Thursday, April 23, 2015

Hope to Harp On!

“Rejoice and exult in hope;
be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation;
 be constant in prayer.”
Romans 12:12 (Amplified)
 

 
So often scripture requires of you and me some very hard things.
Certainly, it makes you wonder where the accusation that
 “Christianity is for the weak” ever came from.
Of course it came from the accuser of the brethren, the devil.
It is perpetuated by those who have never walked as a believer.
All of today’s culture speaks the polar opposite of what we read today.
We are not told to be steadfast and patient at all.
Let alone in suffering and tribulation.
We are told to create our own destiny,
to find the path of least resistance and certainly not to rely on a ‘higher power’ in prayer.
Yet the Word of Truth, which will last for eternity (which is a lot longer than its’ naysayers) offers us a prescription for life.
As a matter of fact the first few words of todays’ verse “rejoice and exult in hope” become a sort of fortifying element to us so that we are better able to be steadfast when (not if) suffering and tribulation come to ‘visit’.
It is by no means a visit we welcome yet we can be ready.
Do you fortify yourself by rejoicing and exulting in hope?
Do you rely on the promises of Gods’ Word?
Do you remind yourself of what He has brought you through?
Do you rehearse in your mind the victories He has given you?
It is easy to contemplate the negatives we encounter.
Far, far too easy!
But that does not fortify our lives.
Hope does.
Let me offer you some ‘hope to harp on’:
Psalm 25:3
Proverbs 23:18
Isaiah 40:31
Lamentations 3:25
Romans 5:2
Romans 15:13
Galatians 5:5
 
…go ahead, I dare you!

No comments: