Wholly

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Psalm 23:1 (NLT)

If we have the Lord as our shepherd, we have all that we need. But if our hope is deferred, our heart is sick.

The book of Genesis presents the idea that the reason we exist is for a relationship with God, and we are born broken, away from that purpose - needing to be redeemed back to that.

The rest of the bible acts as a giant arrow pointing to Jesus - "He's the way back to why you were created."

This is why, if you've been redeemed back to your created purpose - "you have all that you need". It's what the "owner's manual" prescribes as us needing.

1 Timothy 1:1 says that Christ Jesus himself is "our hope". Our hearts become sick when our hope is placed elsewhere. This is the same idea that, with Him as our shepherd, we have all that we need.

I think everyone knows what it feels like to be disappointed. To have hope in something that wasn't fulfilled.

I wonder what Paul understood, that I don't, when I read this passage:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed  

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

If you read about Paul's life, he went through some pretty insane stuff.

What does it look like to have your hope so set on Christ that you are in a state where you are whole, fulfilled, at peace and one with God?

A better example is to look at Jesus and see what his life looked like - because Paul (the dude that wrote the letter to the Corinthians I just quoted) is a good example, but Jesus was perfect.

Jesus went through insanely difficult things as well. The first thing I note, is that Jesus had emotions. He wept when he saw the crowd gathered in mourning for his friend Lazarus who died. Even though he was about to literally raise him from the dead - the son of God wept (see John 11).

Jesus definitely wasn't deadpan and stoic when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing he was about to be delivered over to be crucified. He experienced extreme emotion (see Matthew 26).

If Jesus was perfect, and had emotion, I guess having your hope set completely on God doesn't mean you are exempt from emotion and trial either.

So this is about as far as I've gotten. Don't know if I can wrap this up in to a well articulated teaching, but I hope my musings are valuable. 

I wonder if the answer to my question (which I haven't stated yet, but will) lies in reading the bigger section of the passage from 2 Corinthians I quoted earlier. Let's read:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.2 Corinthians 4:7-11

Jesus was perfect, and laid his life down as a sacrifice for others. He is the way we are redeemed back to our created purpose - a relationship with God. He gives us a new spiritual life in "his Kingdom" where you're not just someone in a kingdom, you are made a part of His family. A son or a daughter. A co-heir with Him. Eternally His. 

Paul experiences this new spiritual life, and goes through extreme trial and emotion - speaking of a hope that sustains him even though he is driven to despair, crushed, persecuted and struck down. He experiences those things and, like Jesus, felt emotion and pain. He considers his life not to be lived for himself anymore - but as a vessel for God to continue to make his appeal to others who are in need of redemption. A "living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1) - a "seed that dies in the ground to bring life" (John 12:24). Maybe this is what Jesus was saying when he said "You must lose your life to gain it" (Matthew 10:39).

He's concluded that he will make every effort to set his hope on Christ alone, elsewhere saying that he counts "everything rubbish in comparison to knowing him" (Philippians 3:8). 

He considers his true self to be from another place. A spiritual, eternal kingdom.

Paul tasted and found and wrote that Jesus was the thing he longed for and spent many years looking for elsewhere. That in having Him as his shepherd, he had all that he needed. 

I didn't state a question to start this post off, but what I'm digging in to is this:

How do I place my hope in Him alone? Is the pain in my life because I've placed it elsewhere, and I'm feeling the effects of trying to fill a place only He can fill? 

If Jesus and Paul felt pain and emotion - I guess not all pain is from "hope deferred" - or, better yet, if you're hope is completely on Christ, it doesn't mean your life is a constant state of cheerful nirvana. 

If that's the case, what does it look like, then? 

Not sure. Maybe there will be another blog post with the answer :)