living in hope

Though and Yet

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‘Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines. Though the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food. Though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls . . . ’ (Habakkuk 3:17 Amplified).

Sometimes we think the Old Testament has little to offer in our modern 21st century world. I beg to differ. Most of us are living in some sort of ‘though.’ Some more intensely than others.

Image attributed to: Geralt

Below is my offering:

  • Though the Oklahoma wheat crop — our family farm — is dying, turning yellow from the drought
  • Though counties around the farm grow lush and green from clouds of rain while our county remains cracked dry
  • Though evil continues to win its earthly battles
  • Though groceries and gas prices continue to rise but income does not
  • Though chaos explodes around us every day
  • Though government systems still do not ‘get it’ and fill the air waves with empty promises
  • Though babies are shot through car windows
  • Though deception digs deep and destroys logical thinking
  • Though groups of believers suffer from the consequences of one person’s sin
  • Though my prayers go unanswered after years of lament and pleading
  • Though illness threatens the corners of life in spite of healthy lifestyles
  • Though God continues to practice patience when everything in me screams for justice

‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will exult in the victorious God of my salvation. The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, my invincible army. He helps me make spiritual progress even in the places of trouble, suffering, and responsibility’ (Habakkuk 3:18-19 Amplified).

  • Yet the true God is the One I have chosen to believe
  • Yet Jesus is the final vindicator
  • Yet justice, mercy, and peace will eventually define us
  • Yet God can restore what has been stolen
  • Yet the provisions I need will somehow show up just in time
  • Yet government systems are mere shadows of God’s eternal design
  • Yet truth is still stronger than deception
  • Yet God can heal at any time and in any way best chosen for the situation
  • Yet the Creator God creates in me
  • Yet God’s patience is a precursor to his merciful justice
  • Yet the Almighty Peaceful One sustains me within the chaos
  • Yet God loves every one in the entire world
  • Yet God can rain down his blessings of moisture at any moment and create a storm out of a tiny cloud
  • Yet even when the harvest does not show up, God can still provide
  • Yet even though it sometimes feels naïve, I will continue to believe in the abounding love of God

The Old Testament prophet concluded with his belief system, and so can we. All it takes is merely gutsing out a germ of faith. We can find our hope by living in the ‘Yet.’

©2023 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved

For more information about faith, check out Uploading Faith: What It Means to Believe.

Hope Wonders When

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Patience is NOT one of my virtues. Yet it seems as I grow older, God requires more instruction involving patience. Once again, I sit in his school of waiting.

When we wait, our first question is “When?” When will the answers come? How much longer do I need to wait?

Is there a deeper purpose than even the waiting itself — a reasoning God wants me to grasp, a circumstance someone else needs to piece together, something that affects both of us?

On a larger scale than just my small life, when will our communities learn that diversity is a strength? We can add to each other’s lives by embracing our differences as much as we love our commonalities. But when?

The 36-hour day team-tags for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. The body refuses to die even as the brain deteriorates. When will release come?

The only way to end the Alzheimer’s journey is to hold the hand of a loved one as s/he is ushered into eternity.

Writers wait to hear from publishers who hold their words hostage within committee meetings. The words scream to be heard and passed on. When?

In their workbook, Living into the Answers, authors Isenhower and Todd write, “If we leave ourselves open to God’s leading, even in the midst of asking the questions, often God sends us into areas we have not considered.”

New areas we have not previously considered or possibly — new spiritual havens where we learn to reframe our questions.

How can we find hope while we wait? How can we best live in our waiting rooms without giving way to the frustrations of impatience?

What did it feel like in the 600-year silence between the Old and New Testaments? For centuries, one decade after another, the people waited for their Messiah.

Generations died out. Saints did not receive the promise, yet somehow hope lived on. Grandfathers continued to share the stories of a miracle-working God — even in the silence.

Mothers tucked their children into beds and whispered, “Maybe tomorrow Messiah will come.”

Yet their tomorrows stretched into the next year and the next.

When Jesus DID come, he was so radical and so unlike the Messiah they expected, they did not recognize the wait was finally over. Instead of rejoicing, they rejected him and killed him. They refused the truth.

As I wait for my limbo land to end, I wonder … has it come and gone, passed me by? Did I somehow miss the answer? If so, how do I retrieve it?

Maybe the eternal one who longs for us to trust him plants the answers in the everyday-ness of life, then waits for us to locate him.

Perhaps our questions are wrapped in the discontent of our days. We cannot truly find the resolve because God is not controlled by time.

Yet as we wait, he graciously holds us in the palm of his mighty and patient hands.

Instead of yearning for a change, maybe we need to just accept today. To find joy in whatever positives surround us.

Then as we cry out for a deeper intimacy with the divine one, he will produce the answers within.

©2021 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved

Check out this excerpt from Hope Shines, available on Amazon and also in Large Print.  

Hope Inches Toward Acceptance

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acceptanceA copy of the Serenity Prayer is posted on my refrigerator. Such a beautiful reminder of the seasons of life.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can,  and wisdom to know the difference.”

Wisdom was a frequent prayer as I worked in various ministries, raised my son, made life-changing decisions.

But change happened with or without courage. The seasons of life determined new directions, transitions and different pathways. Change has never been my problem.

But acceptance—now that is a different story.

Growing up on the farm, we made do with what we had but if we needed something, we actually made it. Created it from the bits and pieces around us. We changed the situation to make it better.

That work ethic has followed me through life and added to the quality of my life. I have no regrets for changes made, for improvements accomplished, even for risks taken.

But acceptance is not easy for a change-maker. To sit around and just let life happen is not in my DNA. I am always ready to do what is necessary to make a situation better or to at least make it tolerable.

I revise manuscripts until they feel completely right. I add another exercise to my routine to strengthen aging knees and a threatening muffin-top waist. I delete from my diet the chemicals that are harmful. Make the necessary changes.

Even as a coach, my questions to clients include, “What are the action points we can work on this week? How can we move forward and make the changes that will improve your book, help you find a publisher, complete the process?”

Change is easier, because it allows me to do something—anything—to make improvements. But what if the situation cannot be changed? Ever.

I am frustrated and trying to learn how to work through this whole acceptance thing. How can I find the hope needed in doing nothing?

With the help of a gifted therapist and friends who care, I am inching toward the acceptance of Deb’s death. My life has changed and will never be exactly the same. She is gone.

Somehow, I must make peace with how her absence has affected my calendar days and the future we planned together.

As we age, some things must clearly become an accepted piece of life. In her book, “Present Over Perfect,” Shauna Niequist writes, “It’s okay to be medium.”

She’s referring to the size of clothing she now wears. After years of being petite, she now must wear the medium sizes.

My mother has accepted her life in assisted living. She is content living day by day in her safe and beautiful environment. No stresses. No bills to pay. No worrying about the car and the next oil change. Just get up every morning, eat when they tell you to eat and play Bingo.

Done. Accepted.

To stay in hope and live in peace, we have to sometimes let go of the need to change. We have to accept what cannot be changed and know that even within the acceptance—we will be okay.

So change what you can but accept what cannot be tampered with. Then pray for the peace to live within that acceptance and find joy in each day.

©2018 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved.

If you’d like to read about a woman who was able to change her life, check out “No Visible Scars.”