Hope is Christ in me

Thought of the day: Fasting Hopelessness

My hope is Christ in me

The comfort that we can have in this life is not who we are but who Christ is in us.

I am reminded this morning by my morning devotional, Jesus Calling, 

and by a message I heard from Perry Noble, 

that my hope is Christ in me. 

I have endured many struggles in my life and what I have learned is..

I do not need to be afraid to admit that I am struggling.

 This has been hard for me at times because the "Church" is a hard place to go and admit the struggle.

I used to think if my walk with Christ was on the right path that I would not have to struggle. I would be worry free. 

This is just NOT true!

Truth is He walks with us through our struggles 

not to always change our struggles 

But 

to change our perspectives as we walk through our struggles.

I find myself questioning through the struggle, "God are you here? Are you going to save from the heartbreak?" 

His reply is

"I am greater than what you are going through."

" I am with you"

Our problems may never change ,but our prospective can...
Only if we are willing to admit that Jesus is greater than what we are going through. 

Great example of "Christ in us" is the story about Moses hearing God speak to him through a burning bush.

God wanted to deliver the Israelite's out of slavery. 
He tells Moses to tell the Pharaoh of Egypt to let His people go. 

Moses is afraid... He begins to struggle.. 

then He questions God, "I'm not sure I can do this? Who will I say sent me?"

I'm sure Moses was thinking, 
"if I tell them a burning bush sent me they will surely think I'm crazy."

God replies, "Tell them, "I Am sent you."

Why would God say this?

Notice He did not say, I was or I used to be or I will be

He said,

I AM.

I believe that the name of God speaks to what ever struggle your going through.

His name proclaims who He is and proclaims what He is doing for us through the struggle.

This is what I Am spoke to Moses about his struggle..

& 

What He says to us about our struggle

I am the one who is with you

I am the one who will never forsake you

I am the one who called you

I am the one who called you by name and you are mine

I am the one who will strengthen you

I am the one who will sustain you

I am the one who will never walk away from you

I am the one who started something in you and I will carry it on to completion until you see my son face to face.

When you worry about whether or not your alone in your struggle

you just remember that the great 

I Am 

is 

with you

is 

in you.

The comfort that we have in this life is not who we are but who He is in us!

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 

1 John 4:4

Hope expects the best

Thought of the day: Fasting Hopelessness

Hope expects the best

&

Prepares for it!

  

I heard someone say the other day, "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst".

Is this any way to live?
Although I hate to admit it, I often see that my actions
align more with preparing for the worst that expecting the best.
Why is this?
I think it comes from the heartbreaking disappointments and
unmet expectations we crash into during life.
It would only make sense to lower your expectations.
To think good thoughts, hope for the best... but all the while prepare for the next storm already seen on the radar.
Living this way leaves no room for God to work.
When we live preparing for the worst we are motivated by fear.
Fear Controls
It makes choices to take action in the opposite direction of what we hope for. If we hope for the best yet prepare for the worst.. we take our eyes off God.
We actually step into Gods place and take over His job.

What happens when we hope for the best and prepare for it?
We fix our eyes on God and know His heart of love is for us.
When we live preparing for the best we allow love to lead the way.
Love always leads to freedom

Which reminds me of Isaiah 61
It  has to be the best way to look at how we hope for the best and prepare for it..
The Lord's Promise to us is
He will bind our broken hearts
He will set the captives free
He will comfort all who mourn
He will rebuild to ruined cities
This is our Hope- Prepare for it:)

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.-Isaiah 61

Hope walks out of the cave

Thought of the day: Fasting Hopelessness

Hope walks out of the cave

The lyrics to this song reminded me of the hope that was whispered from God's Spirit to my broken soul as I took courage to leave the cave. 

"A philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and can now see reality as it truly is."- Socrates 

A philosopher is a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment.

A few years ago, I had a friend tell me it was time to leave the cave. The only reason I was still in the cave was because someone I loved dearly was "stuck" in the cave. I had tried for years to help her see that her view was distorted by darkness and lies.

I had come to a point in the relationship that the only way to help her was to leave. 

My hope in making that decision was that someday she would follow. 

The only way she would follow was to see that life for me was better outside the cave than her life inside the cave. The hard part of this decision was that I had to commit to not turning back. I had to prove once and for all that following Jesus was the only way to freedom. 

It was time to stop talking and start walking. 

"if you’re going to talk the talk, you've got to walk the walk"

I was filled with doubt, I was filled with fear.

 My biggest questions were.. 

Will she ever follow? 

Will she think we left her? 

Will her feelings  of  what she sees as abandonment aid in the death of her hope to find freedom?

I began to pray.

I asked for truth

I asked for wisdom

I sought Godly counsel 

I put her in Gods hands

&

I began to walk as I held on to His promises.

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them."-Isaiah 42:16

God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

Psalms 46:5

But the LORD says, "The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children. Isaiah 49:25

The beginning of the journey was dark. The only light seen was through the eyes of faith. 

Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Psalm 43:3

Seeking and following Jesus led me to finding His care that slowly changed me to become a light of hope for her. 

My hope was that she would look out from the cave that held her captive to see new life and that change was possible. 

For most of us, there is a season in the cave. 
I'm going to borrow the words of a song that perfectly put to words how I felt at the beginning  of my journey from the cave to new life.
"The Cave"
Mumford and Sons

It is a season where it's empty in the valley of your heart and you realize that the harvest of this time has left no food for you to eat. 

It is in this place that you hear God's "SPIRIT" say to your broken "Soul"..

"It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind

The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater you see
But I have seen the same 
I know the shame in your defeat

But I will hold on hope

and I wont let you choke 

On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain

and I will change my ways 

I'll know my name as its called again

Cause I have other things to fill my time

You take what is yours and Ill take mine

Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind

So tie me to a post and block my ears

I can see widows and orphans through my tears

I know my call despite my faults 

and despite my growing fears

But I will hold on hope

and I wont let you choke 

On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain

and I will change my ways 

I'll know my name as its called again

So come out of your cave walking on your hands

And see the world hanging upside down

You can understand dependence 

When you know the maker's land"

I especially love the ending to this song. You really feel as if your coming out walking on your hands to see the world upside down.. Everything that pertains to walking out the gospel on this side of heaven seems upside down in this world.. but you understand it when you understand the maker of this land:)

Hope is found in the wilderness

 

 

 



Thought of the day: Fasting Hopelessness

Hope is found in the wilderness

Therefore I am now going to allure her;

I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.

Hosea 2:14 NIV

In this particular scripture we see that God is alluring Israel back to the wilderness.

Why?

 She took her eyes off Father God ..
 and He found her focused on lesser gods.

He is calling her back because she had once again forgotten her first love.

  God has a history of  leading her to the wilderness. When He first set her free from Egypt, she found herself wandering hopelessly through a desert.  He led her there so He could have her undivided attention. He spoke instruction and love to her as she journeyed to the promise land.

 She learned to trust Him in the wilderness.
 

In Hosea we see God once again leading her back to the wilderness of heartbreak valley.I find comfort in the way God is leading her there. He is alluring her, whispering to her "come away with Me so I can speak tenderly to your broken heart".

You would think that if He was doing this for the 2nd time He would be mad at her. That He might had said, "haven't you learned by now, there are to be no other idols in your life?! Shame on you for loosing focus! "

But He didn't, because love never shames.

in fact real love hung on the cross to defeat shame because He despised it.

 

Love gets our attention by speaking to the brokenness in our hearts. He understands why we loose our focus on Him because He knows the battle is fierce. That is why He leads us to a place where we can be face to face with Him. A place where heartbreak becomes a door of hope.

 

"There I will give her back her vineyards,

                             and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she will respond as in the days of her youth,

as in the day she came up out of Egypt." 
Hosea 2:15NIV

 

 In that place of  hopelessness  is where we find the greatest hope of all.. His heart that leads to us to the promise land.. the place we've waited so long to see what we believed in.

Here are the lyrics to the song above.. It speaks so tenderly to the one who is in the wilderness who's waited so long to see what you believe.

Whisper my name, so only I can hear
 

                                                  Call to my heart, chase away my fear
 

Stand up in this place, fight for the one you love

Won't you come surround me, so I can rise above

Explode my soul, let these walls come down

All these prison thoughts crumble with the sound

Of my deliverance from my enemies

I stand up beside you, let's watch these giants flee

Let the silence be broken, and the winter be done

Will you come out of your hiding, kiss me sweet warm sun

Let the wind of your spirit blow the dust off my feet

I ran to you broken but now I am complete

Hello Promise Land, we've waited for so long

To see what we've believed in, to sing this Promise Land song

Explode my soul, explode with praise

What he promised is what he gave

Hope is a victor; never a victim

Thought of the day: Fasting Hopelessness

Hope is always a victor; never a victim 

The other day I tried to host a pity party for myself. The invitation read, 

"Come, poor pitiful you, who never sees things turn out for the good.
Who's always asking, Why won't you do this for me God? 

Come you who are weary , lay back down and wait
until God does what you keep begging Him to do for you."

I have been praying that certain circumstances would change in my life...that I would begin to see more hope, more light at the end of the tunnel. Due to the length of time I have prayed these particular prayers, I find myself tempted to become hopeless. Hopeless because of the deep weakness and weariness I feel because the circumstances have not changed. 

But really, I need to see my weariness and weakness as an opportunity for hope. Hope that offers God's strenght for future victory.

Hope says :

"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." - 

Philippians 4:13

Hope allows Christ to work through me... 

Sometimes Christ does work for me,
but I have come to realize that most of the time He wants to work things through me.
He wants me to move from the victim mindset to the victor mindset. 
Victoms never walk in victory
Victims blame others and are held hostage by their pain.

Victors journey towards forgiving others and are released from their pain.
When I submit my weakness to Christ, I qualify for His promise of grace that strengthens me to walk out His perfect plan. 

"Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."- 2 Cor. 12:19

I decided to let hope write a new invitation to my pity party, and the invitation read:

"Come, weary and weak child, who eventually will see things turn out for the good. Who's asking, Lord, you do this through me because I am too weak? 

Come you who are weary , lay down your worries and wait for Gods power to do through you more than you could imagine to do on your own. 

Hope is never alone

Thought of the day: Fasting hopelessness 

Hope is never alone

On St. Patrick's day we are reminded of the story of a man who found hope when he thought he was alone. 

During Patrick's boyhood, the Roman empire was near collapse and too weak to defend its holdings in distant lands. Britain became easy prey for raiders, including those who crossed the Irish sea from the land known as Hibernia or Ireland. When Patrick was sixteen, he was seized by raiders and carried off to Ireland.

Most of what is known about St. Patrick comes from his own Confession, written in his old age. In his Confession he wrote about his capture:

After Patrick was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave by an Irish chieftain named Niall, he was sold to another chieftain in northern Ireland. Much of Patrick's time was spend alone on the slopes of Slemish Mountain, tending his master's flocks of sheep. During the long, lonely hours in the fields and hills of Ireland, Patrick found comfort in praying. In his Confession he wrote:

...
" every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed -- the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was moved so that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers and almost as many in the night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountains; ... and I felt no harm, and there was no sloth in me -- as now I see, because the spirit within me was fervent."
"As a youth, nay, almost as a boy not able to speak, I was taken captive ... I was like a stone lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came and in His mercy lifted me up, and raised me aloft ... And therefore I ought to cry out aloud and so also render something to the Lord for His great benefits here and in eternity -- benefits which the mind of men is unable to appraise." 

St. Patrick found hope during his time of slavery. He was taught by God the power of the trinity. As he prayed from his spirit he connected with his savior who presented his lonely heart to the creator of the universe. In return God's peace flowed through the Son to the Spirt who lived within St. Patrick. He was being taught relationship, community and unity alone on the slopes of a mountain. I'm guessing the mountain was covered with shamrocks because he used them to illustrate to others the relationship of the trinity. The shamrock has one stem, but three leaves.. We are the stem that connects to the three; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Our hope is found in the Holy Spirit who is within us... We are never alone.

"I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you." John 16:12-15 MSG

Hope laughs

Thought of the day: Fasting hopelessness 

My hope laughs

Laughter is a weapon given to us by God. 

He will still fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting (Job 8:21) 

God laughs at the wicked - because God always has the final word.

"The Lord shall laugh at him: for he sees that his day is coming. ( Ps 37:13)

God causes us to laugh at those who would cause destruction.

"The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him..." (Ps 52:6)

Why would God want us to laugh?

Laughter eliminates fear 

It comes from a loving God who knows laughter defeats the enemy every time. 

In trying times, laughter is faith that sees the promised victory!

God is in charge 

He told Job:

"At destruction and famine you shall laugh: neither shall you be afraid of the beasts of the earth." (Job 5:22)

"Laughter - uncontrollable joy.

Laughter does a heart Good, like a medicine

When enabled, laughter walks on the wings of the wind . . . upon clouds, and is carried in God’s arms

It is the garment of praise unleashed into a broken world

Laughter is the echo of the vacant grave . . ."- Mabel Andlers