Held by Hope

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19, NIV)




Have you ever wanted to travel back in time to be an eyewitness of the celestial celebration that took place in Bethlehem the night that Jesus was born?  Now, I’m a bit fussy about fashion, but I’d even consider donning shepherd garb and hanging out with a few sheep for that opportunity! To see angels fill the sky, to hear the voice of God through the cries of a baby. To catch a glimpse of the brilliant Star of David, and to satisfy my curiosity as to what exactly a host of heavenly angels sounds like.

Oh, and to talk to Mary!  Wouldn’t that be amazing to hear what she was thinking as she witnessed, and took part in the greatest miracle ever known to man? This baby she gave birth to was God-in-flesh, a true bundle of perfect love.  What do you think she treasured in her heart as she took it all in?  I’m struck by this thought:  As she held the Hope of the world, the Hope of the world was also holding her. Ponder that!

The baby born in a barn that holy night long ago is the Hope of the world - the Grace that saves us - the Love that heals us.  Jesus is the Hope that changes our worthless into precious, our guilty to forgiven, our hungry into satisfied, and our empty into full.  His presence is inescapable.  Once we believe on Christ for salvation, we cannot flee from His stubborn love-grip.  The psalmist, David said: “If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:8-10).

The Bible tells us in the New Testament that Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father in heaven and that He “holds us fast.” Relish that thought. The Hope that holds us is Jesus Christ. You and I are held by Hope.

In the Old Testament, God told Joshua that He would “never leave or forsake” him (Joshua 1:5). God says the same to us. He will never leave us or forsake us; no matter the circumstances, not matter the diagnoses, no matter the financial struggle. Our faithful LORD is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We can rest assured that in everything we are held by Hope.

After His resurrection and before His ascension into heaven, Jesus said, “Surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  My girlfriend Mary Southerland often reminds people that the word “always” actually means … drum roll please … "always!"  He is always with us.  Always loving us.  Always wanting us to find comfort, refuge, joy and satisfaction in Him.

As Christmas approaches and the New Year dawns, let’s be mindful of God’s promise that we are never alone. Just like the shepherds received the headline news of Jesus’ birth from singing angels so long ago, receive this glad tiding of great joy today: If you are in Christ, then you are held by Hope

When You Feel Far From God

Jesus said: On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (John 14:20, NIV)




Do you ever feel far away from God, or that He is far away from you? If you’re like most people, then I bet the answer is yes. So let’s take a look at those “feelings.”

You are a triune being with a body, soul, and spirit. Within your soul you have a mind, will, and emotions. That’s where those “feelings come from.” And if you are like most people, sometimes you feel closer to God than other times. But are you? Really





But just because I feel closer to God in a particular moment doesn’t mean that I am. It is just a feeling. We know that we cannot have that giddy feeling about our spouse all the time. Then why do we think we have to have that with God?

Paul prayed for the Ephesians that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they could know him better …that they might know the hope to which he had called them…(Ephesians 1:17-19). He prayed for the Colossians that they would know the mystery of God, namely, Christ in whom are hidden all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3). He did not pray that they would feel like they were close to God or feel the love of God. He prayed that they would know it.

Specifically, Paul prayed:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (How? Through faith.) And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know his love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19 emphasis added).

Why do we experience times when we feel far from God? How can we feel far from God if His Holy Spirit lives in us? If you are in Christ and He is in you (John 14:20), why don’t you feel Him at all times? Can you feel distant from your liver, from your kidney or from your pancreas? Being near to God, or rather feeling near to God is not a matter of proximity, as if one of us moved closer or further away. It is not a matter of a physical position, but it is a matter of our relational acuity. It is a spiritual receptivity, a spiritual awareness, and a spiritual acknowledgement of His presence.

Charles Spurgeon once said: “It may be that there are saints who are always at their best, and are happy enough never to lose the light of their Father’s countenance. I am not sure that there are such persons…and I have not traversed that happy land. Every year of my life has had a winter as well as a summer, and every single day has its night…I confess that though the substance be in us, as in the teil-tree and the oak, yet we do lose our leaves, and the sap within us does not flow with equal vigor at all seasons.”

God has promised He will never leave us, but we can feel far from Him when we ignore Him, live independently from Him, grow dissimilar from Him, or rush about expecting Him to tag along rather than move in union with Him.

Stand on what you know. “On that day,” Jesus said, “You will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20 NIV). And friend, you can’t get much closer than that.

And while your humanness falters between spiritual times of plenty and times of want, communion with God is always just a whisper away as you acknowledge His presence with you and in you.