HOPE - Part 2
Hope for Today
There is no question that many people today are living in desperation. Throughout my travels, I come across so many people who are really hurting… gripped in fear… and looking for hope.
You know, the truth is that we are living in a time when so many people are confronted by pressure and seemingly hopeless situations. People in today’s climate are losing their homes, losing money and losing hope. Families, banks, and some of the world’s most high powered governments are taking desperate measures to prevent what some are predicting to be the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Many people are asking “Where is God in it all?”
Friends, so many circumstances in life are beyond our control. The death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or simply a shattered dream can make life begin to seem like there is no hope. Can I encourage you, when everything else seems lost… God is still in control. He is the unshakeable…the Absolute.
Even if stocks plummet, costs rise, and financial pressures close in around us we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. In the midst of such turbulence, we must look to the Creator and the sacrifice He made for humanity that we might have a lasting hope.
Life is full of disappointments, changing circumstances and challenging moments. Psalms 42:5 (NLT) says: “Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Saviour and my God!”
We must ask ourselves these questions…will this disappointment affect my faith in Christ, the power of His Word, the truth about His death and resurrection, His heart to save, heal and transform the lives of people? Or am I able to rise up and praise in the midst of my circumstances. Friends, our circumstances do not determine God’s character…God is always good.
As tensions rise, both globally and right in our own backyard, I believe that God is calling the Church to rise up and bring hope and solutions to a world in desperate need.
We are called to be a church and a people that desire to love others the way we have been shown love, on the rugged cross of Calvary; the kind of love that presses in and won’t pretend that everything is ok, when it isn’t. To be a people that find common ground with our neighbors and anyone who hurts, has felt pain and is facing loss. To be a church that comes alongside the needy and oppressed. The Church of Jesus is called to praise in the midst of fear and uncertainty. For it is in these days, that the hearts of people all across the world are more and more open to the good news of Jesus Christ.
When your faith is firmly anchored in the cross of Jesus and the sacrifice He made, then we can have the hope and assurance that we have goodness, grace and mercy that will follow us all of our days.
Brian
