He Has Done It

Crisis is never fun.

An amen goes right there. No one likes a crisis.

Crisis is a part of life.

We cannot get through this world without a crisis at some point.

To survive we must have hope.

The reality is many who commit or attempt suicide do not have adequate hope to manage the crisis they find themselves in. Suicide is rising in our world and culture, more rapidly than I would like to admit. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for those under the age of 35 with unintentional injury being first. It is in the top 10 across all age ranges.

There is help available.

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org is a site; 1-800-273-8255; 4HOPE to 741-741; and July 16 you may dial 988 anywhere in the country and be routed to someone to help.

1-800-273-8255; 4HOPE to 741-741

There is nothing wrong with you or your faith to reach out for help.

Our world is in crisis.

Each week there is a new thing which reminds me of what I believe to be truth.

We are called to step into crisis, but with hope!

We are not called to just let the world live in crisis, that has great negative side effects for generations to come. If we are going to be “pro-life” and we should, then we must take serious the reality of crisis around us. We cannot get sucked into the crisis of the hour.

1 Peter 1:3 NIV

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

How can we grow in hope?

This is what I have been thinking about this week as I worked through Psalm 118. I think it is a question the Psalmist here answers. This Psalm may have been especially important during the exile years.

God faithfully loves, especially His people.

The Psalm begins and ends with this truth. The covenantal love of God is on display throughout this Psalm and all of Scripture. Even today.

Grow in hope: notice God’s actions.

This is key. But also notice the acts of God is not just a recount of what God has done for one individual. It is centered in community; God also acts in our world because of His love regardless of status of an individuals.

God provides refuge.

Refugees are people who have “no home” by definition. Yet, the Psalmist proclaims God can also be the place of refuge and “home”.

Grow in hope: be part of God’s “home”.

This doesn’t mean we are immune from crisis nor losing our hope. But it is a protective factor.

God uses what others reject.

In one of the more famous lines of the Psalm we read verse 22. Jesus himself quotes this verse to talk about the newness of the Kingdom of God and I think his status.

Grow in hope: you are valued.

You can do something because of Christ. All of us in Christ have a gift to share with Christ’s people.

The Lord has done it—let us rejoice.

The reason we can be people of hope and give hope, grow in hope and live in hope is because of this truth. The Lord has done it. The Lord is in control. The Lord never runs out of hope, love, grace, mercy, truth, and faithfulness. In my childhood verse 23 was translated, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” It is a good translation but I like how the NIV translates it today. Our hope is not just we woke up this morning—though that is good. Our hope is that God has already done mighty things—even today.