The New Year has finally arrived. 2010 is here! By the way, how are you saying the year? Twenty-ten? Two thousand and ten? Ten? I still haven't decided how to say it, but I am so glad it is here. 2009 brought so many changes to my life. I am hoping and believing that 2010 will be a year to put down some roots and begin to feel a sense of security and stability in life, again.
I have been mulling over some verses today that I shared with a friend who had a difficult 2009. James 1:2-3 says "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds becasue you know that the testing of your faith develops preseverance." Several years ago, I did a personal study of Romans. I simply read a few verses each day and journaled about what I believed God was speaking to me. It took me more than two months to complete the entire book, but it was one of the most powerful scripture studies I have done. Many of those verses and the lessons I learned have stuck with me and become such a core part of who I am. One of the more profound revelations for me was when I linked the "lists" we often see in scripture, such as the Fruit of the Spirit to the following verses. Romans 5:3-5 "...but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given." Demonstrating the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives is not a one time shot, all or nothing. It is a process of experiencing suffering and painful situations, letting those experiences develop character in our lives and living them out, as best we can with Hope.
Hope is really such an abstract concept. How do you define hope? How do you live it out in real way? What does true hope in God look like? Is it blind faith in the face of negative evidence? I guess in some ways it is. It is a faith that God has a purpose in our pain and a plan beyond what we can see. I recently sang at a women's event a Natalie Grant song titled "Our Hope Endures". The chorus says, "Our Hope endures the worst of conditions. It's more than our optimism. Let the earth quake. Our Hope is unchanged." As I start this new year, I truly am filled with hope and expectation that 2010 holds great things. I know it will not be without its challenges but my hope endures. This is my prayer for you and for myself.
"May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)
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2 comments:
I recently read this verse in The Message. It was such a breath of fresh air to a verse I had become very familiar with.
"There's more to come: We continue to shout our praises even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate pattience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping up alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy, such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary, we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit."
I could chew on that for MONTHS. What a wonderful encouragement you have written for the new year. Thank you.
hemmed in with troubles.. hum..
good stuff Girls.
Hope in the unseen, never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever One.
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