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This blog offers refreshment and hope to the weary. It doesn’t begin to have all the answers, but God does. Whenever he brings relief in the midst of a crushing day, a small miracle happens. Share yours with us!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Courage in hope

You will have courage because you will have hope. You will take your time, and rest in safety. You will lie down unafraid and many will look to you for help. 
Job 11:18,19
Take your time and rest in safety for a few minutes to re-consider these promises.  Move in and take a vacation for awhile.


 In context, these words were spoken by one of Job's friends who ended up not understanding the grand cosmic picture of what was happening with Job.  That makes some people discount them.  Yet they were absolutely true for Job, and they are true for you. People have looked to him for hope and help in their despair ever since his story was written.


You will have courage because you will have hope. It's so easy to forget that hope is not an emotion.  Praise God! We all know how our emotions get bounced around by the events of our lives, even for those of us who have been believers a long time.


Most of you reading this know that hope is confidence and trust that what was promised to us is on its way. Our daily lives, however, can dim that confidence, or distract us. We only have that trust if we remember Who made the promise, and that we really can rely on him.  God is not only the giver of hope, he is our hope.  It's too easy to forget him when we get overwhelmed or overloaded.


What we hope for is what we live for.  Are you hoping for less than you used to, because you're afraid to trust for more?  Has your hope eroded--even a little--from recent events in your life?  You can lose your hope all at once or so slowly you didn't even realize it was inching away. 


Or, worse, we can take our hope for granted. We can live our lives the same way, not treasuring the hope we have, that Jesus paid such a high price to give us.  At this Easter time, how dare we forget the price he paid.


I'm reminded of a recent post, "The Source of Our Confidence," taken from Hebrews 6.  I recently re-read the passage in light of this topic of hope. Here is Hebrews 6:17-19a:


Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We may have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 


Why not take the elements of the verses from Job and Hebrews and pray one or more of them back to God?  Sure, these are basic, but so is oxygen.
  • Thank you, Lord, for the hope you have given me through your Son, and put into my heart and life, even when I'm not feeling it.
  • Help me to act with your courage and boldness in your strength, to your glory.
  • Show me how to slow down and take my time with you and your word.  
  • Help me realize I can rest in safety when I'm resting in you.
  • Take away my fears and fill me with your Spirit.
  • Let me be someone who can help others; let me tell them how you brought me through this.
O God our help in ages past, our help in days to come. 
Our shelter in the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

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