What a week it has been in Santiago, Chile! Seeing our brethren face-to-face makes all the difference in the world to both the visitor and the one visited. Beverly and I truly enjoyed seeing our brethren in the vibrant Santiago congregation whose pastor is Jaime Gallardo, with his wife, Mara. Elder Jaime Díaz and wife Lorena came up from the Temuco congregation in southern Chile.
On Monday and Tuesday, we held a Leadership/Ministerial Conference at the church hall. Mario Seiglie and I gave four leadership presentations. Other elders who participated were Gabriel García and his wife, Andrea, from Mexico City. Pastor Raúl Machicao came from La Paz, Bolivia. I had never met him before and really appreciated getting acquainted with him and better understanding the churches in Bolivia and brethren in Peru. Besides those who were physically present were Israel and Thelma Robledo from Guatemala, Scott and Gayle Hoefker from the United States as well as Jaime and Janet Salek from Bogotá, Colombia, on a Web conference.
There were good questions about practical Christian challenges. We addressed how to know that God has been working in our lives and in the Church. We had a discussion about a minister’s wife’s role in counseling. A good dialog ensued about the Millennial generation taking over the reins of leadership in the Church. I answered that we are to look optimistically to those who are maturing. They bring a special desire to become involved that perhaps other generations did not show as strongly.
On Tuesday, we held a ministerial conference. Each of the pastors gave a brief report about their areas, but then enumerated their difficulties and challenges. Issues ranged from immodest wear at Sabbath services to how to distribute Las Buenas Noticias magazine in their country. Then we all joined a discussion about solutions. It was mutually encouraging and helpful to all of us, as good ideas were shared.
Yesterday, Wednesday, Jaime Gallardo, his wife, Mara, Mario Seiglie, along with Bev and myself, drove about an hour and a half north of Santiago to see the Feast site in Olmué. It is truly a spectacular location in the coastal mountains of beautiful Chile. The climate here is very similar to California’s except that now it is the middle of summer. They expect about 120-130 people to attend.
On Thursday, today, we leave for Argentina where we will meet our brethren in Oberá in the Misiones area. Our plan is to arrive home on Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers and interest in God’s Work with 600 brethren.
Enduring Hope for Times when All Seems Hopeless
I received word today that Aaron Dean, International Coordinator and Ambassador Bible College Dean of Students, was taken to the hospital emergency room last night, Wednesday, in severe pain and unable to breathe. The doctors determined that he had a blood clot in his right lung. He was anointed shortly after arriving at the hospital. He is currently resting and has been given a clean bill of health otherwise, but remains under observation. He will undergo further tests on his legs in an attempt to identify where the blood clot came from and to determine if there are any more. He is hoping to be released on Friday to go home. Your prayers for his speedy and full recovery are much appreciated.
Where does one find hope when all seems hopeless? Hope describes a condition or feeling of expectation and a want or desire for a specific act to occur. When we’re in the middle of a troublesome situation or a full-blown trial, hope helps us get through the difficult times.
I have seen this time and again in my ministry and have even experienced it myself! And this includes times when I have gone to encourage and support someone engulfed in a serious trial, only to be strongly encouraged by the afflicted person when I thought I would be the one providing encouragement.
As you all know, several in the Church of God are currently experiencing serious health and other challenges, including cancer and other debilitating conditions that are emotionally draining. But we often hear of their amazing positive response to these trials and draw strength from them!
How does this happen? What spiritual strength does God impart to those undergoing serious difficulties?
Here’s one example: Joy Jones, mother of three children and wife of minister David Jones in South Dakota, recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. That’s tough, very tough. Yet, Mrs. Jones wrote publicly on Facebook: “We have tremendous hope that God is going to lead us through this valley and that He intends good from this trial. He has never dropped us, and I am confident that He does not intend to start now.” She acknowledged the difficulty and challenge she and her family currently face, but she also quietly affirmed the source of her strength: “We are still digesting this information. It is a lot to take in. I thank those of you who have reached out and surrounded us with love and prayers. Truly, that is what we need right now. Your prayers, support and love have been like a blanket that I am holding tightly around myself. When I get scared, those prayers hold me up.”
When I read that, I was personally inspired. My personal challenges and troubles fell away by comparison. It filled me with hope, with the expectation that God’s will would be done and that Mrs. Jones’ request was heard at the highest level, even to God’s throne.
As King David wrote: “We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and shield… Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone” (Psalms 33:20-22;New Living Translation).
When the fire comes—and it will come in some form for all of us in ways that we may not even imagine—we need to have this hope firmly fixed and active in our lives.
Paul gives us some insight about the role of hope in the divine quality of love that comes from God. In describing the spiritual characteristics of love, Paul tells us that the love that comes from God “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). Bear, believe, hope, endure —that’s a great spiritual framework with which to face and persevere in trials.
So, when we pray for God’s Holy Spirit to be given to us, let us always remember to ask that God would literally pour out His love into our hearts through that gift (Romans 5:5). Filled with that divine love, we can then personally bear up under stress, be confident and not lose our ability to believe in the power of God to deliver us, hope—have a confident expectation that this too will not only pass, but go on to greatness—and finally to endure to the end! As Jesus Himself emphasized, “but he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
Tonight in Santiago, I led a Bible Study about the first chapter of Ephesians. As I read these verses, I felt the power that comes to help us endure whatever we must face: “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people” (Matthew 24:14). “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him” (Matthew 24:19).
If and when you feel that all is hopeless, be like David and look to God as your shield, the One who will envelop you with powerful love and endurance, filled with hope! Echo David’s words, “For in You, O LORD, I hope” (Psalms 38:15). And add your prayers for those who presently find themselves in the midst of trials, small or large!
Our God is a loving and personal God. He cares about you personally, and He cares about His saints who are enduring difficult trials. Looking for hope in what appears to be a hopeless situation? God is ready!
My prayer for you, as our prayer should be for all who fear God and serve Him, is the same as Paul’s: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, New International Version).
Powerful hope is available. May you find it today!