Dear Daily Message Readers,
READ: Psalm 3
Psalm 3:8 (NKJV) "Salvation belongs to the LORD."
I've been thinking a lot about hope recently. It seems that everywhere I turn I see people who are without hope. I see it on the countless hours of breaking news stories, in magazines, and in TV movies and shows. I see it when I go to the shopping mall, and sometimes I even notice see the face of hopelessness in other Christians when I am at church. People are trying to find hope for their lives by somehow filling the void they feel.
If we were to but listen to the talk around us, we would hear people say things like, I hope I win the lottery, or I sure hope our team wins the championship. I hope we have enough money to last the month until the next paycheck, or I hope it is sunny on Saturday for our weekend on the lake. We treat hope as a wish. And as a close friend of mine has pointed out time and again, the word hope really means we do not really believe it will occur; it is only a loosely used phrase that we use without thinking of the true meaning.
As King David ran from his son Absalom, who had threatened to kill him, he realized he had no hope except in God. People were even telling him that he had could not be saved by God or otherwise (Psalm 3:2). However, despite all the options to solve the problem in his own strength, David turned to the Lord. He wrote, But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head (Psalm 3:3). David's hope was more than just an empty phrase uttered in a wishful tone. It was a genuine hope in the Lord to deliver him from the evil around him.
The same is true for us. When we feel seriously let down by life, we should remember that as we focus our thoughts on God, He restores our confidence in Him and in the future He has for us. Through Christs death on the cross for our sins, we can have hope--the assurance that no matter what we go through now, He will always be with us, and the assurance that one day we will live with Him forever in heaven. Faith Lesson: Hope is not an empty promise when one's hope is in God through Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
READ: Psalm 3
Psalm 3:8 (NKJV) "Salvation belongs to the LORD."
I've been thinking a lot about hope recently. It seems that everywhere I turn I see people who are without hope. I see it on the countless hours of breaking news stories, in magazines, and in TV movies and shows. I see it when I go to the shopping mall, and sometimes I even notice see the face of hopelessness in other Christians when I am at church. People are trying to find hope for their lives by somehow filling the void they feel.
If we were to but listen to the talk around us, we would hear people say things like, I hope I win the lottery, or I sure hope our team wins the championship. I hope we have enough money to last the month until the next paycheck, or I hope it is sunny on Saturday for our weekend on the lake. We treat hope as a wish. And as a close friend of mine has pointed out time and again, the word hope really means we do not really believe it will occur; it is only a loosely used phrase that we use without thinking of the true meaning.
As King David ran from his son Absalom, who had threatened to kill him, he realized he had no hope except in God. People were even telling him that he had could not be saved by God or otherwise (Psalm 3:2). However, despite all the options to solve the problem in his own strength, David turned to the Lord. He wrote, But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head (Psalm 3:3). David's hope was more than just an empty phrase uttered in a wishful tone. It was a genuine hope in the Lord to deliver him from the evil around him.
The same is true for us. When we feel seriously let down by life, we should remember that as we focus our thoughts on God, He restores our confidence in Him and in the future He has for us. Through Christs death on the cross for our sins, we can have hope--the assurance that no matter what we go through now, He will always be with us, and the assurance that one day we will live with Him forever in heaven. Faith Lesson: Hope is not an empty promise when one's hope is in God through Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
