D ..... reading what you were just sharing......... i was thinking about how ........ the one hope; is the hope we have in the Lord ........... even when we are struggling and torn apart -- we can still .... have confidence deep down in the truth of God's love; in his redemptive promises, of the bright and glorious future we have ahead. That confidence remains deep down because we have God's very own spirit indwelled within. It remains also because those things like God are true and unchangeable. When we are ..... fully focused on God and looking toward Him and grow in learning and knowing God --- intimately, not just in "mental" knowledge - that confidence and hope in God becomes easier to remember at all times. In other times; we need encouragement sometimes from others to restore that awareness of the confidence we have; or we need to be choosing looking at God over looking at our circumstances -- and that choosing can mean leaping over giant walls sometimes to get there.
Another kind of hope is ..... the hope we have in God's fulfilment of a particular desire or plan "we" have. I think its this kind of hope where, we get tangled up. We know that God will help us in all situations; that we can look to Him for guidance and wisdom, that He grants provision and will cover us in His love ---- but that doesn't mean we are going to get
that job, that day we wanted it
that house to sell the day we have decided we need it to
the shiny red car with the perfect upholstery we've had our eyes on for months
the child we so desperately long for
the husband/wife we are longing to marry
and so on
we can get so ....... focused on what we want; that we forget to look to God for the provision and good gifts He has waiting for us. We can also get so focused on what we don't have that we become torn apart and then lose sight of the first kind of hope (that in God). I don't know the answer here; i've seen so many different Christian "spins" in relation to people getting "what they want"; that it becomes confusing eg. name it claim it people; pray only for God's will; confusion over the "God will give us the desires of our hearts" etc.
I heard not long ago that ...... in giving us the desires of our hearts, God gives us the very best and the ultimate that we desire - which is himself
then i think of some of the examples we have in scripture
Hannah longed for a baby --- was so caught up in her anguish that she was even thought to have been drunk when she cried out to the Lord --- in being blessed with samuel - she was given a child (and then more to follow) --- but she hadn't specified ...........the child must have blue eyes, blonde hair, a little dimple under his chin .............. only that she had a deep deep longing for a child
Jesus ....... held up food and prayed for provision; and we all know what happened in those few pieces of food becoming enough to fill the masses --- but he didn't stand up and pray for pizza (or old times equivalent) ........... just for God's provision
not sure where this is going lol ............ but in a relationship i guess what we can ask for ........ is that God will give us wisdom, that he will lead us to look to Him and we can pray to be kept in a right relationship with God. We can have confidence in knowing that, in all situations help will be given; and that we then need to walk in that help. We can also know that even though there are trials going on, and things we can't understand - somehow God is going to carry us through them. Sorry this doesn't help more; i'm wondering some of the same questions ......... but believing God is going to guide us within them
When we don't understand what is going on, when we don't know which direction to step in next - when the world is crazy and everything hurts ........ and confusion is upon us; we have to remember that God isn't the author of confusion; that He loves us ........ and to cry out to the Lord.
I love this psalm ........ ok the funny thing here is i put the wrong one when i typed and it worked very well as well -- so i'll leave both! psalm 61 was the one i meant, psalm 63 wanted to get in on the act as well
[bible]psalm 63:1-20[/bible]
[bible]psalm 61:1-20[/bible]
