Hope Beyond Your Refresh Button
The “refresh” button just might be the end of us.
Oh, the false hope we place in that circular icon.
I hope my life will change.
Click.
I hope I can laugh again.
Click.
I hope for a relationship.
Click.
I hope the world will stop burning.
Click.
What Hope Is
Max Lucado says, “Hope doesn’t promise an instant solution, but rather the possibility of an eventual one.”
Sounds nice. But why wait when I can click?
Refreshes feed.
The image of a fictitious Mark Zuckerberg at the end of The Social Network, continually clicking the “refresh” button on his Facebook profile comes to mind.
Mark hoped the girl he lost would come back in the form of a friend request.
Click.
No request.
Click.
Nada.
Click
Credits.
The Sickness of Instant Gratification
Instant gratification is eternally dissatisfying.
Why?
Because Ecclesiastes 3:11.
It says, “…He has also set eternity in the human heart…”
Meaning, our divine algorithm senses there is more to life than clicking, posting, refreshing.
Deep down we sense that the source of true satisfaction is an eternal longing, not on-demand pixilation.
We know the firehose of social media is high on dopamine, but short on hope.
But we click anyway.
The Problem of Our Problems
Then, there’s the problem of our problems.
What of the debilitating anxiety, searing loneliness, and loss of purpose?
Click.
Where do I find hope that better days are ahead? Hope that I’m meant for more. Hope that joy is coming in the morning?
Click.
Credits.
Having nothing better to believe in, I move on to what’s next. The next big thing, the next hot take, the next viral reel.
Sure, I’ve moved on in mind, but my soul is bogged down.
Wait for It
But if we can somehow disentangle our souls Silicon Valley, Scripture points the way forward.
Beckoning us beyond with a message of true hope and where to find it.
Isaiah 40:32 says, “but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Speaking through his servant Isaiah, God tells us we can have hope now, if we’re willing to wait.
Sure, waiting can take a really long time. An eternity even.
But unlike camping outside the Apple Store for the next iPhone, hoping in the Lord is actually worth the wait.
Call to Action
1. READ THE BIBLE: Instead of clicking for something new, reflect on something old.
- Go back to the Scriptures. Read them. Meditate upon them. Let them lead you to the Ancient of Days.
2. PRAY: Instead of passively receiving from content creators, actively pray to the whole-world-creator.
- Retreat from the content firehose. Dry yourself off and find a closet of prayer. Be still and listen for His voice.
3. REACH OUT: Unfriend the false and pull close the real.
- Not that social media friends don’t have their place, but they are a poor substitute for real, flesh-and-blood friends. Remember, a ‘three-strand-cord is not easily broken. “
PLEASE SHARE
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LEAVE A COMMENT
I’d love to hear how you balance your mental and spiritual health in the modern age of social media saturation. Please give me a shout in the “comments” section.
Great word!! Always look forward to these emails!
May God continue to bless you!
Thank you, Penny. Have a blessed day!