My only Hope.

How can we find joy in our burdens? Whether it be rejection in publication or broken relationships, I seldom rejoice like the apostle Paul declares in Romans 5:

³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

But, I have a taste of the sweetness of this practice. It is in these broken places that I have cast off the childish way of seeking human approval or consolation, and clung desperately to my God. It is each morning that I crave my time with Him, and I cast my broken heart before Him.

And it is then that I realize, not only the perseverance,

not only the character,

But the HOPE.

And while my burdens surely disappoint, my God does not. In fact, He soothes me with an intimate word, a series of nudges that are sewn together with an everlasting thread of hope. I cannot escape His specific message that finds me in every place I turn when my heart bleeds for Him alone. I no longer believe in coincidence. Because this heart salve is too personal, too effective to heal.

As I journey through this casting off of my yoke to His loving shoulders, I savor the treasure He has placed in my heart, that is in Psalm 62:

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;

    my hope comes from him.

6 

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

7 

My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];

    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

8 

Trust in him at all times, you people;

    pour out your hearts to him,

    for God is our refuge.

When I was younger, I doubted God's care in times of burden. I sought for human answers and human help. But as I grow older, I no longer find comfort in such superficial means. God is my only hope.