Where Do You Place Your Hope?

[I have typed up an excerpt from Paul David Tripp's book "Forever" out of the chapter, "Hope Can't Live Without Forever." I hope as I share this, that it will be challenging to you as it was to me when I read it. Also, I highly recommend this particular book. It is one of the most influential/life-changing books that I have ever read...and I read a lot of books!]

If you are God's child, you can have hope in the middle of all the tough things you face, not only because in all of those moments God is with you, but also because the cross of Jesus guarantees you that all that is broken will be made new forever. You can live today knowing that you have a future that is beyond the boundaries of your wildest imagination. If you are God's child, you have hope because God is hope, and you have a hope that will last forever because He has defeated the one thing that will stand between you and forever: death.

Sadly, many of us who by God's grace have been given hope don't live as if we have it. We look for hope where hope can't be found. We place our hope in things that can never deliver. We live hopelessly because we fail to live with forever in view. We live for the next vacation, the next thrilling experience, the next stunning achievement. We put our hope in the hands of flawed and finite people, burdening our relationships with expectations that they can never deliver. We ask inanimate objects to give us reason to get up in the morning, but they never can.

Sure, the things in which we put our hope give us a temporary buzz and a temporary rest, but reality always hits. These things all disappoint us in the end. No matter how wonderful the situations in our life are, no matter how beautiful our possessions are, no matter how exciting our experiences are, no matter how fulfilling our accomplishments are, and no matter how loving the people in our lives are, they will only satisfy us temporarily. They simply cannot carry our hope. How different would your life and mine be if we remembered that everything that exists in the created world is meant to be a finger pointing us to the only place where hope can be found?

John Waller- Because God Is Good

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

He is Good & Does Good

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains." -C.S. Lewis


"Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction." (From Psalm 119)

Peace

In Acceptance Lieth Peace

by Amy Carmichael

He said, “I will forget the dying faces;
The empty places,
They shall be filled again.
O voices moaning deep within me, cease.”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in forgetting lieth peace.

He said, “I will crowd action upon action,
The strife of faction
Shall stir me and sustain;
O tears that drown the fire of manhood, cease.”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in endeavor lieth peace.

He said, “I will withdraw me and be quiet,
Why meddle in life’s riot?
Shut be my door to pain.
Desire, thou dost befool me, thou shalt cease.”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in aloofness lieth peace.

He said, “I will submit; I am defeated.
God hath depleated
My life of its rich gain.
O futile murmurings, why will ye not cease?”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in submission lieth peace.

He said, “I will accept the breaking sorrow
Which God tomorrow
Will to His son explain.”
Then did the turmoil deep within him cease.
Not vain the word, not vain;
For in acceptance lieth peace.


"Whatever your circumstances, and however difficult they may be, the truth is that they are ordained by God for you as part of His overall plan for your life. God does nothing, or allows nothing, without a purpose. And His purposes, however mysterious and inscrutable they may be to us, are always for His glory and our ultimate good." -Jerry Bridges

Lord, I am willing to-
Receive what You give,
Lack what You withold,
Relinquish what You take.

His Directions WILL Lead our Steps to Himself!

In my previous post, I asked some specific questions. In this particular post, I am hoping to explain how the Lord has answered these questions for me.

So to start, let's be reminded of my questions:

What am I doing with my life?

Is it what I'm supposed to be doing?

Am I where I want to be?

Or better yet, am I where God wants me to be?

Okay, now I want to look again at the verses that the Lord directed me to as I was struggling with these questions just a couple of months ago.

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23 

I mentioned how I have become discontent because of where I am at in life and how I'm often questioning whether or not I'm where I'm meant to be and am I doing the things that God wants me to be doing. I admitted to my struggle with waiting on the Lord's timing for things(things I think I want or need to have in life); and how I would attempt to take matters into my own hands instead of trusting that my God is in control and simply continuing to seek Him and His leading in my life to the green pastures, beside the still waters, and in the paths of righteousness.(Psalm 23)
From experience, I know that when we become impatient with waiting on the Lord we can fall into the trap of worshiping other things- clinging to worthless idols in our lives that may temporarily make us feel happy in life but ultimately leave us feeling empty and only wanting more.

There is much to be learned in the "waiting" periods, and they are just as important to us in our walk with the Lord as other times in our lives. If we can trust God and serve Him in the "mundane" things and waiting rooms in life, we will be much more prepared and likely to be trusting Him elsewhere. (And I might add that waiting isn't doing nothing. Waiting patiently is really a beautiful way of displaying your trust in the Lord. He gives us so many verses in Scripture that admonish us to wait on Him!)

Anyway, these are some of the things I've been learning over the past weeks/months, and I've come to realize that I am currently exactly where God wants me to be for the time being. How has He shown me this? How do I know? How can I be so certain? Well, the Holy Spirit has a way of giving that peace of God that surpasses all understanding when we are offering up our requests to God with thanksgiving rather than being anxious and worried about what is going to happen next in life.(Phil. 4:6,7)

I am hopeful that my feeble attempts to explain some of the recent Spiritual growth spurts in my own life will be an encouragement to others who might read this. 
I've read in one of my many books that the best way to know God's will for your life is to know God. How do we know Him? We spend time with Him really reading and meditating upon His Word and spending quality time in prayer and in quiet communion with Him.
For me this meant temporarily abstaining from some things in my life to silence some of the noise- to clean out some of the clutter- to basically not be involved in or have access to some specific things that were a distraction to me. I found it to be very refreshing and very eye-opening to the fact that 1)I CAN live without them and 2)I can live BETTER without them or at least without so much of them in my life consuming my time and attention. 

Try it...if you take something out of your life for a short period of time, you will find out how much it controls you by your response to not having it! Many of the things that occupy our time are not even necessary in life. I am reminded of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke chapter 10 where Jesus responds to Martha's complaints about her sister saying, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." Did you catch that?? He says, "One thing is necessary." We have to realize that the one thing is Himself. The only thing necessary in life is Jesus. He is all we need! (Colossians 3:11- ..but Christ is all, and in all.)

So anyway, all that to say that I am thankful that God is patient and loving. I am so grateful that He is good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon Him (Psalm 68:5).
He has a beautiful way of teaching us the things that He wants us to learn about Himself and about our own selves. He is committed to molding us and shaping us to be more like our Savior, and in that I find much peace especially in my moments of failure(which are all too often...). I am constantly reminded of my need for Him.

I want to close in saying that no matter what you're struggling with, God is there for you and will help you if you only ask Him. I love Psalm 62:5-8 which says, "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah"

In Jeremiah 33:3 He tells us, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."

 I can promise that you won't regret it if you cut out some of the "clutter" and noise in your life to seek the Lord instead. He just might direct your steps more than ever before, and I trust you'll find out that His direction is never wrong. His directions will lead you to Himself and believe me(BELIEVE HIS WORD), there is no better place to be. Call to Him! Trust in Him! Pour out your heart before Him! He is all that matters in this life. He is everything to hope for now and in the life to come.

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God." Psalm 84:1,2 

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple." Psalm 27:4

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works." Psalm 73:25-26,28

Oh Lord, Direct My Steps...

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9
"I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23

What am I doing with my life? Is it what I'm supposed to be doing? Am I where I want to be? Or better yet, am I where God wants me to be?
I must say that I go through many moments of feeling discontent because of where I'm at. In these moments, I consider all the options of what else I could possibly do that might make me happy and feel more fulfilled. My mind starts to imagine all sorts of crazy things that might be where I am SUPPOSED to be. I wish I could say that I immediately run to God and ask HIM for direction, but I can't. Instead, I must admit that I tend to run in every other direction BUT to Him. I run to my friends for advice, I look at what other people are doing with their lives and wonder if that's what I should do, I hide behind facebook, music, movies, food, etc...And then I end up miserable because all of that running has gotten me nowhere but more discontent and more unsatisfied and even farther away from the One who can and will give me the comfort and answers that I am looking for.
Why do we feel like we need to take matters into our own hands and try to control things? Why do we become so impatient while waiting on the Lord for whatever it is that He has asked us to wait for?

As I am writing this, my little sister sent me a video of her precious baby. Madison was happy at the moment of pressing the record button, but she soon breaks out into tears and a little baby cry. I replied to Bethany and said it made me want to cry too...Bethany said, "Aww! It's even worse when you see the tears in her eyes. :-("...My response was, "I wonder if God feels that way with us..."

He loves us, and wants what's best for us! All He asks is for us to trust Him...to have faith and believe in what He has promised. Why then do we feel like we have to make our own plans sometimes even before seeking what He is telling us to do? Why don't we let Him take control? Get THIS: He is in control anyway whether we LET Him be or not. The only thing we control is our response to what He places in our path each day.

He is there. He is for us. He is working all things out for our good. We can trust Him to direct our steps.
Oh Lord, direct my steps...Not my will, but Yours.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

YOU Are Loved

No matter what has happened or what will happen, 

God's response to you is the same. 

You are His.

You are loved.

You are accepted.

You will never lose value in God's eyes.

Taken from Elyse M. Fitzpatrick's book, "Comforts From The Cross" 

 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life...Fear not, for I am with you...everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made." -Isaiah 43