Unshackled Moments ~ May 23 ~ When Hope Is Hidden

When I was a child there was something I looked for for the last ten minutes or so of our trips to go see my grandparents. We called it "The New Boston Star," and it was a sign in the shape of a start drawing attention to a little motel off the interstate in a little town that made my tiny hometown of Nacogdoches feel huge. That star meant we were almost there, the trip was almost over, we were about to reach our goal of traveling safely from one destination to another. The sight of that star filled us with excitement and hope and promised relied in the way of a bathroom and ability to walk around and stop feeling car sick was ours to have in a matter of minutes.

The more miserable I felt from being car sick, the more relieved I felt to see that star. But the star didn't stay in sight. Terrain blocked the view. As trees alternately allowed a view and blocked it and slight changes in elevation raised us enough to see further down the road or lowered us into a depression that meant markers down the road were impossible to see, the star came and went from our vision. But that didn't mean anything. Once the star was spotted, it was done. It didn't matter if we didn't see it again until we were right at the exit. The hope didn't go away. The understanding we were close didn't disappear. The promise of relief didn't suddenly feel less obtainable simply because our view of the star was blocked.

That's why we keep going and what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. It doesn't mean that we blindly follow some words someone says with no evidence or basis to support them. It's the opposite of that actually. It's an understanding of the truth that truth is more trustworthy and reliable than our senses and emotions. We who have found a glimpse of Jesus, the truth who has made us free, have caught sight of the light that leads us to hope and relief and fulfillment. His word and His promises are true and they don't disappear or fail because terrain and life  block our view. Sometimes on a clear night we could see that star miles and miles away, and then it might feel like half the distance was covered before we saw it again. Sometimes we see God and His truths and then may not see the evidence of who He is and His truth again for an hour or a week or what feels like an eternity. But life getting in the way of our ability to sense what we sensed before does not change the truth that the reality and position of the light hasn't changed at all. Only our perception. Don't quit. Don't give up. Because it is by continuing on the same road as we were on that we keep getting closer and closer. There will be breaks in the landscape that allow glimpses through the trees that keep us going and reassure us that we are still on track, but even better than that, there will come a point where we will get so close that no tree, no building, no circumstance or situation can keep us from seeing the light any longer. Nothing will block our vision of who He is and His great love for us.

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