What Hope is in the midst of suffering
Are you looking for ways to help your students understand what hope is? This week we’ve seen another school shooting in our nation. How do we help students (and ourselves) find hope?
Watching and listening to the news has brought up many feelings and emotions for me. I feel hopeless at times- not only in how to support my students but also how to support teachers and families during these tragic events. Do you ever feel that way?
I remember the sights and sounds of my classroom on 9/11. I remember coming home after Columbine and shaking with anxiety on my couch as I watched the news that night. I remember the feeling of fear I had as we did a planned safety drill the week after Sandy Hook. How do we keep teaching? What’s the right response for us as a school? What’s the right response for us as a nation? I don’t pretend to know, but I know that I can run to a God who promises to never leave us- to a God who lets us know that He is with us in the suffering.
We’re living in a broken world- in a world that is broken by sin. In that, how do we find what hope is?
Let’s define hope first.
Webster says that hope is
“to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true.”
“to hope for the best”
“desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment”
Webster also says that “hope implies little certainty but suggests confidence or assurance in the possibility that what one desires or longs for will happen.”
So what do we want to be true? What do I desire with the expectation that this desire will be fulfilled? I personally hope that my students will be safe today. I hope that they will feel loved and cared for. I hope that they are going home to families that love them and listen to them and comfort them when they’re feeling overwhelmed. On a bigger note, I hope that these incidents of violence will stop in our country and in our world, but…I don’t have certainty in that! After hearing about so many acts of violence in our world, I don’t have confidence that they will stop. I long for the day when there will be no more violence, no more suffering, no more pain. I pray and cry for that day.
I know in my heart of hearts, though, that our suffering on earth won’t completely end until Christ comes back. I long for that day- the day when He has made all things new. But, how do I live in this world when that hasn’t happened yet? It’s overwhelming isn’t it? I cry often as I think about our broken world and the impact it has on me and on the people I love.
So, what does the Bible say about hope?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12 (ESV)
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7 (ESV)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deut 31:6 (ESV)
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Rev 21:4 (ESV)
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zeph 3:17 (ESV)
These verses seem to show that there is hope in the midst of suffering. The final hope won’t be realized until Christ comes back, but in the meantime He is making all things new.
Where do you see glimmers of hope- moments of God’s faithfulness in the midst of a broken and violent and scary world? Where is He showing Himself to you today? When has He renewed your strength? When has He allowed you to run and not grow weary? What moments do you remember of the Holy Spirt speaking to your heart? When has He quieted you with His love?
How can we share this hope with our students?
Here are some tips I shared with our teachers this week.
Tips for Teachers
- Be aware of signs of anxiety in students.
- Be aware of students who may need some extra care and attention.
- Generally, talk about the range of emotions that God has given us. This helps normalize the fact that we often feel many emotions in one day or even feel them together.
- The end of the year is a great time to generally talk about emotions as students are heading to summer and often into less structured time. Some students feel uncertain about the summer and it can bring anxiety. School is often the safe place for kids because of routines and structures and because they know what to expect.
- Remind students that God is with them always and that He hears them when they talk to Him.
- Read Psalms together. They often express a range of emotions and remind students where their help comes from.
- Discuss as a class how they have been the body of Christ to each other this year.
- Remind students that they have people they can talk to when they’re feeling big emotions.
- Have them think of several people that they feel safe talking to.
Here is a resource called Talking to Children about Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers. . Here is the printable handout.
Check out this resource by Christian Counseling Foundation called When Violence Touches a Child’s Life.
I remember being at middle school Bible study with our youth leader the week before he unexpectedly went to be with Jesus. He taught that study on how to find hope in Jesus, how to run to the Him and to the body of Christ when suffering comes. He told those middle schoolers that they needed to be equipped with what hope is and where to find it (because if they hadn’t already experienced suffering, they would in their life). Little did he know that God was using him to help prepare our students for the grief that would come when he died the next week.
This resource came out of the time that we walked through this death with our teens. They realized that they needed each other!
This life is hard and God doesn’t promise that it’s going to get easier. He does promise that He will be with us in it though. He also promises that He IS making all things new and that we will see that come to fulfillment one day.
How can we find hope in the midst of our big feelings and emotions?
Here is a resource for identifying those big emotions.