Where Does Your Hope Come From?

On April 28-30, the NFL held its annual draft of college football players, and each team chose about 7 players each - fresh, young players.  Almost immediately afterwards, each team sign about 20 more undrafted players.  So every NFL team has restocked its roster with dozens of new, young players.  Thus every team believes they’re going to be better than last year.  Yes, this is the season when hope is renewed for every NFL team. 

Hope is an abstract thing that affects almost every aspect of one’s life.  It affects how one thinks or feels, how one sees oneself.  It affects how one relates to others.  You can just sense, when listening to another person, whether that person is hopeful or not.  One’s level of hope affects how much one accomplishes. 

In Isaiah’s time, the chosen people of Israel were feeling like they were no longer chosen, as if God had lost track of them; a few even dared to say that God no longer cared about them.  As Isaiah 40:27 says, “Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel,
My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

God Himself says it best in the 4 verses that follow, Do you not know?  Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
   He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
   Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
   but those who hope in the Lord, will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;

 they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Did you catch that line in bold?  Did you notice where Isaiah’s hope came from?  Isaiah’s hope didn’t come from believing in himself, or following a self-help book, or from his wonderful friends.  No, his hope, the hope that renewed his strength, came from the LORD – the everlasting Creator of the world, the God who doesn’t get tired or weary, and his wisdom cannot be understood by any mere mortal.  Are you actively trusting in that God?

A few verses later, Isaiah wrote, So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (41:10)

If you aren’t listening to the God of Isaiah, why not start seeking Him today?  If you’re troubled or afraid, turn to the eternal Creator of the world.  If you’re weak or weary or discouraged, why not put your hope in the Lord who promises to renew your strength?  He will uphold you with his holy, right hand, and help you.

Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome

If you’ve ever been mistreated or emotionally injured by a church or pastor, this column is for you.

When I was a young teenager, an incident happened in which my family felt mistreated by our pastor & church.  Their criticism & condemnation of our family member lead others to say similar things to us or about us.  Because of that experience, we stopped attending church.  As time went on, God & church seemed irrelevant to me.  I simply focused on other things & other people.  

So when I saw the term “Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome” a few weeks ago, my thoughts immediately returned to that hurtful episode in my growing up years.  While in seminary, I heard a seminary professor say, ”The landscape is littered by countless people who’ve left the church because they were hurt or injured or mistreated.”  At that point, I had no idea of how many such people I’d encounter in the years ahead.  I have talked to many people who left the church because of conflict or mistreatment. At times, it has seemed like an epidemic of Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.

Reba Riley is the author who coined the term “Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.”  The symptoms are similar to soldiers who returned from the battlefield with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  Riley grew up in a good evangelical home & a good evangelical church & was studying at a good evangelical college.  After leaving the church & the faith in her 20s, she wrote: 

“When faith is your whole identity, rejecting it is not unlike swan-diving into a bed of nails. It’s spiritual suicide; you’ll be forced attend a thousand little funerals for your shattered self, each worse than the last.

“The pain is so brutal, so intense, that it’s easier to tell yourself lies: Faith isn’t important; I don’t need God; I can partition off my soul with demolition tape and tip-toe around the condemned site forever.

“Except that eventually, I couldn’t play pretend.”

Not everyone with Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome decides to stop believing in God.  Some are able to distinguish God from an unhealthy, dysfunctional church, and thus continue to believe in a good God without the support of a church.  Some are later drawn to attend a different church.  A few eventually go back to the church that caused their pain.  Most wonder through life without finding healing or hope.  Some, thank the Lord, are able to find help & healing.

If you have Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome, here are a few suggestions:

-Spend time with safe people you trust & respect.  Post-Traumatic Church folks need caring comrades to heal their hearts & hurts.

-Consider seeking extra help from a counselor or life-coach.  Life-coaches & counselors are now available online or via skype.  See it as like going to a medical doctor for an illness.

-Don’t give up on God because his rebellious people caused your pain or injury.  God’s people often don’t represent Him well.  Let God’s Spirit show you a God you didn’t see in “God’s people.”  Read Lamentations 3:4-6, 22-26.  After Jerusalem was destroyed, Jeremiah grieved and then proclaimed, ”Great is Thy Faithfulness… It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

-Nurture your own faith by reading the Bible for yourself.  If you don’t enjoy reading, get an audio version on cd or ipod.  There are also Bible versions for your smartphone, Kindle, or tablet.  If you struggle to find words for your prayers, try reading some of the Psalms, many of which were prayers or songs that were sung to the Lord.  

-Nurture your faith by also listening to Christian music.  Music can soothe your emotional pain or heal your soul.  It may also lead you to worship the Lord.

I’m sorry that you suffered Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.  I hope & pray that God’s Spirit will lead you to find help, healing, & new hope.

Maundy Thursday:
After Jesus had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord — and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
– John 13:12-17