Psalm 25:4-5
I was reading over this verse yesterday and what caught my attention this time around in reading was my hope is in You all day long.
I pray for the Lord to teach me and show me His ways. I pray for His guidance. I pray for His truth to be alive and well in my heart. I seek Him and praise His name. I can see the heart of David here in these words.
But what really grabbed my heart and I mean grabbed was ALL day long. I began thinking, do I really do this all day long? Is my hope in God ALL day long?
When I wake and my bones are aching and my head is pounding, is my hope in Him?
When it's noon and I receive a phone call that brings me to my knees is my hope really in Him?
When I'm all alone and it feels like no one really seems to care, is my hope in Him?
When my husband gets that call that he is laid off again, is my hope in Him?
When I'm in the rush of the day and I feel overwhelmed and crushed all at the same time, is my hope to be found in Him?
At the turn of evening when the kitchen is overflowing with dishes, the chores are not complete and I have so much to do before my head hits the pillow, can I be found in His hope?
The kids are sick, Aunt Hilda had a bad fall, the car is in the shop, the bills are in a huge pile, laundry is over stacked and flowing out of the laundry room, hubs and I just had a nasty argument, I don't hear from the kids, I miss my grandchildren, all is messed up and nothing is getting better. Any of that sound familiar to you? Is our hope in our God and Savior?
This verse doesn't say, my hope is in You when things are going great. My hope is in you when all the bills are paid. It doesn't say, my hope is in You in the beauty of the morning or the starlit night. It isn't saying my hope is in You when all is right in my life.
It's saying the very opposite. ALL day long. David found the peace and serenity he needed when he placed his hope in the Lord ALL day long. He found the strength he needed because his hope was in the Lord ALL day long. The circumstances do NOT matter. It doesn't matter if there is a smile on our face or tears ready to spill. It doesn't matter if all our family is present and well, or if you lose contact with a child and grandma is in the hospital.
When we place our trust in the Lord it is for ALL day. All times. All events. All circumstances. All emotions. All everything.
We aren't to place our trust and hope in the Lord just when we see Him working. Most of the time He is working and moving in the quiet moments of our life. But how is hope spread to others? It must be seen throughout our daily lives. Those moments where grace is evident. The times where mercy is needed. The times when the kids are screaming and the UPS man is at the door.
It's easy for me to say I have hope in the Lord, but do I really? If so, there should be evidence in my life. On those days where my heart is heavy, I should be willing to give all my worries and troubles over to the Lord and place my hope in Him. To do so I think I should be in prayer always. Having my heart open for conversation with my Savior. Not one of those one sided conversations, but one in which I do most of the listening. He already knows why my heart is heavy. He is waiting to relieve me of my burdens and ease my load.
It's easy for me to say I have hope in the Lord, but do I really? If so, there should be evidence in my life. On those days where my heart is heavy, I should be willing to give all my worries and troubles over to the Lord and place my hope in Him. To do so I think I should be in prayer always. Having my heart open for conversation with my Savior. Not one of those one sided conversations, but one in which I do most of the listening. He already knows why my heart is heavy. He is waiting to relieve me of my burdens and ease my load.
Friends, we don't have to live frazzled lives. We cannot worry about the things in life we have no control over. We must learn to open our hands to the Lord and be willing to surrender ALL to Him. It's in that surrender that a beauty becomes us. We feel a peace like never before. We can place our hope in God, for there is no greater love than the love of Christ.
Let go and let God today. Hope is placing all trust in the Lord. It's giving Him guardianship over our lives. It's knowing that whatever may come, God is in control. It's hard not knowing what tomorrow will bring. How do we prepare for what may come? Spend time in prayer seeking the hope we so desperately need for survival. It is that hope that gives light to the world, and there is no better way to share the love of Christ than to be the reflection of hope to a people in need.
"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
Romans 8:24-27
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1
"This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe."
1 Timothy 4:9-10
