Why are
you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God,
for I shall yet praise Him, for the help of His countenance. Psalm 42:4-5
This is
the month of Gratitude in many places around the world. Even though we do not
all celebrate a Thanksgiving Holiday as
we do in the United States of America, many countries celebrate the time of
harvest and give thanks to ‘the powers that be’ which include the people who
bring it from the dirt to the table so to speak. Many Churches actualy thank
God for these things, and it seems to be a reminder to just plain be grateful
for so many things.
One
person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each
be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the
Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.
He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not
eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to
himself, and no one dies to himself. Romans 14: 5-7
Personally
I am grateful to be alive, to see the sun shining each day as I look out my
window just as it rises up over the roof tops and trees. Here in California we
get a lot of that, but often we will have to be grateful for the rain that
pours then runs away as it did yesterday.
Drought
years can be tough in a lot of places, but a drought year on top of the events
of 2020 can seem near devastating for some farms. A lot of them loose hope of a
good income, a good crop, yet some continue on with the Hope that next year
will bring dividends that sustain them. They also use watering canals and sprinklers
to keep the crops alive to grow enough for this years tables.
You might
say they put their hope in enough water to grow their crops.
When I was
a child there were lean years when my sister and I hoped for mom to have enough
to get peanut butter and Jelly for sandwiches, not to mention gifts under the
tree at Christmas. Somehow there was always something for us to eat, though I must
admit I did not always spend lunch money wisely when given a choice!
Today I
can see how the hope I put in my mom could have been put in my God. Though He
supplied all our needs, in one way or another, we did not know to look to Him
for our needs. I am grateful today for a mom who knew how to make every dollar
stretch and taught us to do so as well.
In a time
when David was sad, or downcast at one point when all he had achieved with the
help of the Lord seemed to be removed from him forever. He had no idea how God
was going to make him King, let alone how he was going to stay alive with King
Saul chasing him.
When I
remember these things, I pour out my soul within me.
Why are
you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God,
for I shall yet praise Him, for the help of His countenance. Psalm 42:4-5
When you
put your hope in God, you have to trust Him, and that is not always easy. I
used to wish upon a star as if it could fix things in life, but in a child’s view
that was a hope focus. If I could just
wish on the right star, and really get the first one… then maybe my parents
would get back together? It seems
foolish to an adult me, but as a young nine year old it was the most powerful
thing I could hope for.
Then I
grew up and realized that there was a God who was fully able to have answered
those wishes but had a purpose in what He allowed my parents to do. Whether or
not they obeyed Him and His wishes in life I know they knew Him when they went
home to be with the Lord. Maybe things
would have been different if they followed Him through our childhood, but then
we may not be the people we are today who reached the people and helped the
people that we are able to help today? My hope is still in a God who can choose
to change my path in a moment, and a God who can support me if the path I walk
is messed up and leaves me hanging on a cliff. I can find Him there in the
cleft of a rock and be safe!
What do
you put your hope in today? Why, and what are you grateful for? Take a few
moments each day and thank Him for the things, people, hope, in your life.
There are
studies that show people who do this are less depressed because they find hope
to live for!
Heavenly
Father, thank you for You! Thank you for giving us friends, computers to read
with, or paper to read from. Thank you for everything… In Jesus’ name, amen.
Read some
more: Psalm 42: 1- 11, Romans 14:1-23, and Psalm 37:1-40