Are we there yet?

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… -1 Peter:3:15 (NIV)

When I see the Bobby Hopper Tunnel, I know I’m 45 minutes from my destination. It’s an eight-hour trip to my father’s house in Texas. On the return to Cave Springs, Arkansas, that tunnel is the landmark that re-assures me I’m going to make it home. I have landmarks in my spiritual life too, four in particular, scattered across a quarter-century. They are points in my journey where something significant happened, something that shaped my life from that point forward.

One was the miraculous healing of my infant son from an incurable disease. One was a sudden financial catastrophe. One was a moment of truth in a struggle with secret sin. One was an extended season of unanticipated unemployment following a 25-year career. Each was a situation I would never have chosen and would never want to repeat. They broke me and brought me to my knees. And I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. –Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

I learned more about God in those experiences than I would ever have known otherwise. I learned more about myself in those experiences than I would ever have admitted otherwise. I cried more, prayed more, came to the end of myself, and grew more than I would have imagined in each of those seasons. Each time, God showed up big and proved Himself faithful and good and forgiving and patient and nurturing – all those things you would hope you’d find God to be. In each one, God worked on another rough edge that I needed to have smoothed, and showed me new facets of Himself.

That’s my story. And that’s my answer when someone asks about “the hope that is in me”. It’s an answer given in humility – God is the hero of this story. When I tell you that God is strong and God is good, that is not an abstract concept for me.

And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. –Romans 5:2b-5 (NIV)

You probably have some landmarks of your own. Maybe yours include a memorial, like the one the Israelites left beside the Jordan River (Joshua 4:19-24). Maybe you walked away from yours with a limp, like Jacob did the night God changed his name (Genesis 32:24-31). Whatever the case, let’s rehearse those stories from time to time. They remind us how far our God has brought us. They remind us that we’re almost home.