The Light of Hope

Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

Tonight I had the privilege of hearing Gary Millar speak at Ignite Training Conference  on the topic of prayer. His talk tonight was entitled, "Learning to pray in a cynical world", and was based on the passage in Mark 9:14-29, where the disciples had failed to cast out a demon in a boy. Jesus berates them for their unbelief, and summarily casts the demon out. When the disciples asked why they couldn't do it, Jesus said that the task required prayer.

The disciples hadn't prayed! You'd think that being His disciples, they would pray to do the task; it seems such a basic, fundamental thing in the Christian life. But they hadn't, and that was why they failed.

Why is our prayer life poor? Ultimately it is because of unbelief - deep in our hearts, we ultimately do not believe that prayer would actually make a difference. The reasons for this may be many and varied, but the problem is the same: the heart of an unbelieving generation (Mk 9:19). People start thinking that they can do it on their own; or that God doesn't really listen; or that God doesn't really care… and they "forget" to pray. Somewhere along the line, they had lost sight of the Great Hope they had in the Messiah, their Awe of the Living God, their Thankfulness for a Mighty Saviour, and their Trust in their Loving Father.

And to be honest, that describes perfectly the state of my soul at this point. The ravages of the last few years have left their mark on me. Maybe I'm too proud to admit it publicly, or I wouldn't have the guts to frame it in such a blunt manner , but if I was perfectly honest with myself, I would find that deep within I do not really believe that it is that important to commune with my God; that God cares that much about me; that God He is all that powerful, loving and good. Sure, Jesus has saved me and will take me Home when it is time, but in between now and then, I must've thought that I was on my own and I should just make the best out of a bad situation in my own strength and power.

But that is to make a grave mistake about the promises that God has made. He has proclaimed that He is our light of life, and that if we follow Him we would never walk in darkness. He has promised that if we continue in His word, we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. He has promised us that if we drink from His spring of Living Water, we would never be thirsty again. He did not say that if you believe in Him that you'll make it in the end but between then and now you're on your own!!

There may be a lot of disappointments along the way; the road my be difficult and treacherous; the wait may be long and the pain may be great. But our God is greater, and He has promised that He would never leave us or forsake us. He will lead us through the shadow of the valley of death, and will not leave us there.

What is the antidote to Unbelief? The Gospel of course :) It is the Good News of Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection that gives us the precious hope needed to win against unbelief. Through the Cross, we see the staggering depth of God's love for us, a love that cultivates trust and thankfulness in our hearts. Through Jesus we rediscover the awe of the Magnificent One, whose hands flung stars into space and whose breath gave us life. Through His blood we rediscover the delight in life that rests not on the shifting sand of our earthly circumstances, but on the firm foundation of the hope of our Salvation. It is the Gospel that cures our Unbelief and allows us to pray with fervent passion to our loving and intimate Father who listens with the most delicate attention and cares with the most tender heart.

Hope is a precious commodity that is hard to find in a cynical World. In fact, it cannot be found there at all. It is only in Jesus, our Light of life and the Spring of Living Water, that we can hope to find this everlasting and unshakable hope.

Through Him we find life, lived to the full, overflowing in abundance. 

He is the Light that guides us through the darkness of this cynical and prayer-less World.