Get Hope In His Word 7-29-2024

 

Get Hope in His Word  7-29-2024 


Back in the day I would write the devotional using KJV each time I used a portion of scripture. Today I know there are a number of verses I can use in each article and still use the same scripture, but in different versions that have more information and thus more informative for today.  Sometimes I reuse an old article that is relevant and reusing it for my purpose fills in for a day that may have been stressful or overflowing with things to do.  By the way,, I can do this because I wrote it! Part of this is in my testimony and has been used in a book and sermons from speaking engagements so you may have heard it before. Stop and ask God why it is that you are hearing it again.

That is what I do when I hear something over and over. He always has a plan!

Sometimes it may seem that life as it is will never get any better for you but today I want to tell you that there is hope! You can do this! You can scale the wall, after running through a troop and you can shout “Hallelujah!” It is all a matter of choosing to put your trust, and your hope and your faith in Him to bring you through it.

 

You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army with my God I can scale any wall. God’s way is perfect.   All the Lord’s promises prove true.   He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. Psalm 18:28-30

 You may see the theme in the scriptures posted here today, those who put their hope in the Lord will not only renew their strength, mount up with wings as on eagles but we will have strength that can crush the army of satan and leap over any wall that man puts in our place!  Just don’t sit there wallowing in the mud you are in! Put your trust in God to pull you out.

 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusts in thee. Authorized King James says it this way, or New Living Translation breaks it down to;

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,  all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

However, you read it Isaiah 26:3 tells us to keep our thoughts our minds and our eyes focused on God and He really will give you peace in the battle!

When my youngest child was born I had a song about faith and trusting God to move a mountain going through my head; my middle child had brought it home to me from Vacation Bible School the weeks before I went into labor. During the hours that I walked the halls in the hospital I had the pangs of labor, but I also had the song going through my head like a broken record. “Do not be afraid, God is with you” and “He takes care of you and me” were going through my mind while my body was going through what I hoped was a normal birthing process. The first two had their issues but came out all right so I figure this would be a piece of cake!  Was I surprised when my little one came out and the did a code blue on him. He had no brain waves, no breathing and barely a heartbeat. You would think I would be stressed out but no; I was kept in perfect peace because my mind stayed on Him!  God kept the peace in my heart even though they rushed my little one to baby ICU and hooked him up to all kinds of machines, ran tests on him and everything they could find nothing wrong with him. Eventually we went home. There have been other times in my life that I stressed out, freaked out or cried out in distress over situations because I did not have that God focused brain and heart. I want you to know it is much better to keep your mind on Him and allow God to take care of things because after all, He is in control much more than we ever will be. It is a choice we must make though, to trust Him.

 But the Lord watches over those who fear him,   those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.    Psalm 33:18-19

 God will provide all of our needs if we just trust Him to do so and stop trying to figure out what’s going on or why we have to suffer. I think we really waste a lot of time crying “why me” to God instead of looking for what is next according to His will.

So how do we find peace guidance or direction? It is really simple,  and here’s how I do it. Most of the time, I am human, and I fail, but when I remind myself of the process it helps! It helps a lot!

 If you start each day in the Word of God you will have the beginning of a Bible buildup, or foundation of trust. Once the Word is in our hearts and minds it will not leave us!  I know this because the scripture in Mark 12:30  that says :

and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

This stuck I my mind from hearing it on a visit to a church in my childhood, and though I did not know the precise address I knew that I was supposed to love the Lord with my all. I think this was an important part of my beginning to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved!

Get the Word in your heart and you will know what to do, you will have peace and strength in the battles, mud, or trials you have to go through in life. Overall that peace that passes all understanding will be in your heart and mind always, as long as you choose to trust in Him. Okay but it doesn’t stop there. Sometimes we have to reread, recommit, renew our faith strength to trust God to follow through on His end. It wont stop Him from doing His job, but it will make us weary and worried if we do not put our complete effort in trusting Him to do what His Word said. Sorry, this is so long, but I added to the original and it extended the focus. Which is our main point, to focus on God we need to focus in His Word. To focus in His Word, we have to open up and read, then pray about what we read. Ask Him to help us, give Him praise. God is worthy, and He is able to grant us the grace to learn to trust in Him today.

Dear heavenly father, we pray today to thank you for being our hope, our trust and our guidance for each day we live. Help us to focus on You and the Word you left us and not focus on our problems, in Jesus’ name amen.

 

Suggested reading:  Psalm 33:1-22  Psalm 31: 1-24,  Psalm 32 :1-22 and Psalm 18:1-50 Hebrews 12-all, Philippians 4-all.