Casey Wright, with the Fresno Bible Church team, found himself walking through the Pignon market pondering a question – the answer of which has the power to shape history. What is hope? Indeed, every man must ask himself this at some point. Casey begins by considering the hope of those around him yet soon finds his question is a double-edged sword. 

 Click here to read the team’s previous blog.

 

I was challenged today walking through the market in Pignon. Seeing the women and children in the most impoverished state I’ve ever witnessed, I caught myself wondering what hope do these people have?

As quickly as that thought came, the questions were then turned on me. I found myself asking in whom do I really place my trust? From where do I get my sense of hope? I want to say that I place my trust wholly in Jesus. I want to affirm that Christ is my source of hope. But seeing the women and children at the market made me question my heart.

If I was like the women at the market today, sitting on the dirty ground, selling beans and taking home two dollars for a full day’s work, would I still so quickly declare my hope in Jesus? If I had to regularly miss meals or if life had no prospect of changing any time soon, would I have the same resolve to trust God fully?

Perhaps I can so quickly say I trust and hope in Jesus because I’m so well fed. I make many times more per day than the lady selling her beans. My kids have access to education. My family has many options for healthcare within reach. Maybe I don’t need to trust God at all? In a life where we have everything, what need do we have for trust and hope?

It dawns on me that if I cannot see hope for the people of this small community in Haiti, then I don’t truly know the hope of Jesus Christ. It may be easy for me in my time of abundance to claim I trust and hope in Christ, but my faith in Christ should not be tied to circumstances, neither poverty or abundance. In the most dire of circumstances, there is still hope in Christ. God is still trustworthy.

The truth is there is hope in Haiti. I wonder actually if there might even be more true hope here than back home? I wonder if anyone else is blinded by abundance? Would we stop going to church if suddenly we had to meet under a tin metal roof? If suddenly our source of income was gone, hunger was common, and survival today was a question, would we still declare He is good? He is trustworthy? Or would we be quick to complain that God has forgotten us and is no longer faithful?

I would encourage you to hear the praises bellowing out from the tin metal churches on a Sunday morning in Haiti and come to know that no matter your physical circumstances, no matter your abundance or need, you can place your hope in Jesus. You can trust in Him.

 

by: Casey Wright

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