Hope

Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

You would think the best way to find hope is to have a trouble-free life. No, the best way to find hope is through the crises of life. In Romans 5:3–5 we read, “But we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

There it is in bold red print: tribulation produces perseverance…perseverance (produces) character…character (produces) hope. God has made provision for us to be a bunch of hopeful, character-filled folks persevering through tribulation! That's a lot to be thankful for in my book. Consider the alternative…**shudder**…a despondent, fearful, weak soul falling with every wave of tribulation. NO, THANKS! I’ll take that Hope, Character & Perseverance every time, glory be to God above!

Hope is going to come through hardship. So when a Christian suffers and still glorifies God, it reassures the rest of us there never will be a valley so deep that God will not get us through it.

In His Name

Psalm 33:21"For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His Holy Name”

Any crisis in the home, family, finances, work place or health can make or break us. We can choose to grow through the crisis and become a better person than we were before. Romans 5:3, 4, encourages, "We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope."

Let us meditate upon the LORD's holy name that we may trust Him the better and rejoice the more readily. He is in character holy, just, true, gracious, faithful, and unchanging. Is not such a God to be trusted? He is all wise, almighty, and everywhere present; can we not cheerfully rely upon Him? Yes, we will do so at once and do so without reserve.

Jehovah-Jireh will provide.

Jehovah-Shalom will send peace.

Jehovah-Tsidkenu will justify.

Jehovah-Shammah will be forever near.

Jehovah-Nissi will conquer every foe.

They that know Thy name will trust Thee; and they that trust Thee will rejoice in Thee, O LORD. 

This Day

Lamentations 3:19-24 The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!

Have you noticed that when we have suffered severe loss that our day of tragedy seemed like a normal day for everyone else. On the day we are fired, learned our mother had cancer, discovered our spouse was unfaithful, or held the hand of a friend as she died—on that very day other people went about their business as usual. My best friend has died! we silently scream. How can you go to work, eat out, and catch a movie as if nothing has changed? Don’t you care?

Worse, our disastrous day seemed normal for God as well. The sun shone, clouds rolled by, night fell, and stars appeared. Doesn’t God care either?

The book of Lamentations captured Jeremiah’s anguished cry for the suffering of his people. Life was bad. Jerusalem had been destroyed and its citizens carried off to Babylon. Those left behind had resorted to cannibalism. Jeremiah laments that his suffering “is bitter beyond words,” but he grasps a glimmer of hope when he remembers that “the faithful love of the Lord never ends” and “His mercies begin afresh each morning” (3:19-23).

Actually, the Lord’s mercies don’t merely begin each morning, they are each morning. Psalm 104 praises God for faithfully tending His diverse creation. The routine events of nature—are all directed by God’s powerful hand. “When You give them Your breath, life is created, and You renew the face of the earth” (v.30).

I had an exchange student from Norway, Majken, who told me that when she was grieving the death of her brother she was comforted by words she heard me say, “No matter how dark or bad it seems, the sun will still come up in the morning.” The clockwork consistency of nature on your worst day is a reminder that God cares. Take it as a sign that God loves you. He’s not debilitated by His grief for you, but is preserving your life until the morning when His mercies will begin afresh.

This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)

Lord, I thank You for this new day and watching over us in the night. It is through Your mercy and grace we are blessed with this day. Help us to remember circumstances are temporary but You are everlasting and greater than anything that comes against us today. You are our strength and our provider. It is in Your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen

Faithful Friday

I Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

If you have read Truth in the Morning for any length of time at all you have heard me talk about my habit on Fridays of looking back at all God has done in my life during the week. It’s a good habit for me because it helps me focus on the good and see how it overshadows the not so good. God is faithful to carry me through even the worse of weeks and situations. If that alone is not worth giving thanks and praise for, what is?

We all have times we focus on the ‘weeds’ in our garden of life. Sometimes we see weeds everywhere we look. Sometimes we only see weeds! But even weeds can have flowers. There is beauty and life and joy out there to see if we take our eyes off the weeds long enough to notice. Most wild flowers are weeds, by the way, yet we wait each spring for them to color our world. God is faithful to provide.

I have decided to now call Fridays – Faithful Friday. I will still make the time to look at all God has done in my week and give thanks for His faithfulness. How can you look at His faithfulness to protect, provide and forgive and not be thankful? I choose to give thanks for the flowers and the weeds. Sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. Thorns do protect the roses, don’t they?

Thanksgiving

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this." Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this."

You see, there is always a way to thank God, even in the worst of circumstances. Where there's a will, there's a way. Some days it might seem we have to look harder for the will but there is always a way.

I love our American Thanksgiving holiday. It is a time when even non-believers stop a little while to be thankful and appreciative. Traditions are important to me and this holiday is full of them. This year a lot of what I know as normal Thanksgiving tradition is not happening in my world; this year, however, will still find me grateful and giving thanks. Being thankful isn’t based on the food you eat, the company you keep or the day of the week. Being thankful comes from inside your heart and soul, not what you serve on the side.    

Let's experience a true happy thanks giving — let's will to thank God, and do it happily! As we draw near to Him with our thanks, He will draw near to us and bring victory!