Finding hope in the midst of discouragement

Good News ReflectionFriday of the 24th Week of Ordinary Time September 17, 2010
Today's Saint: Robert Bellarmine Pray for teachers of the faith and their students:http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/RobertBellarmine.htm
Today's Readings:1 Cor 15:12-20Ps 17:1bcd, 6-8b,15Luke 8:1-3http://www.usccb.org/nab/091710.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_09_17.mp3
Finding hope in the midst of discouragement
Are you feeling discouraged? Then get your focus back onto Jesus!
Jesus is your reason to hope, not the circumstances nor the people in your life. God is bigger than your worst problem, and he cares – he really, really cares about YOU. But he doesn't wave a magic wand to make everything suddenly become easy and nice and happy. What holiness would we learn in that? And how would the people who are troubling us gain humility?
If we could visit the far future and look back at this time and see two optional paths – one in which God took us on a short-cut to the end of our problems and one in which we walked all the way through the dark valley with Jesus – we would definitely prefer the latter. There is so much more to be gained! More blessings, more triumphs, more spiritual growth, more benefit to the others who are on the journey with us, more ministry that comes from it so that we make a bigger difference in helping others, and so on, lots more.
However, letting go of our wish for everything to be easy and nice and happy right now is a difficult death. We'll mourn, but grieving helps us get beyond it to the joy of the resurrection that springs from hardships.
All of our dyings (our sufferings, our humblings, our rejections, our persecutions, the false accusations against us, the loss of people who are dear to us, etc.) will always result in resurrections if we closely follow Jesus. But in the midst of discouragement and depression, it seems impossible, right? That's because, before the resurrection occurs, we can't imagine how God will turn our particular daily deaths into new life.
For Jesus to be our source of hope, we have to place him squarely in front of us and we must keep our eyes on him. We have to let him block our view of what is going wrong and what we fear might go wrong. We have to let his crucifixion absorb the pain we're feeling. When we connect our sufferings to Christ's sacrifice, we also connect our lives to his resurrection.
As St. Paul says in today's first resding, how can you say there will be no resurrection for you? If there is no resurrection, Christ himself has not been raised and our faith is pointless, meaningless.
Rather than look at the evidence of suffering and death to use as proof that our lives will not improve, we need to wait on the Lord's perfect timing for new life to begin. By trusting in him and following his guidance every step of the way, we can sing with the psalmist in today's resposorial psalm, "Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full!"
© 2010 by Terry A. ModicaThis work is NOT in Public Domain and may NOT be copied without permission. You may print one copy for your own personal use. For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection for sharing, see:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm
Seeking a past reflection?Click this button to register for the searchable Archive Library of the Good News Reflections. One week access is free to subscribers of these emailed reflections.
WAS THIS FORWARDED TO YOU BY A FRIEND?Sign up for your own subscription! Go to http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections
Why do I need your help in my daily ministry?Good News Ministries affects countless lives around the world, including in countries where people have no Catholic Mass and where Christianity is persecuted. Please visit http://gnm.org/donate.htm where you can make a real difference - even if you cannot make a financial donation!
Join the cause on facebook and help spread the message!
Note: Good News Ministries http://gnm.orgis a non-profit organization that accepts donations as support for its ministries but does not charge for anything. Catholic Digital Resources, LLC http://catholicdr.comis Terry Modica's publishing house providing professional writing services; the income from this will eventually support the future growth and projects of Good News Ministries. Please spread the word; tell your DRE, RCIA Director, pastor, etc. about what's available for parishes at Catholic Digital Resources™.
______________________________________________________________This is the "Good News Reflections - Early Edition" mailing list.MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION:Sign up at http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections or change your addressor unsubscribe