Hope is needed to thrive

There are times in our life where we learn certain things that really mean a lot to us in that moment. I read a lot, and I can think of some books that shook me spiritually a few years ago, but don’t anymore. God teaches us for a purpose, whether it be the moment or to instill something for a lifetime.

God has been teaching me so much as I have been reading The Hole in Our Gospel. Everyday I find myself meditating on something that has really stuck out to me, but the past couple days have been a little different.

In prayer I had been wrestling with this, “God, there are so many hurting people. There are so many people who lack the resources that they need to thrive, and to live- those who are living in poverty. Why do you allow it? You’re God! You could take it away if you wanted, you could do something!” Then, the defining moment that I had feared, and was waiting for: God answered, He asked me the same question, “That’s a great question. Yes, why do you allow it?” I stopped- and since then I have not been able to get my mind off of it. I know that I am not God, but I do know that no matter what your calling is, God has called us all (and chosen us all) to serve and to love our neighbors. If you didn’t know it, maybe the ones suffering the most are our neighbors, and they are probably our neighbors for a reason. I know that there is a great deal of suffering in the world, that’s the very issue that overwhelms me, but God has been teaching me. I don’t want to fail to do something just because I know I cannot do everything. I will not have the ‘cop-out’ answer when God calls me. I don’t want to say that I cannot afford it without trying to raise support; and I don’t want to say that I don’t know how to do something, when I have all the resources to learn how. Let’s figure it out. Let’s share the same joy that has been given to us. Hope is needed to thrive.

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
–Helen Keller.

This is something that God is teaching me, not just for the moment, but also for a lifetime. I’m so thankful.