Happy Friday Everyone!
There is something about Friday's that make you feel happy and excited! Maybe it is the promise of some much needed rest after a long grueling week of work. Or maybe it is the time you are anticipating spending with a friend or loved one. Whatever it is, Friday seems to be the universal day of smiles!
As we go into the weekend, I pondered what this week has been like for myself. As some of you may know, at the beginning of this week, I watched my oldest daughter get on a plane to go live with her dad permanently. It was in fact, one of the HARDEST things I have ever had to do. A whirlwind of emotions were stirring inside, anticipation, sadness, grief, anger, hope, you name it! But the one that stood out the most to me was HOPE. I have learned to keep HOPE before me in my life because it is the one thought that keeps me in motion. Meaning, it keeps me motivated to move on to brighter days ahead.
It was a STEP of faith for me to send her away because I didn't know for sure and still don't know the end result. I can only HOPE for the best and wait for it with anticipation and with perseverance as I wait for the promise of God to move across her life. In the book of Roman's in the bible it states in Chapter 8:24 , " But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we will wait for it eagerly.
Perseverance is key. We must be willing to work towards that hope, push past normal circumstances or overwhelming feelings to get to that which we are hoping for. I was thinking about Joshua in scripture and how he too had to take a small step of faith towards hope. If you read Chapter 3 of Joshua, you see that God commands him to crossover the Jordan River. Well, it was not a small feat in the least. The Jordan River at harvest time was at flood stage, but yet God was requiring not only Joshua to cross over the river but for him to lead the whole nation of Israel. Can you imagine the responsibility and pressure he was feeling?
If you read the rest of Chapter 3, you will see that as Joshua prepared the Israelite 's for this challenge , he was looking to the Lord for His provision, including God in His plan. He had the Israelite 's consecrate themselves, in other words, "Pray up people!" As Joshua and Israel began to cross over, the waters were raging past them but with no fear, Joshua took one step into those fierce waters and a remarkable thing happened, the waters from upstream stopped flowing and piled up. This was a miracle! God had been faithful to Joshua's obedience. Joshua and the Israelite's crossed over into the Promise Land that day! Joshua's hope persevered!
What are the lessons of this story that are pertinent to hope and to our lives? First of all, in order to have hope, you must be willing to persevere and wait for it, work towards it. Joshua held the hope for the nation of Israel that they would enter into a better land, a better life ahead. Secondly, Joshua took his faith and put it into motion. More importantly here is that Joshua was being obedient to what God asked of him, which is the 3rd point. Of course he was scared and he did not have all the answers, but he knew he didn't have to. He had to trust God with the result, which is the final lesson, trust has to be activated.
Let's review:
1-Hope
2- Faith
3-Obedience
4- Trust
These were the same characteristics I had to display in my daughter's situation. I had the hope that her life would be fulfilled with the promises God had for her, but I had to put that faith into action and be obedient to what I felt God was requiring of me that day. In the end, I had to trust God that this was the best thing for her and I.
Life is never easy and we will have our trials, but if we learn to have hope, it can lead the way to promise!
What is iT that God is asking you to have hope with today? Are you willing to persevere to wait for that promise that awaits?
Romanns 5:4-5 " We also rejoice in our suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character hope! And hope does not disappoint us because God poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given to us.
Have a HOPE filled Friday!!!
There is something about Friday's that make you feel happy and excited! Maybe it is the promise of some much needed rest after a long grueling week of work. Or maybe it is the time you are anticipating spending with a friend or loved one. Whatever it is, Friday seems to be the universal day of smiles!
As we go into the weekend, I pondered what this week has been like for myself. As some of you may know, at the beginning of this week, I watched my oldest daughter get on a plane to go live with her dad permanently. It was in fact, one of the HARDEST things I have ever had to do. A whirlwind of emotions were stirring inside, anticipation, sadness, grief, anger, hope, you name it! But the one that stood out the most to me was HOPE. I have learned to keep HOPE before me in my life because it is the one thought that keeps me in motion. Meaning, it keeps me motivated to move on to brighter days ahead.
It was a STEP of faith for me to send her away because I didn't know for sure and still don't know the end result. I can only HOPE for the best and wait for it with anticipation and with perseverance as I wait for the promise of God to move across her life. In the book of Roman's in the bible it states in Chapter 8:24 , " But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we will wait for it eagerly.
Perseverance is key. We must be willing to work towards that hope, push past normal circumstances or overwhelming feelings to get to that which we are hoping for. I was thinking about Joshua in scripture and how he too had to take a small step of faith towards hope. If you read Chapter 3 of Joshua, you see that God commands him to crossover the Jordan River. Well, it was not a small feat in the least. The Jordan River at harvest time was at flood stage, but yet God was requiring not only Joshua to cross over the river but for him to lead the whole nation of Israel. Can you imagine the responsibility and pressure he was feeling?
If you read the rest of Chapter 3, you will see that as Joshua prepared the Israelite 's for this challenge , he was looking to the Lord for His provision, including God in His plan. He had the Israelite 's consecrate themselves, in other words, "Pray up people!" As Joshua and Israel began to cross over, the waters were raging past them but with no fear, Joshua took one step into those fierce waters and a remarkable thing happened, the waters from upstream stopped flowing and piled up. This was a miracle! God had been faithful to Joshua's obedience. Joshua and the Israelite's crossed over into the Promise Land that day! Joshua's hope persevered!
What are the lessons of this story that are pertinent to hope and to our lives? First of all, in order to have hope, you must be willing to persevere and wait for it, work towards it. Joshua held the hope for the nation of Israel that they would enter into a better land, a better life ahead. Secondly, Joshua took his faith and put it into motion. More importantly here is that Joshua was being obedient to what God asked of him, which is the 3rd point. Of course he was scared and he did not have all the answers, but he knew he didn't have to. He had to trust God with the result, which is the final lesson, trust has to be activated.
Let's review:
1-Hope
2- Faith
3-Obedience
4- Trust
These were the same characteristics I had to display in my daughter's situation. I had the hope that her life would be fulfilled with the promises God had for her, but I had to put that faith into action and be obedient to what I felt God was requiring of me that day. In the end, I had to trust God that this was the best thing for her and I.
Life is never easy and we will have our trials, but if we learn to have hope, it can lead the way to promise!
What is iT that God is asking you to have hope with today? Are you willing to persevere to wait for that promise that awaits?
Romanns 5:4-5 " We also rejoice in our suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character hope! And hope does not disappoint us because God poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given to us.
Have a HOPE filled Friday!!!
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