hope

Hope is such an elusive thing when your days are filled with despair.  Like trying to walk in faith, in the midst of fear, is trying to hold on to hope in the midst of despair.  They are antithetical to one another; not just opposites which mirror differences, but actually working against each other.

Yesterday, we had two significant experiences where we saw hope overcome despair.  The first was spending the morning visiting with families who had been rescued from La Chureca into a Christian community about 45 minutes away from Managua in Masaya.  A small number of families call this place, Chacocente (http://www.outofthedump.org/v3/), their home.  They learn to farm, create, sell their produce and crafts, their kids go to a great school on site, and the families have their own homes.  It’s a beautiful project that is doing the long, hard work of restoration, one family at a time.  Dan & Jessenia have a vision to do a similar thing in the future…

We also went back to the girl’s home that D/J run for the afternoon, and went on a spontaneous walk with the girls to a cliff close by where you can see the sea over the mountain tops.  After the kids and our team played in the high grass, we all sat down to share stories with each other.  After a few of the girls shared, one little girl shared her story.  With tears and her face in her hands, she shared for the first time ever that she was abused sexually a by her uncle, who soon after committed suicide.  Dan & Jessenia knew about this from her mother, but she has never spoken of it until this day.  She was obviously carrying around so many emotions, but mainly shame and guilt.  We immediately began to pray with her, surrounding her, and this went on for nearly an hour.  Even her house-mates, some of whom were only 5-7 years old, prayed along with us.  When we finished praying, we sang some songs together there, as the sun set over the mountains, and a little girl began the process of healing.

What happened in her yesterday, reminded me of these two Psalms, written while David was in a cave and being pursued by his enemy.  We can read these and know that spiritually, our enemy pursues us, and so we can take on the spiritual movement of these Psalms as the type of progression that can happen in our lives, as it did yesterday in the life of a little daughter of the King:

“Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. - Psalm 142:4-7

Notice how the cries are answered by being surrounded with the righteous; the community of Jesus functions as the answer to the cries of so many who are walking in despair.  As we pray for them and intercede for them, we speak against the enemies lies and pursuit of them, and bring truth that builds hope and faith!

“In you my soul takes refuge;  in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge until the storms of destruction pass by.  I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.  He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!”  Psalm 57:1-3

And here we see what is meant by refuge: that there is no place for shame in our lives; the shame belongs to the enemy… the only thing that has place in our life is the steadfast love and faithfulness of our God.

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~ by dougmelder on May 18, 2011.