It was a historical moment for my country. Though my head was skeptical of policies and innuendo, my heart embraced the emotions of so many, the victories over oppression and the excitement of a new start.
Many of my fellow citizens had found hope in the man that stood before them. All the while, many of my conservative friends felt quite differently. The man they'd found hope in was headed home to Texas. The political party they believed was in their corner had lost the fight and hung up the gloves.
All of these images have played over in my mind and one thing has left an impression.
We all need hope.
We all need a reason to believe. We all need something or someone to believe in, to keep us going in these hard times.
It is honorable to look towards the future through the eyes of our leaders, but our hope can't rest on that leader's shoulders. Believe me, my friend, that load is too heavy for any person to carry.
Real hope isn't from Texas, Chicago, New York or Arkansas.
Real hope comes from God because God, unlike man, never disappoints us.
Just when I think I've come upon a remarkable, spiritual growth, Ah-Ha! moment in my life, God breaks my heart with one question.
Are you sharing my hope?
Ouch, God. That one stung.
People are hurting, in need of hope, for so many reasons.
Some of them are fearful of the future. Some of them can't pay their mortgage. Some have lost nearly every dime of their retirement fund. Some of them are praying that their grocery budget will stretch to the end of the month.
They need hope. They need God. And if they have God, maybe they could use a reminder of His love and provision . Or better, maybe they could use a bag of groceries.
I am a part of the Body of Christ, His arms, His hands, His feet, parts of the body that are supposed to be united, working together. What can I do?
I can start by living it. No one is going to ask me about my hope in Christ when they don't even see it, when all I do is mope around, live in fear, complain or shake my fist in the air.
I can put bumper stickers on my car and forward cute emails declaring God's Love for people, but until I get up off my comfortable couch and actually love them, they will never believe me.
I don't know who you voted for or if you even voted at all.
It doesn't matter to me what side of the aisle your team is on. What matters is that we stand together as believers and start believing. Start remembering and declaring Real Hope through our actions, our words, and our faith.
I am thankful that God is faithful to forgive me when I've failed Him. I am thankful that He is still molding and shaping my life, even when it is a mess. (Only a loving God could want to work on this!)
More than anything in this world, I am so grateful for Jesus Christ, my Savior, the only source of real hope.
Praise God! He doesn't have any term limits.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15: 13
7 comments:
Hi there...I have been reading your blog for a long time, but don't comment very often!
I wrote a similar sort of post today, and my word for the year is hope. This is weighing really heavily on my heart at the moment, and unity too. Without hope, and without unity, I think the coming years would be a nightmare to face, but with them, and with tangible action, things could be so different. We need to be examples, don't we. Great post.
What a beautiful post, Melanie! So, so true that we cannot put our hope in a man. They will never and can never live up to it. They will always disappoint. Only Christ's strength can carry the hope of all people.
Right on, sister-friend. This morning on the way to school Victoria and I were listening to one of our favorite Newsboys Songs, "Wherever We Go." The refrain is "Wherever we go, that's where the party's at." Despite the deplorable sentence structure, they are absolutely correct. We have the joy of God, the peace that passes understanding, the promise of salvation, the deposit of the Spirit, and the hope of heaven.
I want to show my hope each and every day.
Awesome! So true. I feel the same. This is kind of what my book is on - reaching out to those around us. We've got to stop telling them and start showing them. Great post! Thanks for the inspiration.
These last two posts made my "Best of the Blogs" list. I loved them. (Especially the Billy Mays mention....)
Amen, Amen and AMEN!!!
I love this because "hope" is my life word (I have never actually called it that, but its a good title). God has so been challenging to be a living example of His Word in practical ways (i.e that bag of groceries you were talking about). I cannot wait to see who He puts in my path!
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