Those women weren’t looking for hope. They were practical, going to put spices on the body for burial, but what they found was the greatest hope ever.

Now when I say hope, I’m not talking about the “I hope it won’t rain” type of hope. No, this is a hope that’s based in promises kept. A hope founded in faith—the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

~Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

But how does Resurrection Sunday (or Easter) give us the greatest hope bringer?

Let’s back up three days. You see, those women I told you about in the beginning watched as the teacher they’d hoped was the chosen one was crucified—the Roman form of execution of a criminal. All their hopes came crashing to a halt as he died and was placed in a tomb.

Think about it. The best fantasy story ever—the chosen one wandering the country, feeding the multitudes, healing people, and even raising others from the dead. Then, everything comes skidding to a halt. Instead of the chosen one being placed on the throne, he’s treated as a criminal—and his followers are positive that they’re next!

They went into hiding, but the women still thought they’d give him a decent burial, and maybe even bury their dreams with him. Instead, they found the grave empty.

Mary came out of the tomb in tears, running into a man that she assumed was the gardener. Her plea pulls at the heart.

“Sir, if you tell me where you put him, I’ll take him.”

Can you hear the pain in that request? My loved one is dead, but now I don’t even have a grave to mourn at. Everything’s been taken from me. Let me find him, then I can mourn in peace.

The reply is just as poignant. I can hear it in the tone of a parent or a grandparent who kneels down to the level of a child, opening their arms and saying, “Oh, honey.” All Jesus does is call her by name.

Sorrow to Joy

What had been “sorrow upon sorrow” or “grief upon grief” as the Apostle Paul says, turned into a hope that would sustain believers through the centuries. A hope that turned even death backwards.

She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.

~The LIon, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

You see, the great and loving King of All gave his people a choice to do what he knew was best for them, but his people said, “We know what’s best.” In that moment, there was a great divide between the King and his people. He allowed them to go their own way, to spurn him. The consequences were severe—death, separation. Not just separation for a moment or a year or two, but eternal separation.

The consequences of going our own way

Death. From that moment on, all of creation groaned under that weight. There was no going back. As his people age, they feel the pull in their bones, in every ache and pain. Every funeral is a reminder that death is coming, a reminder that his people no longer can live forever.

And yet, the King didn’t leave them to wander on their own. He made a plan—a plan that was in place from “before the foundation of the earth.” The King sent his Son to take the punishment of his people upon himself.

So, yes, The Chosen One walked among his people and then died in their place. Most fantasy stories end there, but the Greatest Story of All doesn’t. This is how we have the greatest hope bringer of all.

The Chosen One rose again. Physically, corporally. He said, “See my hands. Touch my wounds. It is I.” And by rising again, he did away with the sting of death. No more will death have the final word.

And so, on this Resurrection Sunday, may we proclaim hope. May we seek to know the greatest hope bringer, and may our faith be assured.

These are the points where our heroes think all is lost. There is no hope. You might as well give up and go home. Even Samwise is ready to quit.

When Hope Seems Lost

These moments of dark are what make the light all the more bright!

The same though is true of us in our everyday lives. We see the darkness and give up.

A pinched nerve that never relents.
A tumor that won’t shrink.
A weak heart.
Your child suffering from leukemia–again!
Bills piling up without a job.
No food in the cupboard and no money to buy any.
The things you trusted in for your future fall through.
The love of your life has walked out.
Your friend who promised he’d be there isn’t.
The person who said they’d vouch for you, lies about you.

Darkest Moments Lead to Hope

Yet, it’s these moments that help us see the light all the more.

Without knowing pain, you don’t treasure pain-free days.
Without food and money, you don’t remember that box that showed up to provide your next meal.
Without betrayal, your apreciation for love isn’t complete.

Hope and Story

Think about it.

Narnia

Lucy and Susan walk with Aslan who tells them to wait. They watch as the White Witch drives her knife through Aslan’s heart. The evil horde rushes past their hiding spot, leaving them in darkness. When they dare crawl up to Aslan, he’s dead. They know this, saw it, and yet, they cry on his beloved face. They even are ready to send mice away until they realize the little creatures are trying to gnaw the ropes away.

Cold, mourning, and in despair, Susan and Lucy turn to leave to tell the boys all’s lost.

Against that backdrop of despair, what do we have? One of the most cinematically pleasing moments. The rumble of stone, and they turn to see dawn has come, and stepping into that light is none other than Aslan!

Two Towers

The night of fighting the orcs has left the Rohirrim descimated. Their women and children are huddled in caves, and their old men and young boys have died fighting. Aragorn rallies King Theoden for one final muster of the men of Rohan.

But why does Aragorn know to fight one final time? Because Gandalf told him, “Hold out. Look to the east. At dawn, look to the east.”

And there, reinforcements come riding down the hill, and blocking the main escape are the wild trees.

The Greatest Hope

Today, we remember the greatest story ever told. The one where despair ruled.

The man that they’d walked with, seen provide food to feed thousands, healed the sick, and even raised the dead was handed over to his enemies. Who’d even think that such a one could gain enemies, but he did.

And like in every good story, the enemy was larger than our hero’s party. They rallied men who lied about their friend in a court of law, gaining a conviction. Not only a conviction but a death sentence!

The darkest day of their lives was the day they watched as this man they’d hoped would bring light, healing, and set everything to rights died. They watched–well some of them. Most of them ran and hid. They’d be next! After all, they were friends with now public enemy number one.

They spent three long days and nights wondering, waiting, trying to decide what to do, how to go back to life as normal after three and a half years of following this guy. Oh… and mourning.

Think of his mom! She watched her son be executed! She was there when he was buried, and because it was a holiday, there wasn’t a funeral and the burrial was quick and efficient.

And so, on the morning before dawn, the women went to finish the burrial procedures. To say a final farewell.

But…

When they got there, the body was gone! The tomb empty! And besides that, there were men in white who reminded them of their hero’s words.

He’s not here for he has risen as he said.

Hope Beyond Story

Without the greatest story every told, we wouldn’t have hope in our darkest moments. There’d be no reassurances. It’d be as some claim: a wives tale, good for sissies and no more.

But you see, every good (western-minded) story ends with a happy ending. We expect that.

That’s probably why when hard times come, we expect them to end quickly. But often, they drag on, making us wonder if it’ll ever turn for good.

The problem is that the greatest story every told is book one of a series–a long series. So far it’s gone on for over two thousand years! But like a good series, we know that the middle of the series is always bad. But… if book one ended on a good note, we know the series will end happily.

Think of it. The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars (okay I’ll be biased and say 4-6), Harry Potter, Star Wars: Heir of the Empire, and more all end on good. The hero wins, as do his friends. Not all may make it to the final pages, but their deaths are for a greater good.

This is the same with us. Book one was the greatest story ever told. We’re the characters of the rest of the series, and the final book won’t be written until our Hero returns to claim the throne. But when he does, you can be assured that all the dark moments will be the backdrop that will display his light in all its glory!

As you face your week, may you remember the hope at the end of the series. May you trust the author of life to see you through, and if need be, put on the armor to fight.

Resolutions only make a difference if you know you can keep them. A word for the year is only as good as the person with insight into the new year. And really, will your circumstances change just because the year on our date changes?

I’ve been there and done that, but this year, I’m instead looking to the one who holds time in his hands. The one who filters every heartache, hardship, and happiness through his fingers. And like in 2021, I’m reaching my hand up to Daddy’s and asking him to hold me through this new year.

A song that has been dear to my hear this week is this one. I woke up yesterday morning instead of singing “He will hold me fast” I had the words, “He will hold my hand” going through my mind.

Not sure what I meant by 2021 and holding Daddy’s hand? You can check out my piece “Daddy’s Girl” in Finding God in Anime: vol 2. (Just click the image).

Singing through Tears

Our feet made no sound as they walked the needle strewn forest floor. The greens of huckleberry bushes and salal surrounded us while the contrasting shade of the evergreens covered our heads from any chance of late fall rain. Birds chirped around us oblivious to the pain in our hearts. Then softly almost hesitantly my friend began to sing. Her clear voice wavered over the familiar words to the hymn.

“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made. . .”

I glanced over in awe that she could be singing at such a time as this, but my voice at first shaking joined with her on the chorus. “How great Thou art, How great Thou art…”

Praying in difficulties

Saying that the days leading up to that moment had been stressful would have been an understatement. My friend, Donna, had called me several weeks earlier to say that her nineteen-year-old daughter, Christina, was in the hospital. In shock I had listened to her explain that Christina was suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts. My brain couldn’t comprehend the thought. The girl I knew was talented and beautiful. She could draw anything she set her mind to; give her a paintbrush or a sponge and she could put what was on paper onto a wall. How could this young woman who had so much to live for, be struggling. I had prayed with Donna for healing.

Several days later, I had received the news that Christina had been released from the hospital and was to go to counseling and take some medication. Surely everything would be fine, but I was proved wrong the next Sunday when Donna walked into the church.

She had greeted me with just two words, “She’s gone.” All I could do was give Donna a hug. Tears had streamed down both of our faces.

Helping a friend

Somehow we had made it through that day. The next day was Monday. My husband and I had gone to Donna’s house to help comfort her and her husband. When we arrived, Donna had asked to go for a walk. We meandered through the path until she opened in song.

I will never forget that moment. The clouds wouldn’t let lose any rain, but they hid the sun to go with our mood. I had no answers for my friend. What do you tell a parent who has lost their child? All I could do was walk and listen, give her hugs, and cry with her. We cried until we had no tears left to cry.

Moving past pain

As the days moved along, we went through numerous emotions. First, I was just numb. It didn’t make sense. The wonderful girl I had painted the Sunday School room with was gone. I couldn’t believe it. “She was just gone on one of her missions trips,” I’d tell myself. “She’d return, and we’d paint yet again.” After the numbness wore off, I was in disbelief. I couldn’t understand how such a talented, gifted, beautiful young woman could think that she was not worth something. When there was standing room only in a church packed to overflowing, how could she think she was not loved? Anger was the next to plague me and my husband. We watched as Donna and her husband, Dave, and the remaining three children struggled. How could Christina leave them to this grief? How could she be so selfish? Why would she do this to all of us—her family, her friends, her church family?

Healing in time

Over time, I watched Donna and Dave deal with the situation. We saw the pain, the hurt, the drawing into themselves and away from the body of Christ. They felt as if they had no one to talk to. No one understood what they were going through. At times, the pain showed through when someone would ask about their children and the wound was brought fresh to mind. Gradually, they were able to go back to whatever normal would be. That Sunday in October had irrevocably changed ‘normal’ for them.

Hope for our future

Is it possible to sing through loss? Can God use even bad things for His glory? I can sit back and say with my friend, Donna, that yes He can because I’ve seen it happen. Many times since that day in October, 2006, I’ve sung through my tears. God seems to honor our heart. He knows we hurt. He just asks that we trust Him. We may never see what He has planned, but we can trust Him to care for us and to work everything out for His good to draw us closer to Him, to make us more like Jesus.

Today as we face uncertainty with weather, fires, and even memories from 9/11, remember God is in control. He wants to mold us into the image of His Son. That means hardships will come our way. The question is how will we face them? Will we turn away from Him or to Him?

This wasn’t the first memorial service that I had attended for young person. Just shy of nine years ago I sat watching as my best friend suffered the loss of her daughter to suicide. Again, there was standing room only at that service. Both instances caused my family and me to sit back and ask why. It seems so pointless. All those hurting people left behind–all ages from young elementary school to peers to parents to grandparents and everyone in between. We feel the loss and cry. Often in the case of suicide, the person is hurting and can see no way through. However, as it was stated today at the service, when a person takes his or her own life, they take their pain and hurt and let it be multiplied to all those left behind.

I ask you today not to give up hope. Please if life seems unbearable, reach out to someone to ask for help. Quite often our perspective gets skewed. We think we are the only one to be in that situation. We can’t see the others waiting to help. This is common. Even the prophet Elijah felt the same way. He thought he was all alone, but God told him there were 7,000 who were still faithful. If all seems lost, if you have no one to listen to you, you can comment below or use the prayer request box on the side bar to contact me. I’m not a trained counselor, but I will listen. It isn’t worth it to give up and believe the lies that your life is not worth living or that others would be better off without you. There is a purpose for your life. You never know how many lives you will touch. David was just a quiet kid who volunteered with the fire department. His life touched over 300 people (that’s just how many were able to make it to the service). We never know how our lives will impact others. Keep hoping; Keep believing.

If you have lost someone to suicide and need a listening ear, you too can either comment or use the prayer request form at the side to contact me.