

and pray to the LORD on its behalf,

for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Jeremiah 29:4-7, NRSV

In these verses, Jeremiah is telling the exiles to accept that they were not going to go back to their homeland any time soon, and to start acting accordingly. They should build houses, have children, plant gardens, and even pray for the well-being of their new city (no doubt on the theory that if their new city prospered, so would they). It was time to move on, mentally, emotionally, and physically, and to start rebuilding their lives in their new location. This is what true acceptance looks like in practice. We let go of the emotional weight we’ve been carrying and controlled by, and start acting in ways that enable us to create a better future for ourselves.

As I was grappling with the shock and trauma from what was happening in Myanmar, I had to accept that there was nothing I could do to protect my students, colleagues, and friends there. I had to accept that frustrating, substandard, online courses (due to terrible internet issues) was the new normal for education there, at least for now, and that something was better than nothing for the young people feeling hopeless about their future. I also needed to let go of many of the relationships that had been important to me when I lived in country. It just hasn’t been possible to keep them going, long distance. And then my church, where I often preached twice a month, closed permanently. I will never preach, teach, or serve that congregation again. In fact, I might never be able to return to Myanmar in person, ever.

All this loss was hard to see, let alone accept, at first. Yet, accepting what I could not change was critical to my ability to preserving my sanity and redirecting my attention to something more constructive. I focused my attention and channeled my energy into my writing and online webinars. I consciously let go of my irrational belief that I had to stay in emotional turmoil to be supportive, and accepted my new circumstances. While I did not choose to be in this place of trying to serve Myanmar from thousands of miles away, the more I accepted the change as something outside my control and focused on what I could realistically accomplish, the more peace I felt. It was freeing and energizing at the same time.

In practice

What truth have you known for a while, but now need to accept? What might open to you, if you let go of your preoccupation with what you’ve lost and cannot recover?  

Acceptance doesn’t mean denying, minimizing, or rushing past your pain and distress. Whatever anger, resentment, bitterness, frustration, self-pity, or any other emotional reaction that has been consuming you takes time to work through. But the more you see these reactions as holding you back rather than helping you cope, the sooner you may be ready to let them go. Somewhere in the process, acceptance also means admitting to yourself that sometimes you cannot undo or fix something that is lost or broken. It’s not necessarily a weakness or failure on your part to accept your limitations. It’s actually a strength. When you find the courage to face and accept whatever truth you need to face, you will naturally shift your focus to what you can do, as opposed to what you cannot. You will start to see the opportunities that are present for you, and your motivation to pursue them will start to rise.

This week’s questions for reflection are these:

  • What troublesome turn of events, inconvenient truth, or unwanted change do you need to accept as a fact?
  • What would acceptance look like for you, in action? That is, if you really said goodbye to what was lost, what would you do differently? How would you invest your thinking, energy, and time?
  • How could you move toward building your home, developing new relationships, planting a garden, and blessing your new circumstances, as Jeremiah instructed the ancient Israelites to do?

Bottom line: Acceptance means letting go of your emotional turmoil related to your unwanted circumstances and looking forward once again.

Suggested Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” (Reinhold Niebuhr)

Next week, Step 3: “Appreciate.” Accepting what you cannot change sets the stage for moving to the next step, where you will discover many possibilities for experiencing greater joy and satisfaction.

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by | September 11, 2022 · 8:15 pm

Coping Better with Unwanted Change: Four Steps to Greater Peace and Joy (Step 1)

What unwanted change is wreaking havoc in your life right now? Maybe it’s a significant loss—you were fired, someone you loved died or left you, or you’re grappling with an unexpected financial setback or liability. Maybe you received a frightening diagnosis, or you are struggling with an ongoing illness or disability. Maybe it’s an upsetting situation (or person) that you can’t avoid, such as an unreasonable boss, a troublesome neighbor, or a forced move and undesirable change of location. Whatever it may be, how are you handling it?

I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of person. I believe in the power of positive thinking. Yet, how can you be upbeat when your life suddenly changes dramatically for the worse? How can you get past all the inner turmoil when you’ve lost so much or continually have to deal with a person or situation that you hate but can’t get away from?   

In this multi-part series, I’m going to share four steps that have been very helpful to me when I have felt heart-broken, frustrated, disappointed, sorry for myself, or any number of other negative emotions due to some unwanted change, circumstance, or person in my life. These insights first came to me many years ago when wrestling with painful relational issues when my family and I walked across northern Spain on the Camino in 2006. Over time, I’ve come to see that the same “4 Steps to Loving A Hard to Love Person” (See, Accept, Appreciate, and Delight) also provide a pathway to coping better with any unwanted change in my life. These steps may take a great deal of time to work through, but when taken thoughtfully and prayerfully, they have proven very helpful in getting unstuck mentally and emotionally in a wide variety of difficult situations. In this post, we’ll look at just the first step in this process.

Step 1: “See”

By the rivers of Babylon—

there we sat down and there we wept

when we remembered Zion.

Psalm 137:1 (NRSV)

When ancient Israel suddenly found themselves as captives in Babylon in 586 BC, they had to grapple with incredible losses—the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (Zion), their forced exile from their home country, and the collapse of their lives as they knew them. We can’t go back to reconstruct all the ways they handled this tragedy, but can infer from the text that, instead of putting their heads in the sand (e.g., by believing false prophets who tried to give them false hope of returning to Judah), the exiles saw the situation for what it was, faced the awful truth, and let themselves feel the emotional weight of their losses. “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept….” Such grief was bitter, but it was also an important step toward moving forward.

However, for many of us, when we experience great loss or are suddenly forced to cope with frightening or overwhelming burdens, instead of facing the truth as the Israelites did, we get stuck in nonproductive, emotional turmoil. We may walk around in a daze or even in denial of what’s happened, or our fight-flight-freeze instincts may trigger an intense emotional response that either ties us up in knots on the inside or pushes us to act in unhelpful or even hurtful ways.

That’s what was happening to me for much of 2021. After 13 years of (in-person) teaching in Myanmar, the doors suddenly slammed shut in my face, when the military seized power in a coup-d’état on February 1. My school suspended all classes, the country began its ongoing slide into disarray, and it became no longer safe for me to return. Then there was the daily trauma from continual reports of imprisonment, beatings, or killing of protestors, doctors, journalists, political opponents of the regime, and even some of my students. Houses were burned to the ground and hundreds of thousands fled to the jungles to survive.

All this felt overwhelming and too difficult to fully face. For months, I felt almost panicky about my powerlessness to help them. I felt guilty that I wasn’t doing more, yet I could never identify what I could do differently. And so, instead of coming to grips with reality, I lived in a perpetual state of anxiety on their behalf, as if sharing their distress and desperation would somehow prove that I wasn’t abandoning them in their hour of need. The truth was, I was so caught up in my unexamined, emotional reaction that I couldn’t realistically assess the situation. I was stuck in my emotional turmoil, carrying a burden that wasn’t helpful to me or anyone else.

In practice

How about you? Where are you being held prisoner by your emotional reactions? What do you need to see more clearly about whatever you’re grappling with?

  • What did you lose or what burden has been placed on your shoulders that you did not choose and do not want?
  • What is the clearest, most accurate, description of what happened or is happening?
  • If you could name it, in a word or two, what would you call what happened to you?
  • How is this [unwanted situation] affecting you emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually?
  • What is your best realistic assessment of the implications of this change for your future?

Even if it takes more time than you’d like to be able to answer these questions clearly, don’t give up until you get enough emotional distance to accurately assess your situation. Be patient with yourself, but don’t give up. The goal is to be able to make good decisions about your future based on the truth instead of being held prisoner to your emotional reactions or a distorted picture of reality.

Here is one short prayer that I created many years ago continues to be helpful to me whenever I’m in emotional turmoil and can’t seem to see clearly. Perhaps it will help you, too.

“Loving God, please help me to see whatever I need to see. Give me courage to face the truth, and wisdom and strength to act on whatever you reveal.”

Next week, Step 2: “Accept,” the next critical step toward recovering your inner peace and joy.

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by | July 6, 2022 · 3:53 pm

Look Up for Hope

I lift up my eyes to the hills—

from where will my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

The LORD will not let your foot be moved…

The LORD will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in

from this time on and forevermore.

From Psalm 121

These are amazing words of inspiration and hope, but are they true? What does such faith mean for those who are traumatized and brutalized by others, such as the people of Myanmar, where thousands of people have had to flee for their lives into the jungle since the political upheaval began in 2021? How does the psalmist’s confidence apply to those whose homes have been burned to the ground? What sense do these assurances make to the families of those who have been beaten, tortured, or killed?

For years I struggled with such broad promises of the LORD’s protection and help in the face of so much exploitation and abuse of the vulnerable around the world. To trust in God’s deliverance sometimes seems ridiculous when so many suffer and die at the hands of evil doers. I’ve heard many testimonies of people who have experienced God’s miraculous help, yet other people of faith are never rescued by God.

At the same time, in spite of gut-wrenching experiences and unanswered questions, my faith in God has been indispensable and life-giving to me. God’s unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness have provided a powerful source of self-acceptance and daily hope. Jesus Christ’s resurrection gives me hope that someday there will be justice, if not in this life then in the next. God’s presence in my life motivates me to become the kind of man God wants me to be for my family and for my community. My experience of God’s love and grace fills me with more compassion and mercy for those who are weak and vulnerable, people who need to experience the light of Jesus Christ and the love of God through a fellow human being. Even though I can’t fully understand why God allows so many to suffer so horribly, I am deeply grateful for all that God has done in my life and in the lives of so many other people who have similarly reached out to God and put their faith In Jesus.

So how should we interpret assurances of God’s help and deliverance like we find in Psalm 121? Was every Israelite saved from evil, as the Psalmist declared? Certainly not. But the Hebrew writer was not a fool. He knew that even those with great faith in the LORD sometimes fall victim to evil and injustice. Everyone suffers in some way, and some day, each of us will die, no matter how many times we might be saved from a premature demise.

Yet, the psalmist is not offering words that are out of touch with reality, but ones that offer hope in the midst of our suffering. He provides guidance not so that we can live in denial or flee into fantasy, but so that we might find spiritual resources to face and cope with whatever is overwhelming us. He speaks in hyperbole and metaphor to inspire the people to lift their eyes from focusing on their troubles so that they might see what God sees and reach out for what only God can provide.

I cannot prove to you that God cares, and I cannot make sense of the gross disparities in the world and all the senseless violence and heart-breaking tragedies. Yet, I do know that hope and strength do not come from denial, fear or faithlessness. We will not be stronger or better by allowing ourselves to be swallowed up by cynicism, hatred, or vengefulness. If we focus on evil, we will be consumed by it.

If, instead, we focus on God, we will find the perspective and strength we need to face and overcome it. If you let go of questions about the prevalence of evil that no one can answer, and if you drop your resistance to that inner voice that is calling you to put your faith in your Creator and in Jesus Christ, you will find relief, acceptance, forgiveness, inner peace, and hope as never before. This kind of hope cannot be extinguished even in death. And the love that comes from God is more valuable, enduring, and powerful than anything else in all creation, for it is not based on your own accomplishment or worthiness, but on the character and power of God.

So, brothers and sisters in Christ, lift your eyes to gaze on the beauty and majesty of creation and of your Creator. “The LORD who made heaven and earth” has done amazing things in nature and for people of faith from the beginning of time. Lift your eyes to Jesus Christ to contemplate God’s character and intention to save you from yourself and from all those forces within you and in the world that you cannot overcome in your own strength, including death itself. Choose to trust that your Creator loves you and is active in your life for good. Lift your eyes up to your Redeemer–not necessarily to rescue you from all your troubles, but to provide strength to keep your head high, to follow Jesus Christ confidently, to serve God’s purposes faithfully, and to continue to reflect God’s light and love in the midst of so much darkness, hatred, and evil.

He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:32-39, NRSV

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by | March 15, 2022 · 2:15 pm

No Easy Answers in a War Zone

Only Faith, Hope, and Love

HEAL Africa Doctors meeting for Bible Study in war-torn Eastern Congo

How can you answer troubling questions about God that have no easy answers? How can you talk about God’s love to traumatized people in a war zone, when God seems so distant and disengaged from their suffering? During my weekly Bible study that I conduct for a group of 20-30 doctors (pictured below) in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), I’m often asked, “What should we say to our patients, whose family, friends, or neighbors have been driven from their homes or brutally murdered?” In Eastern Congo, some six million people have died due to violence, starvation, and disease over the past 25 years. Their nightmare has raised earnest questions about God that are difficult to answer, such as, “Does God care?” and “Why didn’t God protect us?”  

Meanwhile, in Europe, Russian troops are wreaking havoc across Ukraine, thousands are being injured or killed, and over three million people have been forced to flee the country in a matter of a few weeks so far. In Asia, as you well know, the crisis in Myanmar continues unabated and the suffering keeps multiplying. Everywhere there is great suffering from injustice and violence, the same kinds of questions keep arising among Christians. Even my Burmeses theological students want to know, “Are we suffering because God is punishing us?” “Is God ignoring us?” “Should we expect any help from God?”

Homes burn Loikaw Township, Kayah State, Myanmar, following Junta airstrikes, 2_23_22 PC_Free Burma Rangers

In my role as seminary professor and Bible teacher in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia over the past 15 years, I’ve been asked these kinds of questions repeatedly by people who are being traumatized by genocide, war, or oppression. However, rather than try to make up answers to unanswerable questions or offer up false hope, it’s been far more helpful to admit the limitations of human understanding about God and to focus practically and realistically on how we know that God works in the midst of great evil.

As I have struggled with my own understanding of what to expect from God, I have longed ceased to put my hope in God’s sudden appearance out of nowhere to save the people. I’d be delighted for any miraculous intervention God may choose to make, and I pray for God’s help and deliverance daily. But most of my hope rests on how God works in, among, and through those who know, love, and serve Jesus Christ.

I have never had a vision of Jesus, but I see Jesus in his body of believers all the time—in their compassionate acts of kindness, self-sacrificial service, hospitality, and generosity. They are riddled with all sorts of imperfections and failings, yet they treasure their relationship with God. They keep drawing from the well of God’s love and grace for light and life in the midst of their darkness. They love Jesus, and they genuinely want to share Jesus’ love with others. And do so, sometimes even at great personal cost.

It’s been inspiring to me to see the outpouring of support for those who are suffering in all the places where I serve— including, Ukraine, Myanmar, and the Congo—both from faithful followers of Christ within the countries and from a wide variety of caring people internationally. This is surely part of God’s plan to minister to those who call upon the name of the Lord in their distress.

There are no easy answers to the cries and confusion of people in a war zone. Nevertheless, when we, as the body of Christ, fulfill our purpose to be the heart, voice, hands, and feet of Jesus, the world will know that there is a God who cares. The power, presence, and love of God will be evident for others to experience through us. And we who serve in Jesus’ name will be less overwhelmed by the evil all around us, because our eyes will be focused more on what we can do and less on what we can’t; on what God is doing through us, and not on just on what we hope and pray that God will do for us.  

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

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