Hope in the Waiting (episode 53)

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000
If you love a prodigal, you can discover help and hope for your wilderness journey right here at When You Love a Prodigal podcast.

2
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:15,000
And also help and hope for your own life journey.

3
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:21,000
Today we are beginning a five-part series on hope.

4
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,000
When you love a prodigal, you need hope.

5
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,000
I know, we do. We cling to hope.

6
00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,000
We weep when hope is dashed.

7
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,000
And oh, how we grow weary in the waiting.

8
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,000
And we're going to talk about hope in the waiting.

9
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:45,000
Be listening for truths that God may be revealing to you.

10
00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,000
Jot them down so you don't forget them.

11
00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000
Our son Josh loved surfing.

12
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,000
He didn't always hang out with the best surfers.

13
00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,000
But he loved to go to the ocean with his surfboard.

14
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:13,000
When a friend of ours, my husband and me, offered to send Josh for a week at a California beach in the home of a surf pastor,

15
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000
he was thrilled.

16
00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,000
And my hope and my prayers soared.

17
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,000
The hope that this might be the turning point for him.

18
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,000
It was a wonderful week.

19
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000
He learned to surf even better.

20
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,000
He loved when he got to help teach some kids how to surf.

21
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,000
And they had daily Bible study.

22
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,000
He got to help set up for church.

23
00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:45,000
And he came home and he said, I think that's the best week of my life.

24
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,000
And he came home wanting to walk with God, to change his life.

25
00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,000
And he did.

26
00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,000
And I held my breath.

27
00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,000
Will this last?

28
00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,000
Well, it did.

29
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,000
For at least a month, maybe two.

30
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:08,000
But old friends and old choices and the lure of addictions won again.

31
00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,000
My hope crumbled.

32
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,000
When you love a prodigal, you know about hope.

33
00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,000
It beckons.

34
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,000
It's fragile.

35
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,000
It's elusive.

36
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,000
It's cautious.

37
00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,000
But rarely does it give up.

38
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,000
We so desire for our prodigals to be free from their bondage.

39
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:36,000
From addictions, from rebellion, from sin, from mental and emotional torment.

40
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000
From wrong friends and wrong choices.

41
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,000
We pray.

42
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:49,000
We know that God loves us and our loved ones and also desires that freedom for them.

43
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:56,000
Waiting with hope based on God's love is what we have.

44
00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,000
But if we can't trust that hope, what do we have?

45
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,000
Well, you know the answer.

46
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,000
We have the Lord.

47
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:12,000
We have a faithful Father, a compassionate Savior, and a powerful Holy Spirit.

48
00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:19,000
And the assurance that all the promises of God are yes in Jesus.

49
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:25,000
But when something happens again, can we keep hoping?

50
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,000
Yes, we can.

51
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,000
We most likely will.

52
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:34,000
Will all our dreams and desires come to pass?

53
00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,000
Probably no.

54
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,000
Will our prodigals break our hearts again?

55
00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,000
Pretty likely they will.

56
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:47,000
Will we make mistakes as we seek to restore and reconcile?

57
00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,000
Without a doubt, we will make some mistakes.

58
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,000
The only certainty we have is God.

59
00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,000
He knows.

60
00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:02,000
He knows your plans, your prayers for the days and years ahead.

61
00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,000
He knows your loved one and his or her choices.

62
00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:16,000
He also knows his grand plan and how all of this works together.

63
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,000
So he knows.

64
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:18,000
We know that.

65
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,000
He also cares.

66
00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,000
He looks at them and at us with tender tears.

67
00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:31,000
He feels the rejection, the loss, the torment, the disappointment.

68
00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000
He stays with us through it all.

69
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,000
So he knows, he cares, and he is able.

70
00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,000
He is not a God who wishes he could help.

71
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,000
He can help.

72
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,000
He is El Shaddai, the Almighty.

73
00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,000
He rules heaven and earth.

74
00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:56,000
He said that nothing, nothing is impossible for him.

75
00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:06,000
So my challenge to myself and to you is to make God himself the object of our hopes and our dreams,

76
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:17,000
to seek him above all else, to entrust our prodigals and our own lives into his loving and able care,

77
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:23,000
to surrender our plans, to believe his very good intentions,

78
00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:28,000
to trust his spirit to give us everything we need with our loved ones.

79
00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:33,000
Be encouraged by this promise in Romans 15.

80
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:38,000
May the God of hope, did you know that's one of his names?

81
00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,000
He's the God of hope.

82
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:48,000
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,

83
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:56,000
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

84
00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,000
And yet, there will be waiting.

85
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,000
No one really likes to wait.

86
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:09,000
In today's instant gratification culture, waiting is especially challenging.

87
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:15,000
But waiting with hope can seem impossible to us.

88
00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:26,000
So we're going to take a look at something King David said in a little depth to see how David could wait with hope.

89
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,000
He had many opportunities to wait.

90
00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,000
He was being chased by Saul.

91
00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:36,000
He was anointed as king years before that happened.

92
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,000
His life was at risk many times.

93
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,000
But he waited with hope.

94
00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,000
So in this situation, we're going to be looking at Psalm 27.

95
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:55,000
And this is what it says, what David wrote in Psalm 27.

96
00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,000
I remain confident of this.

97
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:04,000
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

98
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,000
Wait for the Lord.

99
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,000
Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

100
00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,000
So what's happening in David's life there?

101
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,000
He's in big trouble.

102
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:19,000
He's threatened by wicked assailants, enemies, and war.

103
00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,000
What does he say he'll do?

104
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,000
I will seek the face of the Lord.

105
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,000
Then he makes a conclusion.

106
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,000
He says, I can wait with hope.

107
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:43,000
So what I want to do is read some definitions that I have read that might help us understand how David could say,

108
00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,000
I can wait with hope.

109
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,000
This verse again, I remain confident, David said.

110
00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:54,000
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

111
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,000
Wait for the Lord.

112
00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,000
Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

113
00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:04,000
So I'm going to demonstrate my great knowledge of Hebrew.

114
00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:08,000
I had to look up how to pronounce these few words.

115
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:19,000
The concept of remain confident comes from the word amen, which means to believe, hold up, build or support, render firm.

116
00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:32,000
And so he says, because I know that I can be trusting in God, that he is a firm, trusting, supporting, building me up, I can be confident.

117
00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:46,000
Then the word wait is kava, and it means to bind together, to expect, to look patiently, to wait for or on or upon.

118
00:08:46,000 --> 00:09:01,000
Then be strong, he says, that's tshazak, and it means to fasten on, to seize, to bind, to confirm, to conquer, to be courageous.

119
00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,000
And then love is take heart.

120
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:11,000
And love has the concept of emotions plus will plus intellect.

121
00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,000
It is our total inner being.

122
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:21,000
So here's my paraphrase of what David said based on the meanings here of the words he used.

123
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,000
He said, there is trouble all around me.

124
00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:34,000
Enemies desire to destroy me, but I seek the Lord, and he meets me and rescues me.

125
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,000
He's done it before, and I know he'll do it again.

126
00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:47,000
Therefore, I am confident, sure, certain that my belief and trust in God is firm.

127
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,000
I'm connected to him.

128
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:57,000
I can believe that I will see God's goodness in the land of the living as well as in heaven.

129
00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:06,000
So we can say, well, yes, I can have hope for the eternity, the afterlife when I get to be with him.

130
00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:17,000
He says, oh, no, he's saying in the land of the living, right here where we are in the struggles with our wonderful, loved prodigals,

131
00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:26,000
we can have confidence that we will see God's goodness in the land of the living as well as in heaven.

132
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:31,000
And then he goes on and he says, so I can wait with hope.

133
00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:40,000
I can in my heart, bind together this difficult present with a hopeful future.

134
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:47,000
What it's going on right now and what I'm believing because of God is going to be true.

135
00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:52,000
This hopeful future of God's involvement and goodness.

136
00:10:52,000 --> 00:11:00,000
I can live in the light of God because of who he is and what he is like.

137
00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:05,000
And then David goes on, he says, I will therefore be strong.

138
00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,000
I will seize and fasten unto God and who he is.

139
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:19,000
I will take heart and bring my emotions and my mind totally under his loving sovereignty.

140
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:24,000
I will eagerly anticipate what God will do.

141
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,000
So I will wait with hope.

142
00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:32,000
I read that last sentence because I would pray this is true for you.

143
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:40,000
Whatever the hard things going on, I will eagerly anticipate what God will do.

144
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,000
So I will wait with hope.

145
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,000
So I'm going to do one more little paraphrase.

146
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:56,000
So if this were your story or my story, let me say what David's prayer could sound like if I prayed it or you prayed it.

147
00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:07,000
Lord, you know the pain I am experiencing because of the choices I have made and my prodigal has made and the pain that life has brought about.

148
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:20,000
You know I want to trust and have hope, but I am often filled with hurt and fear and anger and even despair and hopelessness.

149
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:30,000
But I will seek you and you will meet me and rescue me as you did David over and over.

150
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000
I am confident in you.

151
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,000
I will stay connected to you.

152
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:44,000
I will choose to believe that I will see your goodness in my life and the life of my loved one.

153
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:51,000
So I can or will choose to be waiting with hope.

154
00:12:51,000 --> 00:13:03,000
I hope I will in my heart bind together this difficult present with that hopeful future of your involvement and goodness.

155
00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:08,000
I choose Lord to live in light of who you are.

156
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:12,000
I will therefore be strong and take courage.

157
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,000
I know what you are like.

158
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,000
You are God and you are good.

159
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:33,000
I choose to seize that truth and believe you will bring my feelings and my worry and my despair and turn that into confident trust and rest in you.

160
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,000
I will eagerly anticipate what you will do.

161
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,000
I will wait with hope.

162
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,000
Amen.

163
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,000
I have a couple of questions for you.

164
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:54,000
Did any truth that I shared, especially from David's life, spark an understanding for you?

165
00:13:54,000 --> 00:14:01,000
When is it most difficult for you to wait with hope?

166
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:07,000
How does David's Psalm help you keep hoping?

167
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:16,000
Take a second, write down a new hope or a new level of hope that you have.

168
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:27,000
And as always, I encourage you to take a look at the show notes because there you'll find listed more helpful information, resources, books.

169
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:31,000
Be sure to check out JudyDouglass.com.

170
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,000
That's Douglass with two S's.

171
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:39,000
Thank you for joining me today on the When You Love a Prodigal podcast.

172
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:47,000
If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe, rate, review the show.

173
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:48,000
Tell your friends.

174
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:54,000
I bet when you love a prodigal, you know some other people who are walking through a prodigal wilderness.

175
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:59,000
Tell them maybe they'd like to listen to our podcast.

176
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:04,000
Until next week when we do hope number two.

177
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:33,000
God bless you.