Hope in Praise

 

    Praise God in hope today. Praising our God for His loving kindness, for His goodness, for our salvation, for His timing, for His footsteps and guidance moving ahead of our thoughts and emotions may be difficult. But, praise lifts us into the throne room of heaven, far above all that we see, hear and feel.

     Psalm 42 is filled with words of despair and heartache and crying out to God. Are you going through a time of heartache and grief? God can take all of our feelings and fears, our worries and weakness and there we find hope. As we read through the Psalms and hear David’s voice in the singing, the praises, the despair, the cries for forgiveness, we hear the humanity, the emotion in living life.

     Even in the midst and, most often, near the end of each Psalm there is always a turning to God, with phrases like, “even now,” “and yet,” “I will yet praise Him.” And in the middle of David’s cries, see how he turns again to his God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:5

     Wherever you are today, praise God. Even if you feel hopeless and helpless, praise Him. Praise Him for His creation, for His love, for His forgiveness, for working ahead of you, for the hope of eternity. Sometimes praise is sacrificial. It may seem impossible. The writer of Hebrews understood this.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.  Hebrews 13:15

   God honors our praise as we trust Him through the darkness. The sacrifice of praise will give you hope when there seems to be none and we just may offer a witness and testimony to others.

Dear Lord,

We praise You for Your Son, for Your unending love, for Your understanding heart, for Your compassion. For all of these things and more, we praise Your holy name.

Through Jesus, our Savior

Amen

Hope

 

     Hope. What a beautiful word. No matter the circumstances, the grief, the hurt, the trouble, with Christ there is always hope. Definitions for hope…

1.     Feeling that something desired is possible.

2.    Confidence

3.    Looking forward with expectation

     Take your worry. Offer your doubts. Stand up to your fear. And believe in the unseen hope in Christ. Here is a memory-worthy verse for you.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1

     Finding substance and evidence in things not seen is hard, but understanding our God can do more than we can hope for or imagine offers us the opportunity to trust Him, to have faith in Him, to place our hope in Him. Drop it in His lap and let Him take it over.

     Let’s use these verses as our prayer today.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21

Father,

You offer us hope. You are willing and able to do immeasurably more than all we ask. Give everyone reading this today hope in You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Stepping In, Stepping Out

 

     My husband and I are early risers and often on Saturday mornings you will find one or both of us at the grocery store at the crack of dawn. One morning as we were taking our groceries out of the cart to be scanned, I noticed the cashier was sniffling and appeared to be quite miserable.

     I asked her if she was ok and she shook her head no. The poor thing, I thought to myself. I like to bag the groceries and I continued to watch her and pray for her as I went about my duties. My husband handed over the coupons and paid.

     In one spontaneous motion, as we were about to leave, I walked around behind the cashier and asked her if I could give her a hug. She looked puzzled, but nodded, and as I grabbed her in a big bear hug, I whispered, “I hope everything will be ok and I will be praying for you.” I said it quickly and courageously, hoping God would be pleased with this gesture of kindness.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.   Hebrews 11:6

     I let go of the poor girl and here is what she said, “Oh I’m sure I’ll be fine. My husband and I usually get a bug like this about once a year.”

     A bug?! She was sick?!

     My embarrassment continued as we walked out and my husband shook his head. He has seen me in action one too many times. He said, “She’s always like that, usually grumpy and complaining about something.”

     We continue to laugh about this little episode and I remember seeing her again a few weeks later. I’m pretty sure she averted her gaze away from mine. I like to think my hug and promise of prayer may have made a small difference in her life that day.

     You never know where faith will lead you. Keep your eyes and ears open in case a “grumpy” needs you. When Joshua and the Israelites came to the edge of the Jordan river. God promised He would part the waters for them, but first, they had to step into the swirling water. It took a step of faith.

     Stepping out brings more faith. God will do amazing things through your words and deeds with the power of the risen Christ. Step into the unknown water. When you are afraid, believe Jesus will lift you up. When you are exhausted, He may ask you to keep going for just a bit longer. When you are overwhelmed speak of your faith. Raise it up and trust. Wait and praise. Get your toes wet. When the waters finally part, walk through to the promised land of hope and glory.

And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord-the Lord of all the earth-set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap. Joshua 3:13

Dear Lord,

Give us the courage to step out in faith. Even when we don’t see results, you honor our faith in You. Keep our hearts open to the hurt around us. You have answers for a hurting world. The grumpies around us have been known to crack a smile with a little kindness.

In Jesus name,

Amen

 

Stepping In, Stepping Out

 

     When we can’t find an answer, when we don’t know how to get through the grief, or how to help a loved one, or what to do next, we can place our complete trust in Jesus. He has the answers. He knows the way through. He has the words of comfort for us to use. He sees the next step and the one after that. There are millions of testimonies in history up to the present day reminding us and teaching us that God works through everything.

     The apostle Paul wrote several of his epistles from a dark, dank, smelly jail cell in Rome. He was chained to a guard at all times. All of these prison epistles are filled with gratitude to God, with an understanding that even then, the good news of the gospel would be preached.

     He and his other Christian cellmates sang songs of praise and joy, stunning their jailers and other prisoners. The book of Philippians is filled with verses about deep joy, about the peace that passes all understanding, and the call for believers to continue to shine as stars.  Here are a few verses to take with you today.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. Philippians 1:12

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. Philippians 2:15

Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again. Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

     The verses in the Book of Philippians are worth reading time and time again. Put them to memory and take them out when you are feeling weak and overwhelmed. Paul reminds us to spread the gospel no matter the circumstances in our lives, to continue to shine like stars in this warped generation, to rejoice always! God is good, all the time and He remains on the throne. Stay filled with His peace and joy as we continue to marvel at His mysterious ways.  Maybe, just maybe this time in your life will be used for our God.

Lord,

Thank You for the examples of faith both in Scripture and in life. Teach us by example to rely on Your great love and strength that will get us through life, all of it with peace and joy, always striving to shine with Your glory.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Stepping In, Stepping Out

 

      The fishermen were exhausted. They had been working all night and hadn’t caught a thing. They tiredly cleaned their nets on the beach in the early morning hours. Are you overwhelmed with exhaustion? Have you tried everything and come up empty? Surprisingly, Jesus gets into one of the empty boats and says,

“Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4b

    What would be our reaction? “I can’t.” “I’ve given it my best and nothing worked.” “I am too tired.” Here is Simon Peter’s reaction. It sounds familiar, but we might want to listen to the last portion of his response.

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5

     Have you been swimming in the shallow end of faith? When the answers aren’t immediate or your prayers aren’t answered in the way you expected, do you give up? Grow weary of the wait? Jesus challenges us to dive in a little deeper, to read the living water of His Words until eternity is etched in our hearts, until He is the answer to everything.

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Luke 5:6

     Jesus is the answer to the emptiness, the loneliness, the unanswered prayer, the holes in the nets of our hearts. His love can fill and re-fill until our souls overflow. He challenges us to head to the deep waters and lower our nets. The abundant life is there for the taking.

Dear Jesus,

Take away our fear of diving in to the deep waters of trusting and obeying. You have the Words to eternal life. (John 6:68) Let our defeated attitudes change to saying yes to an overflowing life with You.

Amen

Stepping In, Stepping Out

 

     Each of the disciples had their own unique personality, just as each one of us is uniquely created.  Peter was impetuous, spontaneous, often acting and speaking before thinking. Did you know he took a leap of faith and jumped right out of the boat when he saw Jesus walking on the water? Peter spotted Jesus and asked Him to let him come to Him.  Jesus answered:

“Come,” He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:29

     When Peter heard Jesus’ command, he obeyed immediately with no hesitation and the power of Christ was with him. What happens next is a lesson to all of us as believers, as we jump in to obey the calling of Christ on our lives.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:30

     When we find ourselves in circumstances beyond our control, circumstances that bring fear and doubt, grief and unanswerable questions, we long to remain fixed on Jesus, keeping our minds and emotions in check as we continue to trust, to obey and to have faith in the One who saved us. But even when our eyes move away, even in the days we believe we are sinking, when our eyes move from Jesus to the overwhelming odds against us, listen to what Jesus does.

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat the wind died down.  Matthew 14:31-32

     When Peter doubted and began to sink, did Jesus leave him floundering around in his doubt and fear? No, immediately, Jesus reached out His hand and caught Him. When the doubts continue to plague and the deep waters are rising, call out for your Savior. He is faithful and trustworthy. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

     Focus your gaze on Him. His strong and mighty right hand is there to pick you up, time after time. He will save you from drowning in the swirling waters of despair, of grief, of doubt, of hopelessness. He is the God of hope and new beginnings. Listen to Him in the midst of the storms of life. And He says, “Come.”

Dear Father in heaven,

Help us through our unbelief. When the winds die down and the storms subside, You are right beside us in the boat. You’ve been there all along. Keep our eyes and hearts fixed on You in the midst of it all.

In Jesus name,

Amen

 

Stepping In, Stepping Out

 

     My dad died over fifty years ago. I was fourteen. The skies had been blue and sunny for me growing up until that day. Lightning struck and thunder roared and my mom and I were left to build a new foundation. She became my rock. I was blessed to have a loving mom and she sacrificed so much to watch over me.

     For years I stayed on the surface of life, living selfishly, following every wave that came my way, never casting my anchor on anyone or anything satisfying and solid and trustworthy and pure. The year I found that something good in my future husband, I was diagnosed with an eye disease that would one day leave me legally blind and shortly after that, my mom was diagnosed with cancer.

     She went back into the hospital the week of our wedding, was unable to attend and died the next day. Shortly after our wedding, my husband lost his job. The storms of life come up unexpectedly and sometimes, simultaneously.

As for everyone who comes to Me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. Luke 6:47-48

     When I was drowning in despair and fear, I met Jesus. I had known Him on a casual, go-to-church-on-Sunday kind of way. Jesus has continued to build on that foundation within me for 35 years now. More storms have hit. They always do. Has one hit your foundation? Jesus is the cornerstone. The rock. Build your hope in Him. He will bring you in safely from the deep flood waters, and protect you from each and every storm on the horizon.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze.  Isaiah 43:2

     My storms became my salvation. My tests became my testimonies and my mess became my message. Crazy how God works. He was there all along, but when I needed Him most, He saved me. And once you step into faith in Jesus, you become willing to step out.

Dear Father,

I pray for each reader this morning. I pray they will feel the warmth of Your embrace, the peace of Your presence, the power of Your unending love and the hope of heaven. Show us how to build the homes of our hearts on the firm foundation of Your Son, Jesus. He will be with us through every crashing wave.

Amen