Life hands us lemons; and mental health experts tell us to make
lemonade out of them. We are drowning in circumstances, and we are supposed to
take time out and have the presence of mind to "make lemonade".
Wave after wave of misfortune strike. It's hard to
breathe. We despair of hope at times. As we sink into the abyss of life, God
calls out to us to cling to Him as our life raft.
God's love and hope help us to float as we put our faith
in His faithfulness (Romans 5:5). He works out even the most dire of
circumstances for our good (Romans 8:28).
Without Christ abiding in us, we often turn to bars,
drugs, vocation, people and places to change our circumstances. This rarely
helps. We cannot trust in the riches of this world, because they are here today
and gone tomorrow.
It is only when we fully surrender to God's plan for our
life that we experience joy when devastation surrounds us. We trust in our
living God, because He always gives us all good things to enjoy (1 Timothy
6:17).
We all need faith and love; but without hope, they are impossible
to attain. When our expectations are for God alone, trusting in Him helps us to
experience deep abiding hope (Psalm 62:5).
God is able to do so much more for us than we can ask for
or even imagine, because of His mighty power that is working within us
(Ephesians 3:20).
He gives us his peace and hope as we walk in His precepts
and worship Him with our whole body, soul and spirit (Jeremiah 29:1;
Deuteronomy 6:5; Mathew 22:37). We find rest for our world-weary soul in God
alone, who is the only true hope for this lost and dying world (Psalm 62:5).
Prayer:
Father God, throughout life, we diligently place our full
hope in the assurance of Your love for each one of us (Hebrews 6:11). We trust
You for the provision of our daily needs, our earthly safety and the needs of
our soul and spirit as well.
You are the anchor of our soul and You keep us steadfast
during any stormy swells. You remind us that we will enter the veil of Your
Most Holy Place for eternity (Hebrews 6:19). Keep us ever faithful and help us
to fulfill Your purpose for each moment of our day.
Thought for the Day:
Due to the grace we receive when the revelation of Christ
was birthed in our heart, we are faithful and sober and keep our hope in Christ
until the end, when He will come in all of His glory. - 1 Peter 1:13
