Thursday, April 16, 2009

Our Hope

This Week's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Leviticus 9:7-20:21
Mark 4:26-8:38
Psalm 37:30-42:11
Proverbs 10:6-17
Next Week's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Leviticus 20:22-Numbers 3:51
Mark 9:1-12:17
Psalm 43:1-47:9
Proverbs 10:18-25

Focus Verse(s): Psalm 38:16
"For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord, my God."

I'm still fumbling, learning and "becoming Christian" but I am finding that one of the keys to a strong faith is hope. We have to set our hope in our Lord and we have to hold firmly to that hope. This seems to me especially crucial when we are stumbling in the valleys and through the dark...it is usually pretty easy to keep your hope in God when things are going good! However, when we are struggling it is then that we desperately need that Spiritual light at the end of the tunnel. When our sinful, human nature wants to get swallowed up by a pity party and shut down the hope switch we need to remember that our hope is in God, He will hear us, He will NEVER leave us and He is bigger than what troubles us. Remember, "don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how BIG your God is!" If we can focus on this, on securing our hope in our Lord, then I believe we will find ourselves walking closer with our Father...growing stronger in our relationship with our Savior...following our Holy Spirit's guidance and overall feeling less alone. Will you pray with me:

O Lord, my God,
Thank You for being our hope, for hearing us. Please help me to remember to cling to You and to secure my hope in You always. Lord, I want to thank You for all of Your leaders in Your world, Your countries and most especially in Your churches. Please continue to bless all of them and continue to grant them Your wisdom so that they may lead us, Your people, in the right direction. We also thank You for all of Your soldiers, young and old, present and past and we pray that You please bless and protect them as well as Your families which You surround them with today and always. Father, You alone can heal us, no matter what ails us. Please grant You extraordinary healing, be it spiritual, emotional, physical or mental, to all those in need but especially to Lee, Pam, Jeff, Helen, Larry, George, Karen, Gary, Tim, Jeff, Joy, Ward, Jeff, and all those we each name to You now. God we know that Your will is perfect and therefore we ask that all these things be done according to Your wishes and not our own. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed and awesome weekend and week ahead!!!

Love through Christ,
Niki

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