Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Do You Have Hope?
Man can live for about forty days without food, and about three days without water, about eight minutes without air ... but only for one second without hope. ~ Hal Lindsey
Scripture:
"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Job 7:6 (New International Version) May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (New International Version)
So often during our lifetimes, things will happen that can cause you to lose hope. You lose your job, you lose hope. Your relationship falls apart, so does your hope. A goal that you have been working towards for years still seems out of reach. Is there still hope? I for one know what it feel like to lose hope.
When my mother died, I felt hopeless. When my marriage fell apart, so did my expectation in ever feeling whole again. As I have struggled to provide for my two sons and myself, there are times when I feel that there is not hope for our situation. But for some reason, something always happens to restore my hope.
My faith assures me that I will see my mother again. Even after experiencing months of unemployment, I was still able to provide for my family. I realized that my marriage didn’t define me, how I felt about myself did. And the goal that I have been working towards for years? I keep on plugging away, never giving up, never giving in.
The word of God tells us to Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. In other words, even when there appears to be no hope, hold on to your joy. When things come against you to tear down your hope, remain patient. And always remain feverent in prayer.
But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
Be Blessed
Prayer:
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. I call out to the Lord. He is worthy of praise. He saves me from my enemies. The Lord lives! Give praise to my Rock! Give honor to God, the Rock! He is my Savior! Lord, we come once again singing songs of praise. Lord, we honor You because You are who You said You are. You are the rock of my salvation. You are my strength. You are my salvation. You are the one and only true God! Thank You Lord for saving me. Father, Abba, Great Jehovah, You are known by many names, but no matter which name we call on, You will answer. Thank You Lord, for answering prayer. No my Lord, we ask that You would continue to do great things in our lives. The world today is ruled by a spirit of darkness. Lord, we ask that we, Your saints, would become those lights that guide others home to You. Father, may something that we do this day, or something that we say this day, be a blessing unto someone else. May we always hide Your word in our hearts. But more importantly, may we always allow Your word and the Holy Spirit to guide us in all we do and say. Now Lord, Bless us, Keep us, Protect us, Strengthen us. Lord, we could never thank You enough for our blessings. But we say thank You anyhow. We could never express just how much we love You, but we say we love You anyhow. We could never be worthy of Your grace and mercy. But we thank You for giving us those gifts anyhow. Thank You Lord. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Glory to God. Amen.
Scripture:
"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Job 7:6 (New International Version) May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (New International Version)
So often during our lifetimes, things will happen that can cause you to lose hope. You lose your job, you lose hope. Your relationship falls apart, so does your hope. A goal that you have been working towards for years still seems out of reach. Is there still hope? I for one know what it feel like to lose hope.
When my mother died, I felt hopeless. When my marriage fell apart, so did my expectation in ever feeling whole again. As I have struggled to provide for my two sons and myself, there are times when I feel that there is not hope for our situation. But for some reason, something always happens to restore my hope.
My faith assures me that I will see my mother again. Even after experiencing months of unemployment, I was still able to provide for my family. I realized that my marriage didn’t define me, how I felt about myself did. And the goal that I have been working towards for years? I keep on plugging away, never giving up, never giving in.
The word of God tells us to Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. In other words, even when there appears to be no hope, hold on to your joy. When things come against you to tear down your hope, remain patient. And always remain feverent in prayer.
But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
Be Blessed
Prayer:
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. I call out to the Lord. He is worthy of praise. He saves me from my enemies. The Lord lives! Give praise to my Rock! Give honor to God, the Rock! He is my Savior! Lord, we come once again singing songs of praise. Lord, we honor You because You are who You said You are. You are the rock of my salvation. You are my strength. You are my salvation. You are the one and only true God! Thank You Lord for saving me. Father, Abba, Great Jehovah, You are known by many names, but no matter which name we call on, You will answer. Thank You Lord, for answering prayer. No my Lord, we ask that You would continue to do great things in our lives. The world today is ruled by a spirit of darkness. Lord, we ask that we, Your saints, would become those lights that guide others home to You. Father, may something that we do this day, or something that we say this day, be a blessing unto someone else. May we always hide Your word in our hearts. But more importantly, may we always allow Your word and the Holy Spirit to guide us in all we do and say. Now Lord, Bless us, Keep us, Protect us, Strengthen us. Lord, we could never thank You enough for our blessings. But we say thank You anyhow. We could never express just how much we love You, but we say we love You anyhow. We could never be worthy of Your grace and mercy. But we thank You for giving us those gifts anyhow. Thank You Lord. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Glory to God. Amen.
