Many times, I have been in conversation and a thorny subject such as the state of the economy has risen; and I have surprisingly found myself unable to articulate my reason to hope. I have just nodded in agreement, expressing the same sentiment that “How on earth could someone survive in this environment,” but yet in my heart resides a hope that refuses to die-I will not let it.
Over time, I have gotten better at it though I still have room to improve. Lots of it and in fact it is one of my new year’s big ideas-to be unafraid to dream and have hope and to be able to express this in conversation without fear. However, as I have said, I have gotten better at it and I would like to share 3 of the reasons that have helped me to move from a zero out of 10 to I suppose a 5 or a 6.
Number 1 was realising that my words are powerful, whether or not I realise it. Proverbs 18 vs 20 to 21 says “From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” And this is not an exaggeration by any means. The world was formed because God spoke, and He made us to be like Him. In Genesis, each time when a blessing was given, it was just the words that were spoken out. In Genesis 27 this reality is so profound that when Isaac realises He spoke over Jacob and not Esau, He trembles: He is aware that once gone forth from His mouth, the words have gone with power and cannot be reversed or thwarted. Our words become channels or the road which we travel upon in our lives and I realised that either I take this scripture as it is, no additions or subtractions and start speaking out my faith, or I risk continuing to eat the fruit of all the doubt I spoke out.
Issue number 2 was embracing the reality that I do not need to fit in. 1 Peter 2 vs 9 says “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” in the King James Version. To be peculiar is to be different, unusual and uncommon. And because that is my reality, I cannot be like the environment around me. This second issue really is one of identity-realising that my identity lies with that which though is unseen today is an everlasting reality. Too many times, I tried to be a chameleon to accommodate the doubts, fears and unbelief in whoever I was talking to. I adjusted my expectation, my conversation to fit the mould of whoever I was talking to and comforted myself that what I was doing was somehow being loving and accepting. But once I started to embrace that my faith begins with a virgin giving birth I realised and accepted and that weird was normal for a Christian.
The third issue had to do with what I feared; in particular letting go of the fear of man. In a different manner of speaking, this can also be put as realising that I owed noone a positive impression; but I am obliged to be an authentic witness of Jesus Christ. In the King James, Matthew 10 vs 32 to 33 read “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” And this is a sobering reminder that I ought not to fear man, but God who can destroy both soul and body (Matt 10 vs 28) And in being so reminded, I started to realise that I have no business being apologetic about my faith or my reason to have hope-after all, great is the price paid for me to have such a great hope.
So there they are, 3 reasons that have helped me to become more confident in my hope and my ability to express it wherever I am. There are others, but these 3 I believe are like the foundation upon which the other reasons I have not spoken about are built on. I hope they help both you and me to become bold as lions in expressing why exactly we can have hope when I live in a country with inflation greater than 300% and an economy that has contracted every year since 2013.
Do you have any you would like to share? What is your reason for hope? Do let me know in the comments section below what has fuelled your hope tank and allowed you to boldly express it with those around you.