I believe in a powerful God. He is good. But we have been watching one bad situation after another unfold on our TV screens. It seems like change is not coming, no matter how much we pray and believe. I don’t know about you, but I feel tension between what is and what should be.
Several thoughts are running through my head. God is God whether or not our troubles end. He remains the same. These terrible situations don’t change Him. I keep looking to Him for answers, but He is not giving the answers I want. I wonder: What is God doing?
His goals are clearly not my goals. I want relief… NOW! He is doing something inside me. Maybe showing me what I am made up of. Maybe inviting me to become a person who is not easily shaken.
In Outlaw Christian Jacqueline A. Bussie writes, “Law #6: Always believe hope comes easy as pie for those who truly love God.” Is hope as easy as pie? Maybe there was a time we believed hope was easy. Since the financial crisis of 2008 and violence of 9/11, we all feel challenged to hang on to hope in troubled times. How do we live in the tension when troubles don’t go away?
“Christians wrestle every day to reconcile the world’s gruesome news with God’s good news, to live within this tough tension.” Outlaw Christian by Jacqueline A. Bussie
We follow God from this place, the place of tension. We sing songs to Him and worship from the tension. In worship we clap our hands and raise them to heaven from the tension. Determined to be people of character who are not easily shaken, we stand firm in the tension with our faith and hope, immovable.
When I feel conflicted, my goal is to have faith in God. Even when it’s hard and I don’t understand. I’ve heard sermons that make it sound like Christianity is easy. Just make the right decision and it will be easy from here on out, but I don’t buy that anymore. Christianity is not for the faint of heart. In the Christian faith, you will grow and be stretched beyond what you think is possible.
I believe God is good. He is unfolding certain purposes in the world. I have hope in God and his purposes. There is a difference between the end and the beginning. We are not at the end, so things are not resolved. I have hope in God and it’s not easy as pie.
I’m in a narrative of hope. The outcome is in my favor. If I am passing through a dark valley, I won’t be swallowed by the darkness. I am not of the darkness, I am light. I need toughness on my part, in this difficult moment. I will get through to the other side. I keep my eyes on the light, not the dark.
©2017 Belinda Perez McDanel
A More Resilient Narrative 
Just yesterday my brother was sharing how he felt a tension. Your post reminded me of our conversation. I get sad when I hear of Christians being told that life will be easy for the Christian. That’s not true. Jesus himself told us we would have tribulation, but he also said he has overcome the world. I was so fortunate to be taught by a woman who loved the Lord, but who told us for now, we’re in the world. And if you think it’s bad now, just wait, it’s gonna get worse. A woman who eventually got cancer and before she died she had someone arrange a sort of farewell where those of us who knew her could come and say goodbye. And every once in a while she would go to the back room to take more pain medication so she could sit up. A woman who buried her little 2-year-old grandson because he wondered out of his house and drowned in the pond in her son’s backyard.
I would not have made it in this world if I hadn’t been taught the truth. This is NOT our home. And I don’t believe hope is easy, but I do believe we can acquire it. Wasn’t it David who said, “And now what do I wait for, my hope is in you.
This world looks dark now, some days darker than ever, but when God calls the Christians home, then it will really be dark. May we share the truth now.
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It sounds like you had an amazing mentor. It’s important that we are living in the truth not some kind of pie in the sky dream that never becomes a reality. David is so right. My hope is in God’s character and heart. No matter what. And let us be the ones who bring God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
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I enjoyed reading this. Tensions are so hard to maintain!! I love how hopeful you are in the midst of it all.
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Thank you. I never run out of hope even in the most hopeless circumstances.
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