OUR ONLY SOURCE OF HOPE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!

Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.

Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!

Psalm 25:12-22

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Hope. It’s something we all long for.

In our earliest years, we learn about the concept of hope. We hope we’ll receive what we want for our birthdays and Christmas. We hope we’ll be selected for things we try out for. We hope we’ll do well in school.

As we become adults, we hope to be successful in our work. We hope we’ll find our place in society and fit in. We hope to find the mate of our dreams and have a family with kids who will have hopes we can try and meet.

And when difficulty strikes, we turn to hope because sometimes that’s all we have to cling to. We hope that a relationship will take a turn for the better toward reconciliation. We hope that a job might come soon as living expenses mount. We hope that an affliction will be healed or at least managed so we can get back to some sense of normalcy in life.

Yes, we all have hopes. We hope for things yet to come, for a future still uncertain. We hope with a faith that things might get better soon.

But what do we hope in? Where is the source of our hope, the origin of change that will grant us what we are hoping for?

Are we trusting in other people? Are we trusting in ourselves? Do we even know who we are trusting, who we are hoping in?

If we’re going to hope legitimately, then we need a source that will undeniably provide for us, a source we can always count on to deliver, no matter what. And there’s only one source that gives us this kind of hope and that is the Lord.

David certainly looked for hope. His future often looked uncertain as he faced adversaries who were not just interested in challenging his throne but were ready to kill him to get what they wanted. Whether Saul, his son Absalom, or any number of rival kings surrounding Israel, David was surrounded by those who would have loved more than to do him harm. And so he hoped for safety and protection and rescue, not just for himself but for all of Israel, and he placed his hope in the Lord.

Look at the closing words of David in the 25th Psalm:

Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!

Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.

Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!

David, known as a man after God’s own heart, placed his faith and trust in the Lord. He truly respected God and the power He possessed, the power to change circumstances and impact the outcomes of life. He took refuge in the Lord, knowing that he had no other reliable source of hope, no greater source of deliverance and rescue. He knew that the proper guidance and counsel he needed to navigate through what were often perilous days would only come from God who instructed David in the ways he should choose. Because David respected and revered God as the One and only One who could help him in times of need, God in turn confided in David, turning to him and showing him grace, relieving the troubles of his heart and freeing him from anguish. In other words, God gave David what he longed for: hope.

Friends, we often find ourselves in the midst of life’s circumstances, challenges and difficulties, and, like David, find ourselves longing for hope. We long to find relief and release from our fears and anxieties. We long to find some sense of comfort and peace in the midst of uncertainty. We look for assurance when nothing seems assured. And we seek guidance and counsel to try and help us make sense of where we are and where we’re heading.

We all long for hope but those longings will go largely unfulfilled unless we place our hope and trust in the only true provider of them. That Provider was, is, and will always be the Lord Almighty who as He did for David, is ready to hear our petitions and act in support of His faithful followers in accordance with His will.

He is ready to bring us guidance and direction as He confides in us, instructing us in the ways we should choose. He is ready to show us His graciousness as we turn to Him in times of need. He is ever willing to relieve the troubles of our hearts and liberate us from our anguish, granting us peace and comfort.

Indeed, hope awaits us all but we need to know where to find it. There’s only one source. Trust in the Lord and in the Lord alone and you will always find yourself in the midst of hope today and for eternity through salvation in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

PS: In support of this scripture and the devotion, check out this song by Aaron Shust titled, “My Hope Is In You” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RRZgr7wNDs

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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