A Future with Hope

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Before I left Sunnyvale, I gave all my staff and elders a framed gift of Jeremiah 29:11. I thought it was a fitting verse to give to these leaders as they move from the interim period into the future with their new pastor, Hardy Kim. God has been preparing the church for this next season and they seem ready to embrace this next change. The transition will have its challenges to be sure, but the depth of preparation and prayer will ease this next phase in the journey.

So here on my first day in Lebanon, I was again reminded of the power of this verse – a promise that God holds our future. But for Syrian refuges relocating to another part of the world, their faith in God to hold them through this transition may be the essential component that helps them survive.

Izdihar and girls from the trauma camp

Izdihar Kassis, the founder of For the Family, invited Max Lih and me to see first-hand the refuge crisis here in Lebanon. Although there are millions of refugees here, she and her small staff run trauma camps for teens and well-baby care for infants at risk. The scale is small but the impact is life-changing. 

Four years ago, the group reached out to a family that had come from a region in Syria that has been run by ISIS. In terms of religion, this family was part of an extreme Islamic set. When they came to Lebanon, Christians showered them with love and support. The teenage girls attended one of the trauma camps where healing began. Eventually, the entire family put their faith in Christ. Their families back home were not happy. Shunning and threats followed. For safety reasons, the UN is now relocating the family to Norway.

I was invited into their home for final goodbyes and a time of prayer before they left for a country where they know no one, don’t speak the language, and have no community. Everything thing that awaits them there is new including the climate. The only continuity in their lives will be their new-found and deepening faith in Christ.

 a tearful and prayerful goodbye
as the girls and their family move to Noway

I know the plans I have for you . . .

I was struck by contrast between transition the Sunnyvale church is facing and the change this family is facing. I was reminded of the transition that I am about to make to Ohio. In each situation, we are asked to put any anxiety we have about the future into God’s hands. The depth of faith required might be quite different but the God who holds us all is up to the task.

The crisis is enormous, the challenges are overwhelming, and for many, the future is chaotic and uncertain. And yet, the family of faith reaches out and refuses to let despair have the last word. The Christians, many of whom are refuges themselves, are loving and lending aid in Christ’s name. For those who are facing unimaginable odds, it is a concrete expression that God’s plans does involve provision and possibilities.  It may only be a small sliver of hope but their faith encourages them that a small speck is all you need to keep moving forward.