Thursday, December 17, 2009

Hope in Suffering

The Village Church announced yesterday that pastor Matt Chandler's brain tumor (which I blogged about last week--go check out that video!) was cancerous. I was shocked and saddened to read the latest update on the pastors' blog yesterday. More info and specific prayer requests can be found there.

Today I have been inspired and moved by two things--Matt's recent tweets, especially this one; and a blog post by a friend of his, JR Vassar, who writes about the difference between hope and desire:
I am praying for him and for his sweet wife Lauren, and their kiddos, and the Village. And, I am praying with this in mind: there is a difference between desire and hope.

I am praying with great desire. My desire is that God would heal Matt, hand him to Lauren and the kids to be her husband and their daddy, restore him to the pulpit, empower him to preach his heart out for the magnification of Jesus, and one day let him play with his grandkids. I think God wants me to desire those things and ask Him for them, knocking until my knuckles bleed, making it clear to God how I desire Him to respond. And, those desires are good. But those desires are different than our hope. Sometimes desires are not fulfilled. But, our hope is.
He goes on to speak of exactly what hope we have in Christ--incredibly moving. I think you'll find it to be a powerful, encouraging read, even if you have no idea who Matt Chandler is.

3 comments:

Zoanna said...

Wow. The tweet says it best: my days are numbered but not by any report.

Unknown said...

Modern science can work wonders as well. My sister had a brain tumor and had several seizures while carrying one of her children in the womb. Nine weeks after giving birth, she had the tumor removed and has had to go through chemo, but has been able to lead a very good life after wards. Best of luck and he'll continue to be in our prayers. Don't ever loose hope and make the most of each day.

Unknown said...

You may want to know about the message that John Piper (guest preacher) preached just recently at the Village Church called "Subjected in Hope." This is the link: http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/2162_john_pipers_message_at_the_village_church/

David