‘Tis the season of hope.
But when’s the last time you really hoped in the Lord?
I’m sure we’ve all fretted in the Lord. Complained in the Lord. Worried in the Lord. But, as believers, we are to HOPE in the Lord.
When we are having a hard time and we don’t think we can do hard things…
When we are feeling overwhelmed and can’t figure out how we can possibly handle any more…
When we are discouraged and nothing seems to be panning out the way we had planned…
When the kids are running around like maniacs and we don’t think we’re the right person for the job of raising them….
We can encourage ourselves in the Lord. We can grab a hold of REAL hope!
And this is not some flimsy publisher’s clearing house hope that comes in the mail and says you might be the winner of a million dollars. This is honest to God, real, take the check to the bank and cash it hope.
But, so many times we don’t do it.
We keep that check in our wallets and look for this hope EVERYWHERE else, accept where it’s guaranteed…in Jesus.
And Jesus is not some far off Bible character that hangs in brown velvet on your grandma’s wall. He is the very real hope that dwells in you. He never leaves you. His holy spirit is active and alive in YOU. He is “…the God who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist” Romans 4:17.
Take that hope check out of your wallet and cash it.
Which looks more like pausing to pray, speaking life over your situation, and waiting expectantly on the Lord. It looks like reminding yourself who it is that you have made your Lord and Savior. It looks like crying out to God for help and asking Him to show up and believing he will.
He is able!
But if you do not call upon his name…if you do not rest in him…if you do not stand on his word and claim it for yourself, then you will not experience this hope. You will not know what it is to say “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)
Encourage yourself in the Lord today. HOPE in him. Anticipate with GREAT confidence in the Lord TODAY.
Speak life over the hard things:
“Today is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
It may not be a perfect day and I may be falling apart, but it is still the Lord’s day. I will look for his goodness in this day and I will find it. I will rejoice and thank him for this day and trust that he is making a way for me even in the midst of my hard time. I will ask of him and trust that he will answer. He will show me a way out of it or he will walk with me through it. Either way, I am not alone and he does not leave me
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Because his power is greater than mine, I will ask that his spirit will strengthen me and enable me to endure whatever it is that I face today. His mighty hand will guide me and protect me. He will go before me and I will be looking for his face.
The one who “works all things for good for those that love him” has called me “according to his purposes” and I will trust that whatever it is that I am facing has a purpose to grow me closer to him. He is refining me and helping me see my deep dependence and need of him. I will be quick to look to him for help because he is my way maker in who I can fully trust.
Rest in him:
“Therefore return to your God, observe kindness and justice; and wait for your God continually.” Hosea 12:6
I may not understand my circumstances, but I know my God. I will continue to be faithful to him and honor him with my words and actions. I will lay my heartache and expectations at his feet trusting he fights my battles and through him I am always victorious.
“In the morning, O Lord, you will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to you and eagerly watch.” Psalm 5:3
I will go throughout my day praying and praising God knowing that he is on the move whether I see it or not. I can trust that he has my best interest at heart and even though he doesn’t run on my time, he is always on time.
Stand on his word and make it your plan…
“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
I’m not sure how the rest of this day is going to map out, but I am sure that once I have prayed about it and entrusted it to God, he is on the move. I’m going to grab a hold of the peace that he has offered me and let it give rise to praise in my heart because I know that God is above all things. He “who calls things into existence that do not exist” can surely make a way and take care of whatever it is I face.
Friends, God’s word is powerful. Jesus is powerful. Stop trying to do it all by yourself. Replace your despair with His very real HOPE. And stand on it.