February 5, 2013 Joyful Hope for You

Read Psalms 25-26 Joyful Hope for You Ps 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. GOD IS everything. “Oh, I know that,” you might say. But I want to challenge you. Do you really know that God is everything? Someone called today. Lost, depressed and disappointed she didn’t know what to do. Hope was gone. “What should I do?” she asked. “Fill your heart with God’s Word each day.” was my response. She wasn’t ready to believe me, are you? Most often, we look at the Bible as a story about somebody else long ago, don’t we? But as you open God’s Word, I challenge you to see the Bible is truly about you and life’s challenges right now. From beginning to end, the Bible tells you many difficult stories of people in great trouble and without hope. But you will see that when they turn to see God, they find life-transforming strength as they act into God’s great truths. Even Jesus’ horrible crucifixion is a story of eternal triumph and victory! Another way to find real hope in your life is in the stories of people who have experienced God’s saving power. Many books, film and other media tell of people coming through difficult times as they put their hope in God their Savior all day long. Fill your heart and mind with God’s remarkable work in his people’s lives. Then take steps into God’s story, and you will see how his story is for you. The psalmist’s heart was filled with hope in God because he saw God’s majestic power day by day. When you look, you will see God, too. It’s True! Hope is trusting God’s truths are really for you.