Tuesday, January 23, 2007

God is Our Hope

For You are my hope, O Lord God;
You are my trust from my youth.
Psalm 71:15

I asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was six years old. I had an unwavering faith . . . until I was seven. My father's leaving our family set into motion circumstances that I allowed to take me away from that faith, and I spent the next two decades walking along a rebellious path.

But an interesting thing happened. Even though I had walked away from God, I learned later that He had never walked away from me. That faith that I had as a six-year-old girl eventually proved to be true and worthy of trust.

When I was twenty-nine, I recommitted my life to the Lord, and as I looked back over those twenty-plus years, I realized that God had protected me and provided for me and blessed me in spite of my turning from Him. That "trust from my youth" had sustained me even when I was far from deserving it.

God was indeed my hope then--as a six year old and as a rebellious teen and as a young adult.

And God is my hope today.

Have hope in God with childlike trust and faith, whether you've known Him for decades or days.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

God Keeps Us in Perfect Peace

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26:3

Did you notice as you read this verse that the order is reversed?

If we turn it around, this verse gives us instruction on how we too can have God’s perfect peace.

First, our minds must be “stayed” on God.

Stayed on God? What do these old-fashioned words mean? A synonym for “stay” is “reside,” meaning inhabit, dwell, live in.

To have our minds stayed on God, we must reside in Him. And to reside in Him, we must know Him intimately. And to know Him intimately, we must spend time in His Word, learning about Him. We must spend time in prayer, listening to His voice.

Second, we must trust Him.

Whom do we trust? We trust those who have proved to be trustworthy, those who have earned our trust. We can trust God because He has proven Himself worthy of our trust as He has provided for us, as He has protected us, as He has answered our prayers.

Third, God will keep us in perfect peace. This doesn’t mean we’ll never experience difficulty or suffering. It does mean that we will be able to feel His supernatural peace in the midst of the storm.

Is your mind “stayed” on God? If you don’t reside in Him, ask Him to help you do that. Do you trust Him with everything and everyone? If you find it hard to trust anyone, even God, share your heart with Him now. Ask Him to show you how worthy of your trust He is.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

A Prayer for 2007

I'm not one to have new year's resolutions--at least not any more. I just got too tired of blowing it, each and every year!

A couple of years ago, I decided to focus on praying for someone or something throughout the year instead. And since my husband's salvation is nearest and dearest to my heart, this is something I always focus on, each and every year.

This year, I will continue to pray for him as he journeys toward our Lord, but I also want to offer this for those of you who also pray for a loved one's salvation:

Lord God,

I ask You to to continue to work in the hearts of those we dearly love. I ask You to give us wisdom as we speak to them about Your truth. I pray for discernment to know when to speak, when to listen, and when to just be silent in prayer.

I know that you love these special people more than we ever could, and I know that it isn't Your will that they should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

Help us to remember to persistently and consistently lift them up in prayer. Help us to live Christ-like lives in order to bring glory to You.

We ask for Your protection from the enemy who would like nothing less than to keep our loved ones from Your truth.

I pray this in Your Son's name,
Amen

May this be the year when many, many of our most precious friends and family meet our Savior.

Happy 2007!!