Balancing Acceptance and HOPE — A Branch In the Vine

Continuing our theme of HOPE for week 1 of Advent, I would like to share a meditation from our newly published book of meditations, Glory in Disguise: Seeing God in our Every Day (see below). The truths here have been intensely practical for my own life and the lives of many others with whom I’ve shared.
May you be blessed to see there is great HOPE in the midst of what may be your very hard circumstances when your Source is your Almighty God, Emmanuel (God With YOU!)

For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering.
Romans 8:22-25 NLT

I live in Ohio. And in the early days of the COVID pandemic our governor had a daily news conference every weekday. During one of those conferences, the state director of health shared a beautiful nugget of emotional and spiritual health. Referring to a favorite book by a Holocaust survivor, she shared two things which helped those victims survive the extreme crisis. And she believed those same two things could help us survive the pandemic crisis. They are “accepting our present reality” and “holding on to hope” at the same time.

My ears perked up, because I believe this is Truth with a capital T. In fact, I remember coming to the realization years ago, when my kids were still small, that I was spending a lot of emotional energy fighting my own life. I was resisting my present, real-life circumstances. They centered around mysterious allergic reactions that defied understanding. Round and round went agonizing thoughts:

· Why do I have to live in OHIO when my health would be better in the desert and mountains of AZ or the coastline of NJ?

· Why do I have these exotic allergies and sensitivities and mysterious reactions?
Surely this is not God’s will.

How stupid was that -- to fight against my own life? I finally realized that God wanted me to embrace my life, hug it to my breast, thank God for it, brokenness and all, and yes, Ohio and all.

What peace, what fullness unfolded for me -- though my state of residence and the state of my health didn’t change. It didn’t mean I couldn’t still hope for a cure or hope that the end would come to my suffering. But I needed to embrace my present reality instead of fight against it.

Paul’s statement became a mantra for me,

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV

That reminded me of the story of a woman who had fought her own life, Catherine Marshall, wife of Chaplain of the Senate, Rev. Peter Marshall (1947-49). She was a woman who recognized the Lord speaking to her mind and heart, both through the Scriptures and the Spirit. Catherine spoke of hearing the Lord and following Him. And more importantly, she spoke of coming to what she called the relinquishment of her will to the Lord.

In the midst of a stubborn case of TB that wouldn’t yield to prayer or medical intervention, Catherine finally came to the point of wanting the Lord more than wanting healing.

In Catherine’s own words:

This is my situation at the moment. I’ll face the reality of it. But I’ll also accept willingly whatever a loving Father sends.

Acceptance, therefore, never slams the door on hope. Yet even with hope our relinquishment must be the real thing, because this giving up of self-will is the hardest thing we human beings are ever called on to do.

What about you, dear brothers and sisters? Can you sincerely say, “By the grace of God, I am what I am” and “I am, where I am” and “this is, what it is”?

Are you embracing fully what God has for you right here and right now? For some of us our present circumstances are more serious than others. No matter. The acceptance of our present reality is not just for crisis situations. It’s for every today (crisis or mundane) that we have on this earth. Each of our moments is important to us and to Him.

There’s a certain acceptance of one’s life that characterizes the person who lives by faith. And oh, what peace and joy will be ours. Justin Gravitt stated that we can walk through crisis (speaking of the pandemic) in one of three ways:

We can distract ourselves from it.
We can deny it.
Or we can dwell in it.

Brothers and sisters, let’s dwell in our present situation and embrace our today as God’s will for our individual lives. And the beauty of it all is that we will meet Him right there in the midst -- the easy and the hard and everything in-between -- every “today” of our lives. And that is our greatest hope of all.

. . . I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home [dwell] in my love . . . Live in me. Make your home [dwell] in me just as I do in you. John 15:9 MSG

My Path
There are things in this life
That are hard to accept.
My days would be smoother
Without their effect.

But I trust them to be
Part of Your plan.
A plan that I often
Don’t understand.

But if You can accept
The things I have done.
Then I must accept
The path that I’m on.

For Your love and forgiveness
Help me to cope.
And there, My Sweet Jesus,
Is where I find HOPE.

Penny Mandeville

Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are truly my Home. I sink down deep into my place in You, and I am at peace. Whether crisis or mundane, suffering or comfort, my Hope is You. Remind me Who You are today and Whose I am as I go through my day. In Your Name. Amen.

Reflections
1. Look at 1 Peter 5:6-11 and Romans 15:13. Journal what He shows you and yield your struggles into His Almighty care because…He cares for you.

2. What are God’s instructions and encouragement in the midst of suffering?

3. “Occasionally weep deeply over the life you hoped would be.
Grieve the losses.
Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life you have.”
(John Piper)

A perfect gift for a friend or family member who enjoys meditative daily reading. Each meditation begins with a Scripture, a real life story and encouragement with application, followed by a poem and prayer and interactive journaling suggestions.

Available on Amazon and other online booksellers.

A Branch in the Vine

A Branch In the Vine