Hope for Future Glory

One thing to know about me is that I love Christian Hip-Hop (CHH). I grew up on these beats, rhymes and lyrics that edify God, family and marriage. Before Covid, you can find my wife Kim and I killing the dance floor at Lecrae concerts. More so, for me CHH has also served as a solace during trying times. In 2010, in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti that killed 250,000 residents, CHH artist Lecrae released the song “Far Away." In the second verse, Lecrae pens a letter to hope describing his feelings of hopelessness after the devastating earthquake. Here is how the verse goes:

Dear hope: Been waitin on ya for a while now

cut so deep that I ain't sure if I can smile now

Look at this devastation

Look at the pain and sorrow

Somebody fed me lies and promised me a bright tomorrow

I know the God I follow

Is bigger than disaster

Big enough to handle

Any evil that harasses us

But I feel like he passed us

Pain overtook us

Buildings tumble over head

As the ground shook us

God have you forsook us

Lord you still with me

I know you save souls

I trust you to forgive me

Relief can you hear me

Hey Rest can you get me

Hey Peace can you see me

Hey love can you heal me

I don't know what to do

I ain't looking for answers

I just need you to hold my hand

Through this cancer

Tell me you never left

Even in the midst of death

Breathe on me I'll do anything to feel your Breath

All of us, like Lecrae in these lyrics, have experienced feelings of hopelessness in the midst of sorrow, grief or suffering. For Kim and I, it was 2017 when we experienced a miscarriage. We could not believe God would give us a miracle and then suddenly take it away. It felt surreal that a God who we trust and worship would do that to us.

In those moments, it was impossible for us to have hope in light of deep loss. But during that time we learned that the pain and sorrow allowed us to hope for a better tomorrow. This is what the Apostle Paul is referring to in Romans 8:24-25:

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

In just a couple verses earlier Paul says that our present suffering is not worth comparing to the glory that is to come for us (Romans 8:18). Our hope in our present suffering is to keep our eyes on the future glory that God has set for us. The hope to one day be in His presence, where we no longer experience pain, death or tears (Revelations 21:4). This is the hope that keeps us going. We hold on to this hope and we wait for it patiently. This hope is wrapped in a promise that dates back to 627 B.C. During that time God’s chosen people, the Israelites, were held captive in Babylon for 70 years. That is 25,550 days of hopelessness. But God made Israel a promise. This is what the Lord said:

“'You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:10-11)

This 2,618 year old promise still applies to us today. My friend Chad says:

“Jesus is automatic when it comes to keeping promises. If he were at the free throw line on his promises he would never miss. Closed-eyed free throw Michael Jordan has nothing on Christ.”

I couldn't agree more. I do not know how long you have been held captive or how many days of hopelessness you have endured. But I do know Jesus promises to give us a future filled with hope regardless of our current circumstances. This promise is something we can always take to the bank.

When Kim and I experienced our miscarriage, in the moment we could not see that God had a plan"'for good and not for disaster, to give [us] a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:11). That hope was revealed to us on November 23rd, 2018 when our son Josiah was born. You just don't know what God can do until you hope for and see what God can do.

God’s past faithfulness is our future assurance for hope. One of the best ways to remain hopeful is to remember God's past faithfulness in our lives. I call these “God wins.” These are ways God has come through in the past. I encourage us to mediate and think about God’s past wins in our lives. It might even help to jot these wins down and reference in times of hopelessness, because if God did it once He can do it again.