Hope Renewed

Psalm 119:116 "Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed."

In the ledger of life there are countless things that happen and we all have our own way of keeping score. I'm not talking about a point system with people, or grading everything, I'm talking about the ledger that affects our moods and our hopes vs. our dismay. To connect with the devotional thought today it would help to think in terms of something simple, like smiley faces and sad faces. We see them all the time, mostly these.... :) :) or the more elaborate ones like :o) or ; 0 }. Anyway, we get the other kind too... :( or, :0{ . Usually these are more thought than typed. In the ledger of life we tend to have a tipping point where either the smiley face or sad face things tend to take over our moods and even our lives.

The promises of God sustain us whether our smiles get turned upside down or not. For me, that is a principle that helps me each and every day. Almost daily, I remember the promise of God that says nothing is going to happen to me that either He does not permit, prevent or design, therefore I will trust Him. Today for example, I have been all over the spectrum of moods and feelings. Woke up ready to go, realized I had something to deal with right away that I dreaded a little, it turned out to be nothing. Got a couple of wonderful good news surprises, had a tense moment trying to get ready for what was coming soon, found out it wasn't happening. Had a strange phone call, got a wonderful letter, heard some more good news, heard of a very painful, troubling development, saw something truly beautiful, got some better news than I thought was going to happen, finished a longstanding project, had a great meeting, wondered what all this meant. Do you know this process?

For the most part, I don't try to take my pulse too often because of the amazingly mixed bag of stuff that happens each day. I try not to assess things too often or attach feelings all the time to the ledger of experiences. His promises always trump whatever momentary dismay there is and hope always eventually wins out. Let's say that again. Hope Wins. Did you hear me? HOPE WINS!!! You know what I mean. I read the end of the book and it turns out just fine.

I think it is good counsel here to almost constantly ask God not to let our hopes be dashed. He so often let's me see the bigger picture or sends some help or encouragement to show that He is for me, for you, for us. Soooooo, just like the verse says... 'I will live'. I am not going to die or lose it right now and I am not going to waste away. I am going to live and serve and flourish and hope and be sustained. I trust in His promises and no matter what the score is I will not give up, because whatever the game is, it is not over until He says it is over.

Somebody needs to hear this today. It is not over for you. He says so. Get ready to rebound. Hope will be revived. Help will come. Things will change. He will keep His promises, you will be sustained, and you will live. I see His hand moving in Grace Harbor, healing, touching, providing, restoring, transforming and renewing. God is in the business of taking care of everything. Don't rely on your scoring system, or interpretation of your ledger or what anyone else says. He is in charge, He will do with, and for us anything He and we can agree on. Agreed?

Amen and amen. Pastor Fred

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