In2theRiver

Good morning from Westminster, MD!

Over the past couple of posts, I have been exploring the ways a business can be a catalyst of hope. In the first post, I focused on what it would look like in general for a business to bring hope (click here to read the post). In the second post, I looked specifically at the idea of practical hope and how a business can create real opportunities for people both inside and outside of the business (click here to check out this post). However, this is not the end of the story. As powerful as practical hope is, there is another side of all-in hope: spiritual hope.

Instead of just jumping into how a business can be a part of bringing spiritual hope, in this post I will look at the concept of spiritual hope itself. To begin that journey, I want to look at the lie that tries to keep people from it.

Have you ever experienced complete darkness? I mean that in a literal sense. Whether it was a room or maybe deep in the woods, complete darkness can be very disorienting. When it is pitch black, spatial awareness goes out the window and it can seem like gravity is the only reason you can tell up from down.

In a figurative sense, darkness can be a good description for the absence of hope. Hopelessness, as we refer to it, can be completely disorienting. It can leave a person wondering how they fit into society or even why they exist in the first place. Hopelessness can lead to isolation and a sense of worthlessness. Like darkness, hopelessness can make a person feel like they are completely lost, even what would typically be a familiar environment.

If you have read my book, Hope Realized, or many of my posts in the past, you know hopelessness is a topic I have written a lot about. Sadly, I have seen its power impact many lives, both locally and in places like Nicaragua. Often, I focus on the role hopelessness plays in perpetuating poverty, but the reality is it crosses all socio-economic classes, especially spiritual hopelessness. This is because you can believe your life is meaningless and lacks purpose no matter where you stand on the economic ladder. Hopelessness can convince you that nothing can ever change and that you should live your life accordingly. Spiritual hopelessness reinforces a faulty, broken identity that says you, or maybe even someone else, is destined for despair.

In many ways, this is where the world lives. It doesn’t take much time to find hopelessness and actions being fed by its power. Sadly, I do not believe people want to live out of an identity based in hopelessness. The problem is when you are in complete darkness, it can feel impossible to find your way out.

The good news is this is not the end of the story. You see, hopelessness is a lie and lies only have power if we give it to them. They are a lot like darkness.

John, one of Jesus’ closest followers and friends, wrote these words at the beginning of the Gospel in the Bible that bears his name: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5) In this small but powerful passage, John points to a reality we can all appreciate: darkness has no chance when it is exposed to light.

When you were in complete darkness, what allowed you to reconnect with your true surroundings? The introduction of light. The truth is darkness is really just the absence of light. It is not a permanent state unless light never breaks through.

Hopelessness, particularly the spiritual kind, is similar. It is based on a lie that says nothing can ever change. It has power until truth breaks through. This is the moment John is describing. The moment when God sent Jesus to shine the light of truth on the lie of hopelessness. It was a declaration that through Jesus everything could change. It was God saying, “I love you, and I created you on purpose and for a purpose.” Yes, our brokenness is true, but it is not the truest thing about us. When our identity is reframed around this truth, hopelessness is overcome by the light of spiritual hope.

This is what we celebrate on Easter. The moment when God said you are worth everything. On that first Easter, hopelessness was fully exposed for the lie that it is and spiritual hope became fully realized. In case you are not sure, this can be true for you. The lie of hopelessness doesn’t have to have power over you. Instead, you can lean into a reframed identity based in the truth that you were created on purpose and for a purpose. Maybe this Easter can be the moment light breaks through the darkness of life.

The good news is a business can be a catalyst for people to experience the life-changing light of spiritual hope. I will explore this further in the next post.

Until then, happy Easter!

James Belt

Click here for more resources to help you bring hope to others, including more information about my book, Hope Realized!