30th January 2024
Focusing on hope
Where do you turn when you are feeling hopeless?
There have been a number of times in my life when I felt hopeless. The first time I remember was when I was 12 and two of my sisters were killed in a car accident. My family and I were in New York, miles from home, when this tragedy struck. I was shocked and confused and didn’t know where to turn. It wasn’t until we returned home and went back to church that I started healing as friends and church members surrounded our family with love and support.
Over the years I’ve lost three other siblings and both parents—and some of those losses gave me a sense of hopelessness, angst, fear and even anger. Other members of my immediate family went through the same sense of grief, and I was doing my best to provide comfort to them. It was my church family that gave me comfort and support and helped me through those feelings of hopelessness. Some time ago I faced a rather intensive surgery. This time, right alongside my immediate family, my church family stepped up and helped provide just what I needed.
This is what a church family is for—to give hope to people by continually keeping the source of our hope—Jesus—the centre of the centre. All of us go through periods of feeling hopeless. It may be something we are going through on a personal level, a corporate level, or even a national level. I clearly remember the churches being crowded the weeks after the US was attacked on 9/11. People felt vulnerable and confused and they went to the one place they believed gave reasons for the hope that is in us. That place was the church; there many cried for comfort, encouragement, and to have their hope restored.
We refer to churches as places of worship. Who do we worship? The One who gives us hope—the hope of forgiveness, the hope of justification, the hope of being noticed, the hope of being included, the hope of something better than what we have right now. We also refer to churches as houses of prayer—where we seek relationship with Father, Son and Spirit, and with each other. Why do we seek that relationship? Because of hope. We hope that relationship provides answers to our deepest questions, provides peace that surpasses understanding and provides love and acceptance.
Healthy Grace Communion International churches are hospitals for people looking for spiritual help. They are centres of hope where people can find relationship, understanding, compassion, and the truth of a God who loves you just the way you are. They are lights on a hill, illuminating paths to Jesus, where those without hope can find what they need most.
A healthy church is a church where hope is found. Let’s be healthy churches.
Study by Rick Shallenberger
This is an edited version of an article published on 1/1/20 in the Equipper magazine
About the writer:
Rick Shallenberger is a minister in Grace Communion International and is editor of the Equipper magazine.
Local congregation:
You are welcome to attend one of our local church congregations located throughout the UK and Ireland. For details of your nearest local congregation, check on our website, Grace Communion International | Grace Communion International under the ‘Churches’ tab, or ring +44 (0)1858 437099.
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church