April 16h

April 16th

Hope. Only Christ followers truly have hope. Regardless of our circumstances, we have hope in Jesus. We don’t despair because we have hope. Look back at the verses yesterday. “Be joyful in hope..” “May the God of hope…so that you may over flow with hope…” And now add this verse today:

Isaiah 40:28-31 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Doesn’t that sound good?! Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength! If you have ever been weary of the struggles in your life you definitely feel the full impact of that verse. It finishes off with run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint. This is not physical strength He is promising, although there is that too. He is talking about running the race marked out for us in life, pressing forward to the prize with our eyes on Jesus. He is talking about walking in faith. He is talking about perseverance.

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

As we have said before, this is a long distance run, not a sprint. But sometimes we do sprint and then He pours strength back into us so that we can continue the distance. We have so many benefits as Christ followers, but do we cash in on them? If you are feeling weary today, spend some time with the Lord today and let Him renew your strength. Sometimes the Holy Spirit does that in quiet peaceful time with Him, sometimes He does it in fellowship with other believers. But instead of just trying to do it alone or complaining about your weariness, try turning on some worship music and leaning in to Him.

And be encouraged by the words of Paul in Romans 16.

Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Jesus thank you that you are the God of Hope and my source of hope. Thank you for providing hope for me. Help me to lean in to you for renewed strength and help me to remember to stand on Your Promises in the Word. Help me to persevere with faith in this race as I place my hope in You. When I face weariness, help me to remember to come to you for strength. Help me to remember that all of this does not rest on me, but on you instead. Thank you for your love and care for me.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.