Steadfast Hope & Steadfast Hearts
“He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast trusting in the LORD.”
Psalm 112:7 (NIV)
Last Tuesday was a perfect day for spending time with some old friends at beautiful Selwood Farm in Alpine, Alabama. Located just 6.6 miles from Childersburg, Selwood Farm, currently owned by Dell and Carolyn Hill, was established in 1834.
I first met Carolyn 44 years ago when Bruce and I moved to Sylacauga, Alabama for Bruce’s job. I was a new parent with a 5-week old infant, an outsider to small town life, and suddenly a stay-at-home mom with no friends or family nearby. Carolyn was just a few years ahead of me in her parenting and light-years ahead in her hospitality and willingness to open both her heart and her home. She did both so well.
Last spring, Carolyn invited me to speak for a women’s event co-hosted by Selwood Farm and First Baptist Church of Talladega. When I asked for the event’s topic or theme, Carolyn simply replied, “Whatever the Lord lays on your heart, but I know the ladies would like an update on all that’s happened in your family since you spoke two years ago.”
Our family has certainly changed a lot over in the last nineteen months. The biggest change, of course, was James Bruce’s sudden death in 2022. That was then quickly followed by my breast cancer diagnosis and Bruce’s recent open-heart surgery. Together it all has certainly been life-changing, but God hasn’t changed. He is still sovereign over our suffering and our circumstances. He reigns and rules and none of our suffering takes God by surprise. Author Paige Brown wisely says, “Only when we understand the sameness of God will we not be the same.”
As a family, we are still grieving, but we don’t grieve without hope. Four weeks before James Bruce’s death, I had spoken to a women’s group on steadfast hope in seasons of waiting. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking; It is a confident expectation that God makes and keeps His promises. Hope is a faith that looks and leans forward. The same steadfast hope principles that are true in seasons of waiting also are true in this season of suffering and sorrow. We face our fears; feed our souls; fix our gaze; and hold onto hope. God is the God of hope. We can hold on to hope because Christ is holding on to us. The Heidelberg Confession Question 1 is such a comfort in seasons of suffering and sorrow: Christ is our only hope in life and death.
We live in an increasingly dark and desperate world. But Christians should be the most hopeful people in the world. All those who are in Christ have the:
Hope of God’s Word
Hope of salvation
Hope of Christ in us
Hope of heaven
Hope of the resurrection
Hope of glory
Biblical hope is both an anchor and a lifeline. Hebrews 6:18-19 exhorts us to “take hold of the hope offered to us that you may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” An anchor is an instrument used to provide stability and security during a storm. It is everything for those at sea. Well anchored, winds can blow, but mariners won’t be dashed on the rocks. Our hope is firmly anchored in heaven because it is anchored in Christ. Hope is a faith that looks and leans forward with a confident expectation that God is faithful to His Word. He makes and keeps his promises.
God never wastes our suffering but uses it both for our good and for His glory. It’s the fulfillment of Romans 8:28, the promise that God in his sovereignty causes all things to work together for our good. Paul doesn’t say that all things ARE good, but that God causes good to come out of our “all things.” ALL means ALL! Our grief, our sorrow, and our suffering are part of God’s all things. When the people of God are more hopeful, more fearless, and more merciful amid our suffering and loss, the world is more attentive & more disposed by God’s grace to see reality & respond to the gospel. Steadfast hope is steel to our souls, but it requires a steadfast heart. My 2022 prayer verse, selected just six weeks before James Bruce’s death, is today’s Bible Bits verse:
“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” Psalm 112:7 (NIV)
O God, help us to trust you in the middle of our suffering, sorrow, and grief; give us steadfast hearts!