Song: Even If https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6fA35Ved-Y
And for fun: In honor of Eye’s mom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0sEv6RaHz4
Prayer: Father God, thank you for this time. Thank you for your love for us. Thank you that you are our healer and our Redeemer and our friend. Help us to set aside the cares of our day, our week, our life and simply “be” with you and each other during this time. Be with those who are grieving and please touch heal and restore all who need a touch from you tonight. In Jesus name amen
Last week we were looking at verses either about hope or that are thought to inspire hope. Remember hope in one sense is the literal presence of “God With Us” no matter what.
Hope is also defined by KJV Dictionary Definition: HOPE, (as a noun)
1. A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it.
Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy;
2. Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a scriptural sense. Whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety.
3. That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good. The hope of Israel is the Messiah.
4. An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty but grounded on substantial evidence. The Christian indulges a hope, that his sins are pardoned.
HOPE (as a verb)
1. To cherish a desire of food, with some expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
2. To place confidence in; to trust in with confident expectation of good.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God. Ps.43.
Dodi Note: With those definitions in mind, we will continue examining some verses.
https://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/hope.html
Micah 7:7
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
My God will hear me.
Dodi Note: The writing states that they are watching and waiting and trusting that God will hear and respond.
When life is just plain difficult do you find it difficult to watch (look) for God and to wait and trust?
I think at times that can be hard but can we also “know” that God is El Roi? God who sees and cares?
In the next passage it seems that the writer could be having difficult remembering what he knows to be true.
Lamentations 3:24 says:
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
Therefore I will wait for him.”
Dodi Note: Do you see how he is talking to himself? Reminding himself of truth? Do you ever need to do similar?
Psalm 33:22
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Dodi Note: This is kind of conditional and yet I don’t think our hope causes God to act nor does our lack of hope cause God to be inactive and/or uncaring. But I do believe that when we remember who God is and that God does love and care for us, we are more aware of His unfailing love.
There are times when we need another to pray for or with us. There are times we need someone to remind us of Biblical truth too. Especially when life feels overwhelming. This one might be a good verse to use as a prayer. Perhaps on a card where we can see it or if we have one in a journal.
Isaiah 61:1 has a good reason for hope. It says:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners.
Dodi Note: Have you ever been in a prison? Not a literal prison as in jail for a crime. But maybe a prison of hopelessness? Fear? Anger? Grief?
Maybe in some way you are held captive even tonight?
If so take courage. Jesus is here with us. He came to bind up our broken hearts, which means fix them, hold us close so we can heal.
He has come to bring us freedom from addiction, sin, codependency and a myriad of other things that hold us captive.
He came to set us FREE from DARKNESS and invite us into the GLORIOUS LIGHT of His Kingdom.
How? Well repentance on our part. Receiving forgiveness and then turning and extending forgiveness to others.
Sure life hurts. Look around at the world, even right in your neighborhood. In my city there was a mass killing Sunday, horrible. But we do not need to live in fear and dread and unforgivenss and anger. Jesus came to carry all that FOR us and to set us free. Our life does not consist only of our time on this earth.
This next verse is great. It is 1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Dodi Note: Do you see it? Do you get it? We have been given (at new birth or we are being offered it right now) a Living Hope because of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. When “the fat lady sings” it is NOT all over. After we die, and for those we love who have died in Christ, death as we know it is simply a door to the REST of our lives. Wow.
Next Verse reminds us we do not have to drum up or manufacture hope. Hope is a GIFT and the source is God’s rich vast love for us.
Romans 5:5 says:
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Our prayer, or one of them can be found in Psalm 25:5.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Dodi Note: Lord sometimes we or at least I feel like I fail and hope. So we pause here and we invite you to guide us in your truth and teach us. We choose afresh tonight to place our hope in you. And we choose to REST in the sure and certain knowledge of your love for us. In Jesus name amen.
The next verse carries a bit of instruction for us. It is found in 1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Dodi Note. Revere (honor) Jesus as Lord. Be prepared to give an answer for the reason of our hope. (Jesus). But do it not by yelling at them, or getting frustrated with them. Do it with gentleness and respect.
Next Verse:
Ephesians 4:4
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called.
One body, the body of Christ Jesus in the world. One Spirit and one hope. The sort of hope in Jesus we have been discussing crossed denominational lines. It crosses cultural and physical barriers. We ARE one body and we have One Spirit.
The hope of our hope is found in the last verse. It is Colossians 1:27.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Dodi Note: Jesus in us. The hope of glory.
Next time we are going to consider grief. Or I think we are and each time for a few weeks I will share a verse and prayer related to anxiety or fear. I got them from Bible Study Tools. Fear and anxiety are in a way the opposite of hope.
I loved the way the author models scripture based prayer for us. I love the way they model admitting however we are feeling but then remembering the truth and speaking it forth in prayer as a petition to God.
The author says: It’s tempting when fear arises to run to things we think will comfort us, but nothing in the world will be able to bring us the comfort that Christ can. He can feel distant at times, especially when anxiety begins to overwhelm you, but reading the truth of the Bible reminds us that he is always near to the brokenhearted and close to those in need.
Find peace in knowing he has always been faithful, that he will still be faithful even now, and that he will be faithful in the future, no matter what might come your way.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3
Jesus, I put my trust in you today. Anxious thoughts are taking over my mind, and it’s easy to take my eyes off of you when I feel afraid. Would you remind me of who you are? Would you pour out your love on me, that I might remember you are always good and always faithful, even when I am afraid? I want to put all my trust, all my hope, and all my faith in you alone.
Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
PHILIPPIANS 4:7
God, I acknowledge my need for you today. I pray that you would breathe peace onto me through your Holy Spirit. Would you guard my heart? Would you show me how to protect my mind? I know I am weak on my own, and I fall back on your strength today. Be near to me, guiding me and equipping me as I go.
In your name, amen.
Please consider these an example and then use verses that fit your own situation and pray them back to God.
More next week. Have a blessed week.
Remember to keep praying for Eye and his family and bears little baby and any/all the other needs in our community here as well as your community where you live.
Room is open for fellowship.
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/prayers/