I recently came across a blog post I had written for Laced With Grace back in October of 2016. I felt it was still relevant today so I tweaked it a little and decided to share it with you. My reference to Laurie’s post is to another LWG writers post just days before my original post.
Laurie in her post Cast Your Cares so beautifully stated: “God does not want us to cope with our troubles, He said give it all to Him. The thing that I see happening whenever we try to cope is that we end up trying to accept things as they are, or we try to hang on for as long as we can. Coping is like a rope; given enough weight or pressure, it WILL break or unravel. Coping is nothing but a rope, just waiting for things (us) to come unraveled.”
What a great word picture. Laurie’s post resonated with me and reminded me of what God had taught me about the word cope. “How are you coping?” was the question asked numerous times by friends, neighbors and even reporters after my husband’s line of duty death on September 11, 2001 that same question in a slightly different form is still asked today. My response then and now is “I am not coping. I am hoping in the promises of God.” The whole situation was so overwhelming that I felt I had no choice but to hope instead of cope. There was nothing I could do.
I think that we all have had circumstances in our lives when we think cope, are you kidding me?!? How do I cope when this is so unbelievable? As Laurie said “Coping is nothing but a rope.” To me coping is trying to hold on, believing that I can take care of things. Cope/can but God wants us to hope/Him. He wants us to trust Him. The difference is a single letter.
Hoping in God’s promises means I believe that God will handle things for and with me that doesn’t mean I am not doing something but it means I am seeking wisdom from Him. An interesting side note, the word cope isn’t in most versions of the Bible. I can do a word search for hope or I can search His promises but a word search of cope yields no results.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NIV
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5b NIV
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 NIV
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Many times, even if it is just in my head I have repeated the words to that old hymn My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.
“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874
1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
