Category: hope

Afraid: Filled With Fear, Concern or Regret


Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you
with My righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)



 
Linking up with Five Minute Fridays, a place where we are given a word and a challenge to write for five minutes.
 
“Unscripted. Unedited. Real.”
 
GO.

Afraid not! This time I will not be taken in by your lies, your false promises, your glittery temptations and your morose bodings. You are a liar! A murderer from the beginning! You birthed fear. You took away the fear of God and introduced the fear of what ifs.

What if? What if, I don’t listen to you? What if, I stop my ears up with truth, sound proof my heart with the Word of God? What if, I choose to walk by faith and not by sight? Will fear still prowl alongside me, sneering at my resolve?


Of course! Of course, fear will be trailing me, hounding me, breathing down my neck the rest of my life.

However, God is. God of Awe and Wonder. My Shield. My Strength. Even though fear is hot on my heels, My Protector is before, behind, around, and inside me. I will not be afraid.

And by the way, I’m not even talking to you anymore. I’m running to the Savior. He is the True and Living One. He renews my mind, refreshes His mercies daily and keeps me in Perfect Peace.

And even if, one little worm of fear wriggles into my mind, I will praise the LORD, maker of all things. Restorer of Hope and Love that Never Grows Old. Love casts out fear!

STOP.
Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Light: Something that Makes Vision Possible

 
Blessed are those who
have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light
of your presence, O Lord.
Psalm 89:15 NIV

I like Mondays. On Mondays, I observe a day of rest. I call it my extra Sabbath. On Sundays, my husband and I serve and worship at our church. And I often take a nap in the afternoon.

But resting on Mondays is different. I don’t schedule any outside appointments. I don’t have to rush anywhere. I can linger with my coffee. I let go of agendas and I do my best to listen. There is no hurry to leave the presence of God. I read, journal, listen and pray to my heart’s content.
 
This particular Monday, I am enjoying time on our porch swing on a warm, balmy winter day. The sun is shining, the birds are calling each other with warbles and whistles and chirps and trills.
 
Sometimes, I go back and read over my journal to gain insight. To see what light has been poured out through my pen. I notice what God and I have been dialoguing over the past several weeks. Since I had the leisure to do so today, I thumbed through my journal, highlighting the glimpses of a theme or a direction. Path, desire and want were common words. Also hope, blessing and love. Here are some quotes and musings that resonated with me today. I hope they are a sweet balm of warmth on this wintry Monday.

“As wonderful as it is to have Jesus’ blessings,
it is even more wonderful to have Jesus.”
(Roy Lessin)
 
 
 
“O LORD, the house of my soul is narrow; enlarge it that Thou mayest enter in. It is ruinous, O repair it! It displeases Thy sight; I confess it, I know. But who shall  cleanse it, or to whom shall I cry but unto Thee? Cleanse me from my secret faults, O LORD,
spare Thy servant from strange sins.”
(St. Augustine)
 
 
“To have someone to absorb us, who wants to understand the shape and structure of our lives, who will listen for more than our words,
is one of friendship’s greatest gifts.”
(Paul D. Robbins)
 
 
Below is a written prayer that I copied down today, and my response to that prayer:
 
“Almighty God, whose word is authority and power and whose way is love, grant us today clear minds, understanding hearts, and willing spirits so that we may wisely appropriate Your word of truth. Amen.”
 
 
My response:
 
“Let us not try to change each other, but rather trust each other. Trust ourselves. Accept that each other’s personalities, skills, gifts and life experiences inform the whole of who we are and how we interact with one another. Let us love one another.”


Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. 
(1 John 5:21 NLT)
 
 
 


 

Posted on by kelrohlf 6

Again: Once More

All these whom we have mentioned maintained their faith but died without actually receiving God’s promises, though they had seen them in the distance, had hailed them as true and were quite convinced of their reality. They freely admitted that they lived on this earth as exiles and foreigners. Men who say that mean, of course, that their eyes are fixed upon their true home-land. If they had meant the particular country they had left behind, they had ample opportunity to return. No, the fact is that they longed for a better country altogether, nothing less than a heavenly one. And because of this faith of theirs, God is not ashamed to be called their God for in sober truth he has prepared for them a city in Heaven.
(Hebrews 11:13-16 J.B Phillips)
 
Linking up with Five Minute Fridays, a place where we are given a word and a challenge to write for five minutes.

 
GO.
Again. I hear a simple, direct voice, say: “I have a plan for your life. It’s meant for your good, not your harm. A future and a hope.”  I am relieved. I go to the book where the words were first written down by a weeping prophet. In this version it says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)
 
My eye falls on the word welfare, which has a footnote. Welfare means peace. Peace, well-being, that’s what I want.

Then I wonder, what’s the context? I’ve rehearsed that single sentence to myself for comfort again and again, but I want to know why God said it in the first place. Go back to the beginning of the chapter. Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon. There was some confusion. Was their exile temporary or was it for seventy years? Who should they listen to? Some were saying this won’t last; God won’t really make you stay there for seventy years. Jeremiah sends word to clarify.

Yes, God did say seventy years! And while you’re there, multiply, don’t decrease. Don’t wither up in despair. Live! Get married! Make babies! You are coming back to Jerusalem and you will need people to repopulate the Promised Land. And while you’re in the city of your captivity, pray for the welfare of that city. Because if you do, guess what, it’s welfare directly benefits your welfare.

That’s a real life example of praying for peace for your enemies.

Again God turns everything upside down on its head. Don’t believe the liars or the scoffers. God will keep His promises. Jesus will return again. And in the meantime, pray for the welfare of your city, the place of your exile, while you wait. And live again!
 
STOP.
 
 
Posted on by kelrohlf 8

Epiphany: An Illuminating Discovery

On the twelfth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me
an Epiphany!
 
 
 
 
 Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely,
just as God knows me now.
 
There are three things that will endure
 — faith, hope, and love —
and the greatest of these is love.
 
Let love be your highest goal,
but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives . . .
1 Corinthians 13:11-14:1 NLT


Linking up with:

Posted on by kelrohlf 5

Bethlehem: The Birthplace of Faith

Advent{ures}: Let’s Go to Bethlehem
 
 
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
 
 
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV)
 
 
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
(Luke 2:10-12 ESV)
 
 
 
Hope. Substance. That which undergirds. Desire, expectation, wanting something to happen.
 
Faith is the reality of hope. Faith offers tangible reality. Hope and faint not. Trust completely. Love with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

Hope does not disappoint. Faith comes wrapped in the hope of things to arrive. Hope generates a longing for someone to show up who is able to help and save us. Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Enter our hearts, our homes. Transform us with things hoped for, with real love and experience. Show us. Reveal your presence. In a burning bush. In waters parted. In blood poured out. In a child swaddled and lying in a manger.
 
With an infant’s smile pierce our hearts and let us embrace hope once again.
Posted on by kelrohlf 3