Let There Be Hope
(Amp)Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
(NRSV) Psalm 26:13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
Hope has always been a vital part of my makeup. Some people disregard hope as being foolish. Others believe hope displays a lack of faith, as though only one or the other can exist. For me, hope has sustained me while waiting for the thing promised by faith to be made real.
There are times when I almost lose hope. Almost. But hope brings a confident expectation that my faith will not disappoint.
I wrote the following poem following my first heart attack. I was as low as I’ve ever been—physically weak and emotionally exhausted. Yet, I still had both hope and faith.
HOPE
Hope drifts in on angel’s wings, barely
disturbing the air, the room, we
hardly know it’s there.
Yet, it arrives, unhurried, but
not unwanted.
We see it in the
face of a friend, the
trace of a smile, or simply
a kind word. It is the promise
of good things to come, the
assurance that we are not alone. It is
what gets us through another day
when we think we cannot go on.
2008 Carol J. Grace All Rights Reserved
I cannot lose hope, and neither can you. May we hold fast to our belief that God will sustain us through life’s difficulties.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The God Who is Faithful
(NIV)Ps 36:5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Whether I sing Psalm 36 or read it, I am filled with wonder at the magnitude of God’s faithfulness. David describes this particular attribute of God with expansive words, but rather than be intimidated I am comforted. David goes on to say we are assured that we can depend on Him for His abundance, for the fountain of life springs from Him.
In the eighties, Don Moen brought many Psalms to life through Integrity music. I was immediately drawn to the worship which paired the words from the Psalms with enchanting music. This should not be a surprise since the Psalms were, after all, songs, meant to be sung.
In an ever-changing world, the consistent nature of God is calming, assuring me that whatever I am facing, I am not alone. The importance of knowing that I can trust in God cannot be overstated.
I mentioned Don Moen’s songs earlier, but it is the songs of my youth that most often bubble up to the surface of my memories. Listen to these lyrics by James Wells written in 1918:
I care not today what tomorrow may bring,
If shadow or sunshine or rain,
The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything
And all of my worry is vain.
Living by faith, in Jesus above
Trusting, confiding, in His great love
I’m safe from all harm, in his sheltering arm
I’m living by faith, and feel no alarm.
May we be confident that whatever we face today, we have an ever present help in the time of need in Jesus, our Savior and our Lord.
In the name of the Fatter, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The God Who Meets Our Needs
1 Thess 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians includes several nuggets that help uplift us in our faith. This brief passage is a blessing Paul offers to the church, but it is surely one that we need today.
During these days of unrest, I find myself seeking out scriptures that speak of love. In yesterday’s devotional I mentioned that love comes naturally for God, but not so much for us. We want love to be reciprocal, equal, or maybe even abundant when we are on the receiving end, but sometimes we are not so generous in giving or showing our love toward others.
I was reminded this morning of a person in my life who was so unlovable that I began praying for God to change her. For seven years I asked God to give her a new heart, and then one morning I realized I loved her. God answered my prayer, not by changing her, but by changing me.
If there is someone in your life who is contentious, argumentative, just a negative individual, recognize that God can work through them to refine you. As difficult as it may be, thank God for that person. and then watch as God gives you what you need.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God is Love
(NIV) 1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
We just celebrated Mother’s Day, and for many of us our mother’s love was the first love we knew. But may I tell you as deep as a mother’s love is, it is the love of God that is the supreme example of that word.
Love is both a noun and a verb. To describe the qualities of love is one thing, but putting those qualities into action is quite another.
In today’s scripture we see that God showed His love by not only sending His Son to be born upon this earth, to live and to die, but it was the sacrificial death of Jesus that saved us from the punishment of sin. It is that same love that spans the gulf that separates us from God, and that love is in the form of a cross.
I have never liked the saying “hate the sin, love the sinner.” Why? Because I have seen too many people wear this saying like a badge of honor, when it should produce a deep humility that moves us to not only care for others but care about their situation. When Jesus confronted the Samaritan woman at the well, love did not prevent Him from pointing out her sin. When healing, Jesus did not ignore the sin. Instead, He cautioned the person to go and sin no more.
In the post-modern world, we have confused loving the sinner with accepting the sin. Part of the problem is not just that the definition of sin has become blurry, but in an effort to become tolerant we are trying to strike the word sin from our very lexicon. How do we eliminate the notion of sin yet leave the Bible intact? We cannot, and therefore people are trying to label the Bible as archaic, thus ridding ourselves of any suggestion of sin. And so the folly of man has come full circle where man tried to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil but choked on it.
God’s love comes naturally to Him because it is part of His nature. It seems our nature does not produce love, and so we have to fight against our nature and the result is often messy. We need to realize, once and for all, that becoming Christ-like does not mean we turn a blind eye to sin. Instead, we speak the truth in love, for a love that allows people to remain in their sin is not love at all, but an acquiescence that their choice will separate them from God for eternity.
May each of us bow before a holy God, asking for the ability to show Christ’s love to our family, friends and even strangers—a love that is neither blind nor judgmental, but patient and kind.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Healer of the Brokenhearted
(NIV) Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Don’t you love the Psalms? Whenever someone is experiencing grief, I always point them toward the Psalms. I know that David felt all of the emotions and underwent the struggles each of us will face. But, as “a man after God’s own heart,” David learned how to call on God who became his “very present help in the time of need.”
Isaiah 55 tells us to seek the Lord early while He may be found. I have come to believe this verse does not just mean to call on God early in the morning, but also to seek the Lord first. Too often we try to rely upon our own resources, when we would accomplish so much more if we would just go to God first.
I get up early and enjoy my time in the quiet. It is then that I read the Word, seeking guidance for the day and relief from the hurts of yesterday. There is one thing I know, believe and understand: the God Who gave His Son to save me does more than love me—He cherishes me. In other words, God cares for me protectively and lovingly.
So today I encourage you to make a habit of meeting God early. I cannot tell you that such a practice will prevent you from any strife, but beginning your day in the Word helps set the tone for whatever follows. Instead of being defeated by unkind words and actions, make a practice of blessing the one who would seem intent on destroying you. Will your circumstances change? Maybe, maybe not. But the way you react to your circumstances will undergo a definite metamorphosis.
Today let us purpose to meet God early, offering our day to Him and giving Him praise for whatever comes next.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Seeking Holiness 