Union Void

Inside the Mind:
I saw my man James again on Tuesday after not seeing him for at least a week. He had just gotten out of the hospital again – this time surgery on his intestine. This was the worst shape I had ever seen him in. When I started talking with him, it sounded almost as if he was crying. He then told me that as of Thursday he will be staying in a Salvation Army house for four months before being transferred to a YMCA housing program. The problem was that he felt extremely sick after his surgery and still had two more nights out on the streets. We went into Potbelly’s for about a half hour and I was able to pray with him about his health and provision for the next two days and gave him some words of encouragement. Sure enough, before I even left, God provided the money needed for the first night in a hotel. The next day, I stopped and talked with him again and found that God provided again for the second night – and even some extra. When I saw him that second day, his eyes were filled with tears of hope and happiness instead of hopelessness and despair. This was the most jumpy and happy I had ever seen him. I was amazed when he reminded me that we prayed for health and provision the day before and God provided the needed money along with comfort for his body. He was genuinely praising and thanking God. Another prayer answered, another hopeless man filled with hope, another discouraged soul encouraged, another day closer to the end of the beginning. Praise God!

Over the week, I was struggling with the seemingly hopeless position a Christian can be in aside from the hope of Heaven. What can you do when everything seems to screech to a halt in your life? As I saw in James’ life, there is no such thing as a hopeless life on earth as a Christian. He doesn’t just keep you around on earth for no reason. He will pull through in some way – when the time is right and when His name is most glorified. James was able to see God work visibly in his own life, but I saw Him work in my life through this situation as well.

It is so painful to walk by so many homeless people on a regular basis, but it is an encouragement to know that there is one less now than before. Just another testament that God is alive and active around us. He desires to battle by our sides each day, if we would only let Him.

Verse:
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man of just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. - James 5:16-1

Grounded Hope

Inside the Mind:
I was on my way home from school one day last week and was surprised to see my old friend James standing on the street corner. (You might recall one of my entries for November talking about him. He is the older homeless gentleman who often stands nearby union station.) The last time I had seen him was in November on my second to last day of the school quarter. He felt extremely sick, and was about to go to the hospital as soon as I was able to talk with him that day. Before that time, I often prayed with him and he seemed open to talking about God, but I was never able to establish if he was truly a Christian. I had planned to make sure of it the next day (my last day of school) over lunch with him because I was in a hurry to catch my train. As it turned out, he was not there the next day and I did not see him again until last week. After not seeing him that next day, I kicked myself several times for not doing it when I had the chance. At that point, I left it in God’s hands and trusted that my relationship with Him would not be in vain.

You can imagine my surprise when, after not seeing him for several months, he suddenly was back in his old spot as if nothing ever happened. After talking with him for a while, I was able to change the subject to his assurance in Christ. I was overjoyed as I listened to his testimony and how he truly accepted Christ as his Savior. After he was finished, something started nagging me. He mentioned several times over the months how sometimes he just hoped the Lord would take him. He felt tired of scrounging his way through the final years of his life. This brought me to a question: What hope is there in life besides heaven if you have absolutely nothing on earth and your time is running low?

Just imagine: You are nearing your 70s. You have no relatives, home, food, job, money, or friends. You are constantly in and out of the hospital. You spend all your time panhandling, just so you can get into a cheap hotel to get out of the evening cold. You can never get into the local Christian homeless program because the line is always tremendously long and they run out of room. The few times you do get in, you are scared away because of the fights and drug dealing that goes on there. You are a Christian. What do you do? Where does your hope lie?

The more I think about it, the more discouraged I get. How can I encourage and help someone in this state? This is something I have been thinking and praying about for a while. I just do not know too many Christians that are in this kind of position. Maybe there is a reason behind it?

Whatever the answer to these questions may be, I believe the hope that is found in the answers is vital to our lives as Christians. Our hope should not be grounded in a hope that can be shaken by loss of home or money, but in a hope that is founded on the immovable solid foundation of Christ alone.

Into the book of Job I go.

Prayer Requests:
That God make His presence known to James and that he will be encouraged.
That God will shed some light on this situation and help me to understand His ways in the matter.

Verse of the Week:
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. – Psalm 62:5-6

A New Chapter Begins

Inside the Mind:
Ah… Another year reaches its close. A year which had its share of experiences that I will never forget right along with its share of stupid mistakes that I wish I could forget. I guess the best thing you can do is cherish and praise God for the good memories and learn from the bad ones. It reminds me of a quote by Jim Elliot that I actually posted a while back:

“The past is gone, and I am glad, both for its going and for the way it went. God has led in, through, and out, by the best route possible, we may believe. I am particularly conscious of the Christian’s right to expect events to be exactly for good. ‘As for God, His way is perfect.’ ”

His way is perfect and I am sure the events that have happened to me over the past year were just the things I needed, or will need in the future, to best glorify His name. He knows me more than anyone – including myself. The hardest part of it all is trusting in his plan. It’s hard to not try and take the steering wheel back when you haven’t the slightest clue where you are going. At least when you are at the wheel you have a general idea of where you are going – or so you think. The mind-boggling question is why would you even have the slightest ounce of doubt in God’s plan when He has never let you down in the past? I can recount bunches of times when I witnessed God at work and just sat there in awe, confirming God’s omnipotence and grace in my life. Despite these past events, I still find myself doubting God’s wisdom in favor of the world’s. I cringe every time I read Jesus’ words “O ye of little faith”, picturing myself in the shoes of the recipient of those words. I have plenty of work left in separating myself from the world’s enticing call and focusing on the oh-so-familiar voice of the Good Shepherd.

Well, with the new year comes a new quarter at DePaul. I start up again on the 3^rd and am actually a little excited to go back. It was amazing what God was able to teach me in only 11 weeks during my first quarter and I’m looking forward to what I will learn over the next 11 weeks. DePaul has one professor who is not on their payroll.

I would like to ramble on a little longer but I am especially worn out from the past couple of days and just need to go to bed.

Prayer Requests:
That I will be ready for every opportunity God gives me to build relationships in the classroom that will open the doors of their hearts for Christ. Most people are creatures of habit and where they sit the first week of class is usually where they sit everyday for the rest of the quarter. I’m sure God will place me where He wants me.

Verse of the Week:
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. – Proverbs 16:9