November 27, 2006

Where Is Your Hope?

If you do not have a hope in God, what is your hope in? No matter how bad your situation seems we still have to believe that God is more than able to see us through. We all have problems and stuff from our past and even things that are going on right now that seem like they are insurmountable, however no matter what it is we have to trust that God has the ultimate plan for our lives.

Many of us have put our hope in our parents, lovers, friends, spouses and others and have been let down. We have trusted that somehow they could help us get through that depressing situation or the financial loss. They were able to help us for a short time but eventually we determined that they had no more power to handle our situation than we did. They can barely handle what has been laid before them to deal with and yet we continue to try to run to them for the support we think we need. We cry on their shoulders and they cry on ours. We struggle and so do they and then, we finally realize that if we are believers in God through the resurrected savior Jesus Christ that is where our real hope is. It is not in the lottery, our jobs, friends, children or spouses, but in the true lover of our souls the one that created us.

Have you tried everything else, only to be disappointed, because they just couldn’t do it for you?

Have you sought men or women to bring you comfort in the midnights of your life
only to find that it was still dark?

Have you sought comfort in someone’s arms that you were not married to in an effort to feel loved?

Have you sought comfort in a bottle of alcohol or some drug to dull the pain
and found that when the effect of the alcohol or drug wore off
you were still in the same or worse shape than you were
before you attempted to self medicate?

Maybe none of that describes you. Maybe you have always had it together and you have always known where you true hope came from, but if you are like the rest of us sometimes you need some assistance and a reminder that your hope is in Jesus Christ. Maybe you need to be reminded that God loves you. Maybe you need to be reminded that God loves you when you are at your lowest point. Maybe you need to be reminded that no matter how lonely you feel you are never alone. Maybe you just need to be reminded that no matter what your situation looks like God is still in control.

If you are at a place where you don’t have it all together we want to encourage you that people will often fail us, a job can be here today and gone tomorrow, drugs and alcohol just don’t work, but the bible tells us repeatedly, that there is one true hope, one that you can depend on and that is your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Psalm 33:22: Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone
Based on this scripture we can ask God to let His love surround us as we put our hope in Him. Other people may not understand or show us the love we desire or think we need, but God will surround us with His love.

Psalm 25:21: May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you.
We can be protected by our integrity and honesty by putting our hope in God. We have attempted to be protected by using manipulation and other people, but our protection was not assured by our wrong methods. Help us God to do it Your way, honestly and in integrity knowing you will honor that as we put our hope and trust in You.

Psalm 39:7: And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.

Psalm 62:5: Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
Let my spirit wait quietly before you. Let my mouth wait quietly before you. Let my attitude wait quietly before you. Let my mind wait quietly before you. Let my desires wait quietly before you. Lord, I have some situations that are beyond my control. There is some stuff going on in my life that I really do not understand. I will commit to be obedient to the scripture and wait patiently and quietly for you to move on my behalf. I trust You with my life, my family, my finances and every situation I find myself in.

Waiting is not easy and sometimes putting our hope in anyone other than what we can see or do with our own hands can be difficult, but we encourage you to do it based on what you have already seen God do. If you have been a Christian for very long He has already shown you that He has the power to change situations and circumstances. If you have not seen it in your life yet, talk to another Christian that has been saved and walking with God a little longer than you have and let them share with you their story of walking with Jesus until you have a story of your own.

  Weekly Scripture

Psalm 62:5: Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

Remember that all of you must wait quietly before the Lord, not just some parts.

For further discussion contact angela@mynewtemple.org or write to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html.