Desperate for God – Renewing Faith │ Restoring Hope

The Cost of a Dream

When the pain of dreams unfulfilled finally exceeds the growl of our fears . . .

Dreams are among the most powerful resources humans possess. Great leaders often carry big dreams. Such dreamers have altered world history, transformed civilizations, and discovered brand new worlds never before imagined. While not every dream is so far reaching, all envision the realization of what others deemed impossible. And, regardless the scope, all dreams share one thing in common—they come with a cost. Certainly, no dream is fulfilled unless the dreamer is willing to pay!

Facing Fear’s Shadow

For dreams to be born fears must be faced.

There is nothing to fear but fear itself. In the cold grip of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared these words at his Presidential Inaugural Address of 1933. In this speech, he spoke of a very real, though intangible, enemy of the United States—the fear of fear. And then he laid out how such fear was strangling the very soul of the nation. Roosevelt understood that fear of the unknown can paralyze people from realizing their dreams of a better future. Even today, regardless our fears, the outcome of inactivity remains the same—death of our dreams and sickness in our souls.

Devotional Poem: Speak to Your Soul

This week we launch our thirteenth devotional poem. The next five weeks of blog posts will draw from themes in this poem.

Deep in our souls we nurture a seed,

Where God in his wisdom

plants a beautiful dream.

And there it remains

Just waiting to sprout,

Till faith is embraced

And hope calls it out.

Rethinking Hope

What is hope? Contemporary understanding typically identifies it as a wish, desire, or an optimistic feeling. Thus, for many, hope is a powerful motivator. People have endured incredible suffering and hardship because hope of a better future blazed in their hearts. Yet, millions every day experience profound disappointment when unforeseen obstacles prevent hope’s realization. And so, the age-old quandary remains of whether it’s better to hope and be disappointed than never hope and be spared the grief. Unfortunately, such a dilemma is all too real for many Christians today.

Feeling our Faith

In His presence I have all that I need, yes, more than enough, there’s nothing I lack!

Human experience is a slippery concept. Because of its subjective nature people don’t often place great value in its rational potential or practical functionality. Yet, experience is fundamental to what it means to be a human person. So to speak of faith in nonexperiential terms is to misunderstand its human significance. With this challenge before us, today we address the topic of experiencing Christ’s sufficiency.

Freedom from Fear

Fear’s facade now flickers, fades, and soon flies away.

Fear is a gift. Our capacity to fear is necessary for human survival and flourishing. It can protect and propel us to do what we never believed possible. Yet, not all fear is created equal. It can also devolve into something entirely other—a destructive force stealing our joy and hijacking our hopes. Unfortunately, most tragic of all is that often we are unable to discern the difference between fear as friend or foe. Why?

A Crisis of Vision

Empty promises lose their shine when peace and joy are already mine.

Central to Christian faith is its ancient proclamation, “Jesus is Lord!” For many, such a cry may appear politically incorrect or even naive but only for those who’ve not yet seen what the early Christians saw. For such a vision of Christ has proven more powerful than even the threat of death. They could claim that Jesus is Lord because they could see that Jesus was sufficient. May God restore to us this very same vision even today!

Beyond the Fear of Uncharted Waters

Though, in time I’d soon find far greater treasures yet to be mined.

Some things can only be known by experience. We’ll never understand the meaning of “peace” or “love” or “hope” until we personally encounter these realities ourselves. No amount of books or courses will ever suffice until such things are actually known by experience. While few people would challenge the truth of these claims, why is it that we tend to be so hesitant to speak of the need for an experiential faith? For many, it’s as terrifying as facing uncharted ocean waters.

The Pursuit of Happiness

When these jewels are finally mine, this life, oh yes, will be divine!

The pursuit of happiness is slippery. But even more slippery is how we ought to think about it. Christian teaching on this topic ranges from one extreme of blacklisting it as “worldly” to the other of brazenly demanding it as a “right” owed us by God. Because of such variance, Christians often don’t know how to think about this topic—afraid that doing so is either sinful or selfish.

Devotional Poem: He is all I Need

This week we launch our twelfth devotional poem. The next five weeks of blog posts will draw from themes in this poem.

This, that, these!
I need them all,
I need them please!

˜
When these jewels are finally mine,
This life, oh yes, will be divine!