It's a jungle out there

We are doing the Bible study "Traveling Light" by Max Lucado in our Sunday school class.


Now, in case others from class are reading this I will admit, I have been... well.... a little, let's say stubborn in this area BUT today I made a vow to do better. I tried to use the excuse that I am already doing the "Battlefield of the mind" study in our small group and that I was reading my Bible daily (most of the time, I got stubborn there for a week recently as well) and that I just didn't have time for yet another lesson.


Well, that ole friend "conviction" made a visit today so here I am! I read the chapter for this week and was filled with hope to say the least. It has been a rough time around here with Ed's work being very slow and not knowing how we were going to pay our bills at times, so I got a little hopeless. However, this made me feel a lot better. . . .


"For many people, life is-well, life is a jungle. Not a jungle of trees and beasts. Would that it were so simple. Would that our jungles could be cut with a machete or our adversaries trapped in a cage. But our jungles are comprised of the thicker thickets of failing health, broken hearts, and empty wallets. Our forests are framed with hospital walls and divorce courts. We don't hear the screeching of birds or the roaring of lions, but we do hear the complaints of neighbors and the demands of bosses. Our predators are our creditors, and the brush that surrounds us is the rush that exhausts us. And for some, even many, hope is in short supply. Hopelessness is an odd bag. Unlike the others, it isn't full. It is empty, and its emptiness creates burden. Unzip the top and examine the pockets. Turn it upside down and shake it hard. The bag of hopelessness is painfully empty."


He went on to say that we need 3 things that would help.

1. A person - not just any person. You don't need someone equally confused. you need someone who knows the way out.

2. Vision - you need someone to lift your spirits, someone to look you in the face and say "This isn't the end. Don't give up. There is a better place and I'll lead you there."

3. Direction - if you only have a person with renewed vision, all you have is company. If he has a vision but no direction, you have a dreamer for company. But if you have a person with direction-who can take you from this place to the right place-ah, you have the one who can restore hope. OR to use David's words, "He restores my soul."

"Our shepherd majors in restoring hope to the soul. Whether you are a lamb lost on a craggy ledge or a city slicker alone in a deep jungle, everything changes when your rescuer appears. Your loneliness diminishes because you have fellowship. Your despair decreases, because you have vision. Your confusion begins to lift, because you have direction. Note you haven't left the jungle, it is still a jungle, it hasn't changed but you have"


Hope comes when you have someone who can lead you out of the jungle. Hope comes when you turn to the one who made the jungle you are in. Hope comes with you put all your trust in the one who can to rescue you.


Who are YOU putting your trust in?!?!