Does it sometimes seem like there is nothing left to believe in? Like you have hit the breaking point in everything that is going on and you can’t do anything to fix what’s happening? I know where you are, and I’ve been there before. It can be just about the worst feeling in the world. Your finances are off, you can’t find a job, you’re failing all of your classes, or your most important relationship is drowning in issues. It seems so awful to be overwhelmed with problems in this life, but there is an answer, a saving grace to all these truly minuscule conflicts.
When I was down in Cuilapa, Guatemala this May, I saw the worst poverty that I’ve ever seen in my whole life. People living in villages in the mountains, having a family of seven in a hole-covered tin shack that can be compared to the size of a college dorm room. These people had one source of water other than the rain. They had one faucet/drain that covered the span of the whole village, which they had to hike down the large mountain to get and carry up to their home. They had only one outfit to wear. That’s it. Maybe an extra shirt every once in a while. A typical family in the village makes 200 American dollars per month. And I complain when I can’t buy the newest $100 bowling ball that comes out.
However, in seeing all of this poverty, there is one thing I witnessed that made my heart renewed and alive. Hope. So much hope was found in this small village “Los Chilitos." When the children saw their Papa coming home from the fields, they had so much joy just to greet him and be able to spend time with him. Their hope was not found in money, materialistic things or even living a stable life. The people of Los Chilitos found hope through their community lifestyle. When we would give them food or drink, they would take it to a neighbor, who they knew needed it, before they would eat or drink. Even the children had the courtesy and love to do this.
I am still in awe looking back at that trip at how happy they always were. Not only because we were there, but because they had family and friends, they had love for one another more than for themselves and they were able to live another day. Their lives, though, were nothing but difficult. And oddly enough, they still had happiness and joy through it all. It really brought me to this verse in James.
“Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of faith produces endurance.” James 1:2
This hope they all share in Los Chilitos, whether they see it or not, is like the natural hope and joy that God instills in us to obtain. He desires for us to have hope in His love and reliance on Him that He will provide us with all that we need. Not all that we want. This is so important. If we desire only our wants, that is not honoring God, nor glorifying Him. We know as humans our wants are naturally going to be the easy way out. As God’s children, however, our wants and prayers must be for His glory, not our own. This might not be the easiest to fulfill, but it will always be the most rewarding in the long run.
If we take a step back each day, look at all the abundance that God has given us and how much he loves us, we can truly see the joy in living for Him. We can look past all the small trials we run into and see them as a chance to rely on Him even more. A chance to go to Him and feel His loving hand help us through that troubled time. When our hope comes from God, we truly experience the true joy and happiness of life.
