Day 8- Hope

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a furture and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  Jeremiah 29:11-12

Hope- it's something we all carry around with us.  All of us hope for something in our lives that we want or need.  A better marriage, a happy family, a healthy family, more money, a better house, a comfortable retirement, smart children, and the list goes on and on and on.   But despite all this hope that we carry around, we can still lose sight of it once and awhile.  When we do, we need Christ's encouragement, the life changing power of prayer, and the Word of God to see us through.  Hope isn't just what we want, it's what God wants for us.

Hebrews 11:1 says, To have faith is to be sure of what we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

Everyday each of us finds ourselves falling into the traps of disappointments, worry, fear, discouragement, and temptation but it is with the healing power of Jesus that we can set those traps aside and know that the hope we long for, only He can provide.  The world can be a place and trials and tribulations, but as believers, we are secure.  Secure in knowing that because we have faith, we can have hope.  God has promised us so many things and of couse he keeps each and every promise.  Peace, joy, and an eternal life are just a few of God's promises that he has given to us. 

So no matter how difficult it is to see the light at the end of that long dark tunnel, know that God is there.  You can hang onto that hope knowing that through every trial, God WILL provide a celebration.  Lisa Beamer lost her husband Todd on flight 93 September 11, 2001.  I couldn't imagine having to endure a loss like this.  But I love the way she has taken this tradegy and turned it back to God.  "The choice for me is to either look at all things I have lost or the things I have.  To live in fear or to live in hope...Hope comes from knowing I have a sovereign, loving God who is in every event in my life".

God is in every aspect of our lives.  He has scripted the path we are on and he knows what choice we will make before we even make it.  And because he is a loving and trusting God, he will adjust the path accordingly to make sure we arrive safely at His destination, not ours.  If you are a believer, than you know that God's trials make us stronger and in those desparate times, he will gently pick up our heads and turn our eyes to him to keep our hope alive.  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

Dear Lord, make me a woman of hope.  if I become discouraged, let me turn my eyes to You.  If I grow weary, let me seek my strength in You.  When I am faced wtih disappointments, let me remember to seek Your trust and rely on Your will for me.  In every aspect of my life, I will trust You, Father, so that my heart will be filled with your love, faith, hope, and praise today, tomorrow, and forever. Amen.