Thursday, September 18, 2014

It's Time to Hope Again


We are living in a time when things look pretty scary out in the world. Many people have lost hope, some of you may be in situations that look hopeless. Some of you may find yourself looking at your life asking yourself how you got where you are. I know I have been there - a few times. When I am praying, I sense the Holy Spirit saying that it's time to stir up hope. So, I have been on a study of hope, camped out in Romans 4 - such an amazing chapter about Abraham. Abraham hoped against hope. He dared to believe God that he would be the father of many nations when he didn't even have one child. That's some crazy hope right there.

Hope is the joyful anticipation of something good. It is not passive but active. It is not wishy-washy but a strong and confident expectation. Bill Johnson says that it is the atmosphere that attracts the promises of God. When you have a word from God, that inspires hope.

Romans 4:17-18 (MSG) "We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples?" Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!" (emphasis mine)

I want to be one of those who dares to trust God to do what only God can do!! What is it that you are facing that only God can change? Find a Scripture to stand on, to place your hope in and go for it. Our hope can't be in our job, our spouse or our circumstances looking just right. Our hope can only be built on God's Word. When your hope is in the Word of God, and things look scary, you have an anchor that keeps you settled.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Run Into the Storm





This is what the sky looked like last night as I was preparing for my run. I debated on whether or not to venture out that evening, then the thought hit me that I've let fear of storms keep me in my comfort zone for the last few years. It's time for me to run into the storm. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? I would get soaked and HAVE to wash my hair. For those who know me, washing my hair is an issue for me, I schedule my work-outs around my hair washing needs. Yeah, I'm weird, but I own my uniqueness :)

As I was running, I was thinking about how often I have allowed fear to keep me from stepping into the fullness of what God has for me. I had the  Bethel song "You Make Me Brave" playing on repeat while I was out and let it speak to my heart. My favorite line is "You make me brave called me beyond the shore and into the waves. No fear can hinder now the promises You've made." Y'all we've been on the shore for too long.

Step out! Step out into what God is speaking to you. Don't let fear of the storm or all the "what if's" keep you in your comfort zone. This life is not about our comfort. If it was, the moment we received Jesus, we would be taken to heaven. There is a job to do, people to reach. Step out because someone needs what you have on the inside of you.

I finished my run and it began to mist which was actually refreshing. However, when I came inside Kate went into my bathroom and came out with a stick of deodorant because apparently, I didn't smell very refreshing! Thirty minutes after I came inside the skies opened and the rain poured and thunder cracked loudly. I sat inside thankful that I had pushed myself rather than staying in that place of comfort. What is that thing that has been nagging at you to begin but you are fearful that if you step out you may fail? Step out, you have all that you need inside you.





 
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