Skip to main content

Hope

Hope is a wonderful thing, and a vital part of the Christian experience. Like love, hope can also be wild and dangerous. This may be so because many of us have vivid imaginations and often dream wonderful dreams for ourselves, our lives, our families. You are courageous indeed to put your hope in your dreams. Why? Because our dreams are produced by our own flights of fancy and may not be rooted in the word of God.

Scripture tells us to put our hope in a person - Jesus Christ- and in his holy word. This morning I read Psalm 119:114, "You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word." We hope for what we don't have yet. As Christians put our hope in Christ and in his promises contained in scripture. God always keeps His word, so even though we are hoping for what we don't have yet, we know for certain that we will receive it one day. Living faithfully in this hope allows us to experience God as our refuge and shield. We place ourselves squarely in His will and under His protection, and He takes responsibility for our lives.

We set ourselves up for failure, pain, disappointment, and destruction when we put our hope in dreams we have produced for ourselves instead of promises contained in God's word. Sometimes we do this without even realizing it. Please allow me to ask you some difficult questions...what does God promise you in His word? Does He promise...
  • That you will live the American Dream and have an upwardly mobil life?
  • That your children won't disappoint you or break your heart?
  • That you will marry the man (or woman) of your dreams and live happily ever after?
  • That you and your loved ones will be healthy and happy all your days?
  • That you will not have to live sacrificially so that others can come to know Christ?
  • That you will not experience devastating loss and seperation from loved ones?
  • That your business will succeed?
  • That He will give you the desires of your heart when you desire things other than Him?

There are times when it becomes necessary for us to clarify what God has promised us in His word. Otherwise we may get so carried away with our hopes and dreams that we will blame God for our hurt and disappointment, and then miss completely the promises He does fulfill. Where have you placed your hope this day?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Her Own Woman

Kathryn is here now. She was born Sunday night, 5:57 p.m., and weighed 7 pounds, 10 oz., and measured 20.25 inches long. Kim was in labor since about 9:00 a.m. Saturday. After hours of waiting and miles of walking around that hospital, Kim never progressed beyond 6 cm. Every time we came close to making a decision about what to do next, it seems Kathryn would change the game on us and we would have to wait for another couple of hours to see what would happen next. We almost went to the OR at least twice before we finally did because Kathry would do this or that. She was letting us know she was in charge. After whe was born I stood with her in the nursery while they cleaned her up and checked her out. She cried for a while and then got real calm and collected. I watched her as she sized me up with her eyes, took a good look around the room, and then looked at me and kind of smirked knowingly. I got the distinct impression that she was very much amused by everything that had gone on the ...
7 comments
Read more

Racing with Horses, Walking on Water, and Accepting My Weakness

I am tired of Hurricane Harvey. I am ready for all of this to be done and for things to settle down. I long for the routine, familiar, and predictable. I have had enough of trying to limit or mitigate the effects of Harvey on my family and property. I have become worn out trying to control and make sense of how my church is recovering from the hurricane. I am just about through with the ongoing, and seemingly never ending, management issues related to hundreds of volunteers funneling through my church on a weekly basis to assist our community in the recovery efforts. The logistics of making it all work week in and week out, the delicate dance of being the pastor to all the personalities involved, is exhausting. Add to this my broken heart for our community. I receive gut punches every day as I listen to the stories of evacuation, recovery, and rebuild. I steel myself to being able to do what I can each week and letting everything else go. I am sick of people saying the Lord will ...
3 comments
Read more

A Eulogy for Dr. Evelyn Romig, Who Is Not Dead but Merely Retiring

How does one honor the career of a teacher like Dr. Evelyn Romig, who taught English and Literature for 44 years? I was her student four of those years at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX. Honestly, she teaches me still. I loved Dr. Romig fiercely when I was a college student. I took every class she offered. She was my adviser and I spent time in her office being advised on academic matters and other things. I often reflect on what her life means to me. My recollections and anecdotes here will be personal, but I do not think they are unique. I was 18 years old and a freshman when I first met Dr. Romig. I was a Baptist ministerial student, majoring in something from the School of Christianity. She was my British Literature teacher. Because of things I had done in high school and because of how well I tested on the ACT and SAT, I did not have to take the typical Freshman English courses. I had no way of knowing at the time how much this small woman, an English Literature p...
1 comment
Read more