God restores our years...

Hey friends… Do you know the great and joyful promise that God will work out everything in your life for the better? (Hint: check out Romans 8:28.) This may not square well with our perceived reality. Sometimes hardships last for years and might even get worse as we age. But God is not going to leave us to our suffering without also blessing us greatly. Let’s talk in Deeper Thoughts below… 
 
But first… a few big things happening… 
 

• Our super-fun annual “Summer Kick-Off” is THIS Sunday, June 7, right after service! Come to church hungry and join us in the pavilion for FREE hot dogs from the grill, chips and veggies, fresh squeezed lemonade, Kona Ice, games, fun and fellowship. It’s a great annual tradition to gather the whole church—young and old—as we launch into summer! 
  
  • There are many opportunities to volunteer… if you’ve not already signed up, click here to ping Chris Bowen and let him know you are available to help!   
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• Mt. Hope T-shirts… THIS Sunday is your last chance to order! We’ll have order forms at church or click here to order online. Cost is $18/adult $15 kids. 

 

• Ladies: We are creating a new Facebook page to support relational connection and promote events. More details to come! 

 

• Women’s Trauma Support Group: We are launching a new and private small group to work together to support and heal personal trauma of all kinds that women have experienced. Date, time, and location will not be publicly published to honor women’s privacy and security. Click here to email Keysha Miller who is facilitating this group for more information and to RSVP. 

 

• Last Sunday morning our Elders shared plans for Pastor Chris and Sherri taking an eight-week Sabbatical starting the first of July. During this time of rest, refocus, and seeking God for fresh vision for their ministry at Mt. Hope Church, an awesome line-up of teaching pastors has been secured. Click here to view the conversation from last Sunday (forward to the 45:40 mark to see this), which includes also sharing a four-month leave of absence for Chris Bowen to be with his wife during her profound medical crisis.  

 

• LAST Sunday night, we had a very special field trip to Landover, MD for a unique experience of racial and ethnic unity in worship. The spirit of worship was strong, the relational experiences incredibly rich, and the honest and raw conversations from a panel of pastors (which I was privileged to serve on) were convicting. Everyone I spoke with who attended was very encouraged. Several folks have asked if it was recorded. It was, and we have a copy of the video. We have received permission to post this on our YouTube channel and will do so sometime next week. Standby for the private link to this recording. 

 

• LAST THREE WEEKS of The Daily Six!! Join us for six minutes each day, Monday through Friday, as we dig into the Psalms to learn how to pray scripture. At the end of June, we will conclude our current season of The Daily Six, taking at least a three-month production break to support Chris and Sherri’s sabbatical. Click here for our Daily Six webpage to find new content on Monday morning, OR… click here to sign up for our daily email reminders (if you’ve not already done so!).  

 
OK… that’s it for you email skimmers and those who hate long emails…  
 
BUT… 
 
 
Some Deeper Thoughts… 
 
Sometimes pain just happens and God has nothing to do with it.  
 
We live in a “fallen world,” a reality where good and evil, sin and righteousness, free will and all manner of stupidity dwells unabated. In many cases, the sufferings we encounter in life are simply the result of living in this unideal, sinful, broken world.  
 
Illness is most often just our turn with the failing bodies guaranteed to come upon us all. The death rate among humanity is running right at 100% these days, so an illness that captures our end is simply inevitable. When it happens, God is not surprised, as “all the days ordained for me were written in His book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16). But this does not mean He arbitrarily “took” us or our loved one in cruelty. 
 
Unemployment or financial hardship is usually just the result of world or local economies. Greed, fear, and politics that manipulate business decisions and market values flow unchecked from the sinful nature of man. God is nowhere in our politics, fear, or greed. 
 
Betrayal from others, interpersonal wounds that sting, and all manner of abuse and atrocity are 100% the free will choice of people who select evil as their course of action. God has nothing to do with these terrible choices. 
 
Tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and house fires are most often simply corrupt nature doing its thing—a brokenness that beset all of creation when good and evil was introduced outside the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3). While God has control over the forces of nature (see Psalm 135:6-7), in most cases it seems clear that He is letting the broken forces of nature run as they are. God may not be in the storms whatsoever (see 1 Kings 19:11-13). 
 
BUT… sometimes, hardship is indeed a direct intervention of God.  
 
Read Hebrews 12:7-12. The scripture is clear. Sometimes discipline is necessary to lead us to the right relational space with God: living in abundant love as sons and daughters of our loving heavenly Father.  
 
Sometimes our hardships are God’s created reality to lead us to repentance.  
 
When they are, we should repent, not get fussy with God. 
 
I’ve met many a person who acts as if God is to blame--somehow unloving and uncompassionate—for the hardships we encounter. But this simply is not true, and it dishonors everything God has revealed to us in scripture. 
 
In the cases where our troubles are the simple outcomes of our fallen physical bodies, the corrupt choices of evil people, or the autopilot throbbing of a broken planet, God is not to blame. You can thank Adam and Eve for introducing evil into our experience, and you can be deeply angry at the evil choices of your sinful neighbor. 
 
In the cases where God’s discipline is the cause, we can thank ourselves--not blame God—for having an unrepentant heart that leads a loving and merciful God to place some pain upon us to catch our attention and return us to Him. 
 
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate” (Joel 2:12-13). 
 
Did you read that last phrase? “He is gracious and compassionate.” Period. Always. Every time.  
 
The prophet Joel wrote during a season of God’s discipline. A horrific infestation of locusts had beset the land of Israel as a judgment designed to lead a wayward people back to God.  
 
But this was not the end of the story. God promised boldly, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25). This is a clear and present promise. God will restore us from the years of pain involved in bringing us back to Him. Every. Single. Time. 
 
Let’s meet… Sunday, 10:00 a.m. sharp… and study the wondrously gracious promise of God to leverage His discipline and restore us to something so much better. Take a little time in advance to read the prophet Joel.   
 
This will be encouraging. And then we’ll party outside for our summer kick-off celebration. Don’t be late… bring your Bible and a pen!! 
 
Much love to you all…  
 
Chris Eads 
Mt. Hope Pastor 
Friend 
[email protected] ​