Comments on: The Bridge of Hope

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:18:29 +0000

Oh yeah baby… cool song, that Bridge of Sigh’s… at least I used to think so. Come to think of it, I must not have been focused on the words much at that time (Mid 1970s before I graduated from High School). I picked this song to sing at the wings warehouse a few weeks back and holy moley I got a spontaneous education! What a very dreary perspective…

The sun don’t shine
The moon don’t move the tides,
To wash me clean
Sun don’t shine
The moon don’t move the tides,
To wash me clean
Why so unforgiving and why so cold
Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs
Cold wind blows
The Gods look down in anger,
On this poor child
Cold wind blows
And Gods look down in anger,
On this poor child
Why so unforgiving and why so cold
Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs

…a clearly incompatible view of things for a child of God. It was almost hard for me to continue ’singing’ – if that’s what you call it.

By: Leah.Z

Leah.Z — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:57:17 +0000

Oh, I don’t know. I guess hope is a bridge that gets us to the next level in our walk, but it is a struggle to stay possitive. This is why we need to get into the word and look at the history. We tend to forget what god has done in the past (bibically) and in our own lives. I need to give this one some more thought, but I think we need to keep thanking god for what he has already given us in times of need and struggle. This keeps us focused on what is to come not what we don’t have that we want right now.

By: J Small Z

J Small Z — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:25:36 +0000

I really liked the applied bullets at the end. Hope is such an amazing thing. The Lord is so strategic! He knows what it takes for us to love others’ effectively in His name! He’s carefully laid down each step before us! He’s providing so much for us, and it’s all to build us up into co-rulers with him! To mightily step “under the curtain” and rightfully sit at the side of God’s throne! Man, investing time in the Lord’s will is such an incredible journey! It’s always a joyful and greatly humbling experience!

I so easily turn to substitutes for comfort or pleasure. I struggle daily with facing my pride and taking up the Lord’s yoke over taking it on myself. With hope, the Lord can use me to encourage others and teach his Word! Hope is a wonderful thing…

By: Jacqueline León

Jacqueline León — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:56:10 +0000

Paul says in Philippians 3:8, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”
and adds in Philippians 4:11b-12, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

So no matter the circumstance, no matter how crappy things go in Paul’s life, he uses it all to glorify God. There he is, hanging in chains, and still he is telling others of the good news of Christ, because anything else, anything for his own gain (like getting out and not being in pain), is garbage. Paul of all people knows this, considering his former life and the Lord’s mercy on him.
It’s difficult for Americans and other well-off people to come to this level of God’s rest. It’s a struggle to get through to ungrateful people that their struggles with finances and school aren’t that unbearable when they consider not only how God has already met our every need, but He’ll continue to do even more so if we seek Him first, as said in Matthew. It’s a struggle for me, too, when I fight with the thought that I deserve extra sleep instead of doing this or that. The funny thing is that this is all a gift, and we don’t deserve any of it. I’ll bet that Paul had come to fully comprehend and appreciate this truth and was able to fully rely on God. I mean, most of us don’t experience the kind of reality check leading to salvation that he did, but God is real, our problems, however petty, are real, and our submission to His authority in entrering His rest is worth the victory.

By: Nick.s

Nick.s — Wed, 14 May 2008 05:18:56 +0000

“Most people’s hope is merely wishful thinking, but biblical hope is rooted firmly in history.” How True! Those who have a “blind faith” have no basis for their faith and will fearfully attempt to cross the “bridge of hope,” but upon failure will look for new hope (e.g. career, money, possessions, another person). Without a foundation of biblical truths/history, the bridge begins to look more like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the results are devastating. We can never enter into the love set before us without the hope found in Christ Jesus.

By: mike.h

mike.h — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:53:43 +0000

as it says in phillipians “i can do everything through HIM who gives me strength”

I love that verse because it can be applied to any trial. With that hope in Gods word i will learn to fully put my faith and trust in the Lord and absolutley know that he will come through and give me the strength to accomplish many things.

By: justind

justind — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:16:49 +0000

With hope, I will be able to step out and trust in God, and also put trust into my brothers and sisters. Hope will be able to help give me trust, so I can not only trust God, but trust in my brothers, and be open and emotional towards them.

By: Charlotte Plahuta

Charlotte Plahuta — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:32:43 +0000

Well, I don’t think I can think of another implication of this bridge of hope, but I do want to thank you Keith for these amazing articles on hope. They have really made me think more about the way hope has impacted my walk as a Christian. You are so right about hope triggering risky steps. I have found that it’s only been because of my hope in Christ that I have been able to do outreach I don’t think I could have done it otherwise. It is risky to go out and love a non- Christian. You don’t know how they’ll react to things or what they’ll do. But, only because of the hope Christ offers can we be secure in knowing that if they do react negatively it doesn’t change our identity. Our identity is knowing that I am loved by Christ and I am acutally useful in His plan. I think that’s acutally what gives me the most hope when doing outreach. I once heard someone teach about God using us in His plan. The man was talking of how blessed we are that God acutally uses us in His work. Now, I heard this before, but for some reason that day it struck me more than ever before. I realized just how blessed and just how grateful I am for this. God could do it all Himself if He really wanted to, but He chooses to use us. And sometimes in ways we could never imagine. So I guess in terms of outreach my hope comes from that one fact.

By: Donna Urban

Donna Urban — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:45:07 +0000

This one has me speechless, motivated to trust the Lord, to cross the bridge of hope to faith and love, but otherwise speechless.

By: brian.t

brian.t — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:22:24 +0000

If I have doubts about doing ministry, I gain motivation by thinking about how hopeless this world is and how everything is so temporary. I do agree with Ecclesiastes 1:14 about working for the world:

“I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—-like chasing the wind” (NLT).

Also in Ecclesiastes 5:15-17:

“We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—-like working for the wind. Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry” (NLT).

So the only hope in this world is in relationship to Jesus Christ so that we can learn to love others.