Nurture Faith with Dr. Doug Hood

“The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground, fountains of water.” Isaiah 35:7 (Common English Bible)

There is, perhaps, no greater disappointment in life than to experience disappointment with God. Missed opportunities, unrealized dreams, and friends who fail us are no small matter. They can be debilitating at times. Yet, most people also recognize that such disappointments are the stuff of life. With a strong network of family and friends, many find that they are able to push through such disappointments. But what are we to do with our disappointment with God? This is the most shattering of disappointments. “No longer is there a wide, comfortable margin between peace and the edge of doom,” writes that great Scottish preacher, James S. Steward.[1] Disillusionment with God is startling, surprising, and overwhelming. In a deep spiritual sense, such disillusionment is taking up residence in the desert.

Isaiah has a word for those desert moments—or days. In dramatic fashion, Isaiah speaks of a grand reversal: “The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground, fountains of water.” With incredible verve, he takes the most frightening and cynical judgment of the world that says that this life is nothing more than “burning sand” and reverses it. God is not absent, nor will God remain silent. The word from the Lord is that the desert places of life will become an oasis, living water that quenches our fears and dispels the darkness.

What does this mean? In effect, Isaiah acknowledges his common experience with ours that life is full of disappointments, broken dreams, and dashed hopes. More, Isaiah is no stranger to fears that come like a bolt of lightning, unnerving our sense of comfort and security. But he also wants to remind us of history; Israel’s history of a God that is never far off, a God that appears in the midst of struggle and uncertainty with the hand of a shepherd, confidently leading us forward into God’s future for us. In every situation, even when the darkness of the hour seems to have the upper hand, grace reigns.

Understand, of course, that the very struggle with disillusionment dispels any notion that faith is always experienced without struggle. Any spiritual journey occasionally moves through desert places, where the ground is hot and parched. But, Isaiah asks that we steadily move forward, particularly when our steps are labored and weak, for a wonderful discovery lies ahead of us, the same discovery that Isaiah made. Present circumstances that seem like burning sand will, by God’s promises, become a pool of cool water. Additionally, you will find yourself in the company of those who have discovered that they would rather travel the most difficult road with God than any other road without him.

Joy,

[1] Stewart, James S. The Wind of the Spirit, Nashville: Abingdon, 1968, 70.

“I was beaten with rods three times. I was stoned once. I was shipwrecked three times. I spent a day and a night on the open sea. I’ve been on many journeys. I faced dangers from rivers, robbers, my people, and Gentiles. I faced dangers in the city, in the desert, on the sea, and from false brothers and sisters. I faced these dangers with hard work and heavy labor, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, and in the cold without enough clothes.” 2 Corinthians 11:25–27 (Common English Bible)

Sometimes it appears that the Apostle Paul had a hidden charm that both protected him from discouragement and defeat while providing navigation for his ministry. With every possible force at work against him—every possible obstacle to moving forward—Paul was simply unbeatable. His journey seemed impossibly long, and there were lengthy stretches during which he had to endure much hardship and loneliness. What’s more, Paul kept a careful journal of each difficulty encountered, every challenge he faced, and the deprivation he endured. His purpose for recording each was simply to force the question—can anyone survive experiences such as these, one upon another, by their own strength, their own resources?

Paul’s answer is, “No.” Every difficulty, challenge, and deprivation presented an opportunity for Paul to proclaim available strength that was not Paul’s—the strength of the risen and active work of Jesus Christ. Storms are part of the normal climate, and adversity is part of normal life. Paul utterly rejects the false notion that a formula is at work that shields us from the strong winds and turbulence of day-to-day life. Rather, Paul’s desire is to point to his own life and demonstrate a steadying hand that holds us and strengthens us in the storms. Life is full of annoying and costly interruptions and opposing forces that are bent on defeating us. Paul urges that we make the winds of opposition occasions for relying upon God.

That legendary football coach of Notre Dame, Knute Rockne, once summoned his players before a game and said, “The team that won’t be beat, can’t be beat.”[1] Rockne was not here proclaiming the strength of Jesus for his players. He was appealing to the uncommon courage, strength, and persistence that lie within each of us. Many of us engage in the game of life without our best effort, settling for something just below our actual capacity. Tremendous effort to overcome life’s difficulties is rare; people often accept defeat easily, naming what is possible as impossible. These are not the challenges Paul speaks of. Paul lifts his eyes to something higher still, to what is impossible were it not for God’s strength.

Paul continues this discussion beyond the words printed above. He asks, “Does it sound as though I am bragging about all the challenges I have faced?” “I am!” Yet, Paul quickly states that he brags not to showcase his ability. Paul brags to demonstrate the wondrous work of Jesus through him. There are doors that we cannot walk through and storms we cannot endure on our own. That is when we make every difficulty an opportunity to lean into Christ and draw from Christ’s strength. The strength that sustained Paul through every force that sought to stop his ministry is available to every one of us. In our hearts, we may ask, “Can I endure?” Paul gives the answer, “In Jesus, we are unbeatable.”

Joy,

[1] Frank, Madeline. “Persistence Is the Key.” (August 23, 2021).  https://ezine-articles.com/?Persistence-Is-the-Key&cid=10503510, para. 16.

“My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say that they have faith but do nothing to show it? Claiming to have faith can’t save anyone, can it?” James 2:14 (Common English Bible)

Someone once declared that promised prayer has no power, only practiced prayer. That same observation can be applied to faith; the profession of faith has no power, only practiced faith. Evidence of this unfolded one Sunday morning during my graduate studies. Sitting in a Sunday school class for young adults at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, a young man asked permission to address the class. His intention was to make a simple observation and ask the class for help. Then the instructor would proceed to teach the lesson he had prepared for the morning. Yet, the young man’s comment became the lesson for that day.

This man began his comments by sharing that some years earlier he made a profession of faith in Jesus as his personal Lord and was baptized in that church. He was a graduate student, busy with not only the demanding rigor of his studies and also working a part-time job to help sustain him as a student. Then, there was also this girl. He was “madly in love with her” as he put it and that, naturally, required some of his attention and time. In the economy of a twenty-four-hour day, there simply was no time remaining for the regular reading of the Bible and prayer.

Now, this man has found himself in the middle of a weighty life crisis, one that was causing him to unravel. He turned to his faith. It was then he made a comment that has shaped my own understanding of faith, something that has given more texture, depth, and color to my own relationship with Jesus than anything I found in the classroom. “I turned to my faith and found that I had done nothing with my faith and now my faith could do nothing for me.” Then, a long lingering silence draped the room. Wisdom of such depth rarely can be met with words. The instructor then, with a deliberate and careful movement, placed his lesson upon an empty chair and asked, “What can we do for you?”

The only help the student asked for was accountability. “Beginning today, I am no longer neglecting my faith. Hold me accountable. Call me each day and ask what I have read in the Bible and how I am responding. What I need more than anything at this moment is a faith that will sustain me. Hold me accountable. I cannot move forward without God.” Here was a young man who discovered the profound truth that merely professing faith in Jesus lacked power. Vital, life-giving faith that sustains us requires practice. This is precisely what James would have us hear, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?”

Joy,

“Pray like this: Our Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9a Common English Bible)

Just this week, someone approached me following worship and said that he was still struggling with prayer. It was his comment, “still”, that caught my attention. Months earlier, we shared breakfast. The primary conversation at that time was prayer. Following that breakfast, he proceeded to purchase and read two books on prayer that are available at the church, one that I authored and the second, a collection of daily meditations from eleven pastors who have preached at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach in the past ten years. Yet, this morning he was “still” struggling with prayer. I asked him to say more. Faith in the power of prayer wasn’t the problem. By his own admission, he has seen the power of prayer at work in others. His difficulty was the “how”. Though each of the two books provided a beautiful daily prayer following thirty-one brief meditations, his struggle was “how” he would pray meaningfully each day.

The church often encourages people to pray—and to pray regularly. But this man’s concern suggests that the church has failed to offer specific guidance on how to pray. George Arthur Buttrick shares a cruel story of a bishop who resolved to practice what he had so often preached: he would speak to God in direct simplicity. He spoke. A Voice, gentle but holy, answered him, “Yes, what is it?” The bishop was found dead on the chancel steps.[i] Powerfully, this story addresses the lack of any real expectation from prayer. This lack of expectation may be a primary reason there is so little prayer today. But a closer attention to this story does offer a powerful “how” to a life of meaningful prayer: speaking to God in direct simplicity. Solemnity, grandeur, and beautiful language are not necessary to the effectiveness of prayer. Prayers must not be judged by their eloquence but by their sincere desire to draw near to God.

To pray, it is only necessary to make the effort of reaching out towards God as a child reaches out towards a parent. This is an effort from the heart. It is an effort that flows from love and expresses itself in feeling and longing for God. As a conversation between two people in love with one another, prayer seeks understanding, seeks guidance, seeks strength. It is not an intellectual exercise, not a conversation that flows from the mind. Nor is prayer a demonstration of poetic gifts of expression, though beautiful prayers can help others find words for inexpressible thoughts and longings. There is a difference between honest, simple, and direct conversation with God during the day and composing beautiful prayers that may be helpful to another. Real, authentic prayer must not be judged by its beauty and eloquence but by its results in strengthening the one who prays. Again, prayer should be like the conversation of a child with a parent.

What is urgently wanted today, by most people, is nothing less than a friendship with God. Prayer is the vital act that develops that friendship. Prayer can turn circumstances around for us, change our attitude, calm our anxieties, and give access to a life of the highest relationship available to us, awaking each morning and uttering, good morning to Jesus, confident that Jesus is there. That is what the man who spoke to me wants. It is a relationship that is indispensable to a deeply satisfying life. How then are we to acquire a positive life of prayer? Ashley Morgan Jackson is quoted on a Facebook posting as suggesting that sometimes the most honest prayers we can pray are the ones that sound like: “This is hard. I am tired. Please help.” It may be that this is the most eloquent prayer that can be uttered because it comes directly from the heart. Or we may simply begin a prayer as Jesus taught, “Our Father who is in heaven.”

Joy,

[i] George Arthur Buttrick, Prayer (New York & Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, MCMXLII) 253.

“I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (Common English Bible)

We are born with a desire to face any challenge, any obstacle, any difficulty on our own. Young children are proof of that when we hear from their mouths, “I do it!” Mastery over the circumstances of life is a healthy, normal desire. No one wants to feel inadequate, weak, or defeated. Many of us may be quick to come alongside another who struggles and help. We want to be there for others. We are inspired by stories of people who lend a hand, who listen and love deeply, or provide guidance for someone who seems to have lost their way. In each of those scenarios, we are the stronger one who comes to the aid of another. These circumstances demonstrate to us that we are adequate, that we are the strong one. Yet, as we are placed in those situations where we must acknowledge our own weaknesses, or own need for help, we feel small, even powerless. We are disappointed in ourselves because we are found to be inadequate.

These are the moments when Paul’s words to the Philippians are helpful. Paul declares that he can do all things! Sounds like a two-year-old child: “I do it!” Except, what flows next from Paul’s thoughts demonstrates a maturity far more developed than a two-year-old: “Through the power of the one who gives me strength.” Paul’s confidence in facing every struggle, every difficulty is “through the power” of another—through the power of Christ. Rather than feeling diminished or ashamed that he is inadequate, Paul boasts that Jesus Christ is mindful of Paul. Jesus, who is, “in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6), humbled himself so that he may dwell among people like Paul, sharing life with Paul, and finally pouring Jesus’ power into Paul for enduring anything life may throw at Paul. That special and empowering relationship with Jesus remains available for each one of us, promises Paul.

An attitude that is often taken among people of faith is that they simply do not understand prayer. They don’t oppose prayer. They simply don’t understand it. Consequently, one of two things is the result: Either they recite brief prayers taught to them as a child over a meal or at bedtime with little expectation of a positive outcome, or they don’t bother to pray at all. Living life with a vital and expectant sense that Jesus is very present is absent. They may go to church. They may have given mental assent to the teachings of the faith. They may even strive to live in a manner that is taught by the faith. But, in all honesty, they feel that they are on their own. Life is to be lived by their own strength and discipline, or they will be defeated. In moments of exhaustion, they may utter to themselves that they can’t do it and that is that. They accept defeat. Those are the moments that they fail to avail themselves of the power that is available to them in Jesus.

There is another attitude that is seen among people of faith. They are the ones who believe Paul. They believe that Jesus is present in their lives, and they set to use the resources of the faith as best as they can—particularly the resource of prayer. They don’t have a greater grasp of how prayer works than anyone else. They simply accept that Paul found prayer to be effective and that is enough for them. Rather than making any scientific inquiry as to the veracity of prayer, they pray. They pray with expectation. They pray, open to hearing from God even if what they hear isn’t what they desired. They pray not because they seek to leverage God’s power for their own purposes but to understand how God seeks to align them with God’s holy purposes for them. They pray, wanting to experience that this great adventure of life is not lived only by their own strength, or wisdom, or personal desire. And as they pray, as they exercise this conversation with God, what they find is strength.

Joy,

“After saying goodbye to them, Jesus went up onto a mountain to pray.” Mark 6:46 (Common English Bible)

Of all the things Jesus taught about prayer, the most powerful lessons were observed from his practice of prayer. Here is a moment when Jesus and his disciples are exhausted. It has been a day of incessant toil. Jesus acknowledges the disciples’ exhaustion; Jesus acknowledges his own exhaustion. In the thirty-first verse of Mark’s sixth chapter, Jesus says to the disciples, “Come by yourselves to a secluded place and rest for a while.” Jesus and his disciples depart in a boat to a deserted place. Their rest would be brief. Many people saw them leaving in the boat and ran ahead, presumably to the other side of the lake, arriving before Jesus and the disciples. Jesus shows compassion to the people and begins to teach them. Late in the day, the disciples urge Jesus to practice self-care: “Send them away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something to eat for themselves.” (Verse 6:36) Jesus has another idea.

Jesus asks his disciples to feed the people. The toil of the day continues. Naturally, the disciples grumble. And who can blame them? They are exhausted. And feeding all the people? The disciples speak to the implausibility of that idea; a meal for everyone would cost eight months’ pay! We remember the story. Jesus takes a few loaves and fish and feeds approximately five thousand. And then there is the clean-up that follows the meal—twelve baskets of leftovers! There is exhaustion upon exhaustion. Each of us has had such days; days that seem to resist coming to an end.

Finally, Jesus calls it a day. Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and go toward Bethsaida. But Jesus doesn’t travel with the disciples. Rather, Jesus dismisses the crowd, stomachs full from a meal miraculously served to them, and Jesus goes up onto a mountain to pray. After that day, one might well assume Jesus’ spirit was depleted. Sleep might be in order. But within Jesus’ heart was another desire, to spend the night in conversation with his Father. Jesus prayed all through the night. Notice, prayer was the habitual practice of Jesus’ daily life—the communing with the one whom Jesus loved, the one who provided Jesus with all the strength, encouragement, and direction Jesus needed.

Exhaustion is one of the things that thwarts and stifles our practice of prayer. But exhaustion had no power at all with Christ. Nor was Jesus at the mercy of an irritable mood or sorrow. Jesus loved God his Father so deeply and passionately that any consideration of not praying was absent from his life. Every day and night brought an opportunity to speak to God, to acknowledge the presence of God; to simply be with God. This is an indictment upon our own failure to pray. Jesus’ practice of prayer is never meant to create guilt in our own failure to pray. Jesus never uses guilt. That isn’t God’s way with those God loves. Love and guilt are incompatible. What Jesus’ practice simply demonstrates is that there is a deficiency in our affection for God. That is where we begin. Not with a stronger resolve to pray or the exercise of greater discipline. We begin by paying sufficient attention to God that our affection for God grows. And as with any relationship, as affection grows, so does our desire to simply be with the other grows. That is when we notice our own movement from exhaustion to prayer.

Joy,

Dr. Doug Hood’s wife, Grace Cameron Hood, B.C.E, wrote the following meditation.

Each year, Holly House participates in a time-honored and universal ministry of churches everywhere. They sponsor a rummage sale. The proceeds of the sale go to the ministry of the church. This is how it works. If you have something that you do not need or want or can’t use anymore, you donate it to the church. The women sort everything. This is a time-consuming and tedious job. Imagine sorting hundreds of donated shirts according to size and price. When the sale happens, the community comes in droves. Someone might see an item and realize that they want it, they need it, or they have a use for it. They pay for it. This is a wonderful system. What becomes one person’s discard, trash, or burden becomes the next person’s treasure. This is recycling at its very best!

What does this have to do with a book on gratitude? One day, I was looking through a table of delicate china teacups at the Holly House that had been donated. I grew up with those multi-color aluminum tumblers (which are now collector’s items), white mismatched mugs, and ‘unbreakable’ Corelle cups. I love china teacups. As I studied the intricate and colorful tea cups, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude for what I have. I am grateful for many things. I inherited a lovely set of tea cups decorated with beautiful violets from my grandmother. They are gorgeous. What’s more, I have the entire set, which includes plates, serving bowls, miniature salt and pepper shakers, a matching sugar and creamer set, and finally, small ashtrays for the bridge games my grandmother would host.  What I have is more than I wanted. It is more than I thought I needed. 

My gratitude goes beyond what I have. It speaks to who our God is. God wants us to have more than we can imagine. What God gives us might not be riches or things. God offers us a sense of worth that comes from who God says we are.  We are not unwanted, unneeded, or a burden. I am grateful that with God, we are each precious and valued. That is one important thing to remember about God. All of us are wanted and loved. There is no one on earth that God discards, donates, or sells. We are not a burden that is carried around or hidden away in an attic or basement when interest has died.  None of us are chosen as second best. We all have immense value in God’s eyes. We are all precious and a treasure to God. There is more. When we look at people around us, we need to remember that God values them! We need to treat people around us as if they were precious to God. This changes how we look at the world. As we see the world through the eyes of gratitude, our perspective changes and creates the community that God intended. One of love, acceptance, inclusivity, and care. 

Joy,

“I’ll visit you when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while I’m passing through. And I hope you will send me on my way there, after I have first been reenergized by some time in your company.” Romans 15:24 (Common English Bible)

I once knew a woman whose romance had gone on the rocks. She made a grand announcement to her work colleagues that she was never going to permit herself to fall in love again. “You only get hurt,” she said. I was a young graduate student struggling in the romance department myself so I remained silent. Fortunately, an older and wiser woman who was our supervisor made the observation, “If you deal with each disappointment that way, you don’t live.” I don’t recall how many work associates were present at that moment but each of us became silent as those few words sunk deep into our hearts. The supervisor continued, “Reassess that relationship. Take something useful from it. Make it fruitful for the next.”

The Apostle Paul wanted to go to Spain. He had his heart set on it. Paul’s zeal for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ compelled him to reach the outermost rim of the world. What Paul got was a prison cell in Rome. Like my work colleague, Paul was disappointed. Life’s unexpected turns and twists never permitted Paul to take that journey to Spain. That one historical fact dispels the notion that those who follow Christ are never disappointed, and never experience disruptions in their own life journey. Paul wanted Spain. Paul got a prison cell. How Paul responded is instructive for us. Paul used that time in prison to reassess God’s claim upon him, Paul wrestled something useful from his disappointment. Imprisonment provided quiet time to penetrate deeply into the mysteries of Christ.

Psychologists tell us that suicide, addictions, and some forms of nervous breakdowns are evidence that people are ill-equipped to manage disappointment. Loss and disappointment, regardless of the magnitude, deprive us of our ability to think and act beyond ourselves. Our focus on disappointment becomes so sharp that we are unable to see what remains that is positive in our lives. Consequently, loss and disappointment shrink our life to the exact size of our desire that is unmet. Popular speaker and author, John Maxwell, encourages us along a different path—encourages us to embrace failure and disappointments, extracting from them lessons that result in us “failing forward.” It is then those mistakes, failures, and disappointments become stepping-stones to something so much more.

Few people have the opportunity to live life on the basis of their first choice—whether that be a choice in career, a spouse that “checks all the boxes,” or some other longing. Paul wanted to go to Spain. He got a prison cell. A large majority of us will find that life moves in directions that are not of our choosing. That is precisely when the Christian faith tells us that we should get something out of every experience, every new direction, even out of disappointment. The bulk of the New Testament is letters written by Paul—many of them written while in prison! After twenty-some years as an itinerant preacher, Paul gets a prison cell. At last, Paul found the quiet time to think deeply about what he had learned of Jesus Christ and pour those thoughts out in a written form. That would be Paul’s greatest contribution to the Christian Church.

Joy,

It was said of the disciples long ago that people held them in wonder and awe that they had been with Jesus. To be with one of the disciples was to experience one degree of separation from our Lord. That close proximity to Christ resulted in an experience of spiritual vitality and power. God’s love, wisdom, and strength were no longer limited to one’s imagination as stories of Jesus’ life and ministry were shared. In the company of a disciple—or disciples—God’s presence seemed to come near. The vision of God’s glory grew more expansive in the heart as a result of being in the presence of one of the disciples. Perhaps that same fascination is what drives each of us to be photographed with those we admire. There is an unmistakable attraction and thrill to standing in the presence of those who have acquired a larger-than-life persona.

In this passage from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus had just finished a hard, grueling day. A similar day would follow. How could he be ready for it? What would be the spring of fresh physical, emotional, and spiritual strength from which he would drink? Mark gives us the answer and with it the key to Jesus’ vitality and stamina, “Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer.” This one verse suggests the great wisdom of prayer: Every morning, draw from the inexhaustible power of God by drawing near to God’s presence. That is done in prayer. Once when a man was asked what he was doing each day sitting alone in a church, gazing upon a picture of Jesus, he answered, “I am simply looking at him and he is looking at me.” Prayer is time with God.

The weakest, humblest life can be made stronger when placed before God. As we pray, the Bible promises that God will be there. There will be days when God seems absent. The Psalms tell us this. Pray anyway. Know that God is present. Day after day the eyes of the soul become more sensitive to God, the heart more aware of God’s still small voice speaking. Eventually, prayer becomes that daily practice by which the individual soul becomes intertwined with the presence and strength of God. The fact of intimate communion with God is the great reality of true, regular prayer. In prayer, we come to see ourselves surrounded by God’s love and concern for us as we begin each new day.

How strange, how foolish it must seem to God that we should be content with so little prayer. This particular occasion, mentioned in this one verse of Scripture from Mark’s Gospel, was no unusual occurrence for Jesus. Jesus prayed often; Jesus prayed for himself and for others. Jesus took time for prayer before each day and before every difficult challenge that drew near to him. Jesus teaches prayer to us by example, for he knew from his own experience that prayer was a vital part of navigating the inevitable difficulties that each one of us must face. Today, many Christians are troubled by weakness, doubt, and fear, largely because they miss the help that prayer might provide. The greater wisdom of prayer is simply discovering—and experiencing—that we never have to face a day alone.

Joy,