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 Devotional - January 5, 2007
HOPE
One of the benefits of growing up in Maine was that I
was only about 30 minutes from the ocean. I remember
one of the things we used to do at the beach was stand
right at the waters edge, barefoot, and let the water
wash up over our feet. If you stand just in the right
spot, the water will run over your feet up to your
ankles and begin to pull the sand out from under
you. As the sand and water pulls away, it tickles your
feet! But if you begin to get too far out in the water,
maybe up to your calf, or you may get just the right
wave to hit the shore, the water can wash away enough
sand to throw you off balance, even enough to knock you
down. I've done that more than once! We'd be having a
great time then we'd get too brave and almost get washed
away with the current. And let's face it, we're no
match for the ocean!
I have had times in my life when I have felt like the
sand was being pulled out from beneath me and that I was
going to be washed away with the tide of life. When
Matthew and I got married, I left my home, my
family, the ministry I had been in for 11 years, my
"northern" culture (the South may as well be a foreign
country to us Yanks), and everybody I've ever known to
answer the call of God on my life. I married a guy I
didn't know very well (how do you get to know someone
over 1,000 miles away?), moved into a new ministry, was
constantly around people I couldn't understand and who
couldn't understand me (can anyone say ya'll?), and the
list goes on. Talk about the ground being knocked out
from beneath you! Sadly, I was not prepared for what
the change entailed and my faith was shaken to the very
core.
But life is full of uncertainties and questions. That's
just, well, life. No divine revelation there! The
thing is, everybody goes through stuff. Behind every
smiling face is a story. My trial may seem trivial to
you, but it was very real to me. I have never felt so
alone as I did during that time. And no one really
understood, because they weren't in my shoes. But God
has truly brought me through. I have adjusted to my
surroundings, and I could not ask for a better husband.
And most importantly, God has grown me through this
situation. Praise the Lord!
Paul went through everything imaginable from shipwreck
to imprisonment to beatings and yet he said, "We are
troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not
forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians
4:8-9). Paul was a normal human being with the same
thoughts and feelings like you and I, but he decided not
to let his outrageous circumstances bring him down, but
instead to hold on to the hope he had in Christ. You
can read on in the next verse to see that he always kept
in mind that he had to die to himself and take on
Christ's sufferings in order that Christ's life might
come alive in him. And that's our solution. Remember
what Christ went through for you. Know that He truly
does notice your situation when no one else does. And
hold on to hope. Romans 5:3-5 says, "...but we glory in
tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh
patience; and patience, experience; and experience,
hope: and hope maketh not ashamed...." Going
through that trial in my life and even now, I have a
hope in me that was born through trials, and I
have to hold on to what is sometimes just a glimmer of
hope to bring me through.
"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,
because his
compassions fail not"
(Lamentations 3:21-22). Next time life tries to knock
you down and you have no strength to carry on, remember
this truth. It is the mercy of God that we even
have breath to breathe. And he goes beyond that and
gives us purpose in life, comfort in our time of need,
and joy unspeakable and full of glory. His compassion
toward you is great. Trust Him. And don't just
survive your trials; come through to the other side
with a message of hope. He's done it for me; He'll do
it for you.
The best is yet to come!
--Sonya
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