There are 17 days till Christmas...
I feel…
How many feeling words can you put into that small sentence?
It all depends on your circumstances. You might feel excited because you are going
to see family. You might feel anxious
for the same reason. You might feel joyful
because your shopping is completed. You
also might feel distressed because there isn’t enough money for the gifts you
want to purchase.
I can finish that sentence with so many words this week. How much time do you have? 😊
Out of all the feelings that come to the surface, let me
push one forward to the front of your thoughts.
HOPE
The bible has over 316 occurrences in 13 translations on Hope. There must be a reason why, right? The world has a way of distracting us, and in
turn, we humanly attempt to fix things in our own strength. For example, as fixers by nature, we may drop
something on the floor and by pure reflex, pick it back up again. Unless you are one of those people who drop
things and leave…lol just kidding.
Because we are so used to fixing the daily things that get
in our way, we often use that same instant reflex to ‘fix’ things that belong
in God’s hand. Abraham was a fixer. He was given a promise by God. He was going to be the father of many nations,
remember? After some time, well many
years, Abraham decided to do something on his own. How did that work out? Not as good as Abraham first thought. There was a problem, and he saw a solution.
I have been guilty of doing things in my owns strength. Finding my own solutions. I don’t want to ‘trouble’ God with my small
issues, so I ‘fix’ them. That fix often
looks like a kindergarten project. I am
sure God smiles at my attempts like we do with our own children.
Again, HOPE.
One of the definitions for Hope is: To have confidence;
trust.
We can have confidence that what God started in us, He will
complete it. (Philippians 1:6) However,
sometimes we get impatient and try to ‘help’ God. My impatience is actually a lack of confidence
and trust in my God. When I look at it
that way, I feel a warning check in my spirit.
When I sat down to write this, I felt secure in my confidence towards
God. As I continue to write, I realize
my secure feeling is shifting more towards fidgety and disappointed in myself. Thank God for His Grace & Mercies are new
every morning!
So back to Hope!
To have confidence and trust. Trust.
It takes trust (faith) to let go of something and give it over to
God. All the feelings we have about
Christmas.
All the stresses we have surrounding the holidays and work
and family.
We can trust God with each and every one of them. How awesome is that? We can have Hope knowing our God has got this
and we know how the book ends.
Hand over your feelings, and stresses over to an All Knowing God. He’s got this!
Here is a link to verses about Hope. Do a study on Hope and fill your cup for the holidays…
https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/words/Hope
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