Statistics say that human beings spend approximately 6 months of their lives waiting in line for things…which amounts to about 3 days a year just standing around. So how can we change the complexion and emotions associated with waiting from bored, frustrated, impatience… to hopeful expectation that’s rooted in God? It could first start by raising your head up from your phone and engaging in the world around you. People complain that they’re lonely…but they refuse to become involved in casual conversation with the person standing in line next to them…preferring to bury their face in their phone instead. But consider this…maybe God placed that person specifically there to have you speak encouragement into their life. So the next time you find yourself waiting…look around…God may have someone He wants you to talk to.
Tag: hope
I Peter 1:3 ” Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
What does it mean to you to be born again? Maybe it’s been a long time since you even thought about it, especially if you’ve been a Believer for years. When you said “Yes” to Jesus, you underwent spiritual rebirth. What was once corruptible became incorruptible, and passed from death unto life. When we are born again, all is made new…for by God’s great mercy and the sacrificial blood of Christ, we are saved from our sins. To be born again means we are truly a new person standing before God…righteous and blameless in His sight.
Psalm 34:8 ” Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
There are certain things that someone can attempt to describe to us, but until we can experience it for ourselves, we just don’t get it. Take instance, the first time you saw the ocean and that vast expanse of churning water…no amount of prior description someone gave you could even come close to you seeing it with your own eyes. The same thing happens with Jesus. We may hear about Him all our lives…but it’s not until we take that personal step of faith and experience Him, that we can then know true joy, peace and hope in our lives.
Psalm 42:5 ” Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
The whole of mankind hoped with eager anticipation…awaiting the promise of the fulfillment of the coming Messiah…only to watch Him die a terrible and horrific death on the Cross. The day after that shocking event, the human soul was holding its breath…struggling to remember the words of Jesus while despair tried to crowd out any shred of hope. Human life hung in the balance between hope and hopelessness that fateful day. But God is the God of hope, (Romans 15:13) and we have this hope as an anchor. (Hebrews 6:19) So if today, you’re facing the impossible, the incurable, the irreversible…put your hope in God and fix your eyes on Him. For if God can raise Jesus from the dead, He can breathe life into your sick, dying body, revive a struggling marriage, or break the chains of addiction off a loved one. For as long as there is hope, there’s life.
II Samuel 22:2-3 ” The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior – from violent men You save me.”
God is our only reliable stronghold in the world today. He is the fortress we can retreat to when fear over takes us. He is our rescuer when wickedness and oppression take the very breath from us. For God is the only rock we can put our absolute trust in…the only refuge we can run to for safety.
Proverbs 24:14 ” Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”
Wisdom speaks only truth to your soul. It will guide you on the right path, and fill you with hope. And with wisdom comes future hope … that can never be destroyed.
Psalm 119:116 “Sustain me according to Your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.”
You can’t have faith without hope…and hope without faith…they go hand and hand together. When shattered human emotions come to the point of hopelessness, there’s nothing left but disillusionment and a broken spirit. But if we have faith, we are lifted up and supported…encouraged and assured that God is there. Isaiah 46:4 says, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He Who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” The Lord is always there to comfort the brokenhearted and grief-stricken. For faith will give way to hope…and hope will usher in faith.
Ephesians 1:18 ” I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.”
For many of us, we are riding on the shoulders of those who have come before us. Maybe it was a Grandmother, Great Aunt, or Great Uncle that were so influential in your early years. This someone, whose strong Christian walk stirred your own soul and formed early on your ideas of just who God was, became a shining example of His light and truth to you. And as they walked the walk and talked the talk…that assurance of who God was and His matchless power and authority became more real every day.
Psalm 52:9 ” I will praise You forever for what You have done; in You name I will hope, for Your name is good. I will praise You in the presence of Your saints.”
Do you see your glass as half empty, or half full? Rather than focus and dwell on the have nots…concentrate on what the Lord has already accomplished in your life. Thank Him for what He’s brought you through as you expectantly wait for Him. Linger in the miraculous happenings of your life story with the Lord as you anticipate what He’ll do next. As one of the faithful, your glass will never again be half empty…for the Lord’s love will fill it to overflowing.
Romans 15: 32 ” So that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.”
When we come together as God’s family, my spirit and yours are refreshed. (I Cor. 16:18) The Lord has opportunity to minster through you and me to touch others with encouragement when we meet together. He can also move corporately throughout to refresh…exhorting, inspiring, and spurring on. But when you decide not to go to Church or Bible Study or Prayer Group for selfish reasons, you are denying others the blessing of giving and receiving hope and inspiration through your absence. Never believe that you don’t matter in the Family of God, for you are a very important and intricate part of the spiritual community called the Body.
Safetypinlove 