The Gift of Hope

April 2, 2012 by Caroline Leave a Comment

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

As Easter approaches, we’re focusing on the meaning of these holy days and endeavoring to see what Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished and reveals for His followers.

Though it can be hard to grasp goodness through tragedy, Christ’s death signified fulfillment of prophecy. His resurrection continued that completion, and in doing so, solidifies our faith and our hope in what is to come.

Fulfillment of Prophecy

The Old Testament prophets proclaimed Christ’s future death and resurrection. And they knew the power of such an act. (I feel blessed to have hindsight now, along with commentaries, bible dictionaries, and scholars much smarter than I am to point these truths out!) Moses prophesied of Christ’s coming (Deuteronomy 18:15-19). John writes in his gospel of Christ’s death fulfilling some of the Old Testament prophecies of these events (John 19:35-37).

Christ prophesies His own death and resurrection (Mark 8:31, Mark 9:30-32, Mark 10:33-34). His disciples didn’t understand why the Christ had to die and what that resurrection meant. When the resurrection did occur, some of the believers doubted others’ witnesses of the resurrected Christ (Mark 16:14), but once they remembered His words (Luke 24:8) and understood, their faith soared with the hope only He could give.

For the first century Christ followers, Christ’s death and subsequent resurrection restored and invigorated their hope. This major fulfillment of prophecy proved even more that we have a God we can trust to make true His promises (Hebrews 6:16-20). As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:14-17, if Christ did not rise from the dead, our gospel, our good news, our faith is in vain. But if the resurrection is true (as Christians know it to be), prophecy is fulfilled, our God is shown trustworthy yet again, and our faith proved true.

God sent His own Son to die for all humans’ sins – past, present, and future – so that we can live in Him. He didn’t just say He promised us life, He acted, He did. Christ’s resurrection (which could only occur after His physical death) shouted, See? I am the Truth and the Life. You can trust and believe and love because I love you.

What We Do With Hope

This gift of hope, this certain expectation of the promises of God, is to be worn as a saving helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8), a tool essential in fighting the current battle against evil.

Because we receive this hope through faith by grace, we can choose to repent, return and renew to Him (Acts 3:18-20). With this hope, we receive and share His everlasting love.

“This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” – 2 Timothy 1:9b-10 (NIV)

How does Christ’s death and resurrection shower you with hope of what is to come in Him?

God Willing

March 5, 2012 by Caroline 13 Comments

Katie here. I’ve hacked into Caroline’s post to make a special announcement and request! Caroline just had her second child—a sweet baby girl!

Sweet big brother, holding sissy's hand.

Will you join with me, and pray for their family today? Just leave a comment below, of blessing over these early, wonderful, sleep-deprived months!

And now, Caroline’s post…

There’s nothing like having a son in the hospital to see how little is in my control… and to see the powerful truth and amazing nature of the words “God willing.”

The words “God willing” hold outstanding power and meaning, but sometimes fit with many Christian phrases (“Christian-ese,” if you will) that tend to be overused and misunderstood:

“Bless her heart” becomes a phrase of pity rather than a true request for God’s blessing.
“Amen to that” shares simple agreement (I do this, too!) rather than “verily” or “so be it” – an acceptance of what is given regardless of consequence (*see source below).

And then there’s “God willing.”

These phrases, when used well and correctly, share His love and grace powerfully.

God Willing, God Permitting

God has been teaching me the true meaning of these two strong words, “God willing,” lately.

Not meaning “to get what I want.”

Not meaning “perhaps if I plead with these words, what I desire will come true.”

Instead, meaning God permitting. God allowing what He knows best, not what we see as right or needed.

Hebrews 6:1-12 discusses God permitting further knowledge in this faith. (See a parallel reference of the NLT and ESV here.) The use of “God willing” here shows dependence on God for growth.

Acts 18:20-22 shows Paul relying on God to will His journey as God sees fit (Parallel source). Paul certainly possesses his own desires to see certain people at certain times (Romans 1:8-17) – and for good reasons in the ministry – but still knows even his path of spreading the gospel is directed by God’s purposes, not his own. (Paul exemplifies how God uses our desires and passions for His will and purposes in Romans 15:17-22.)

Decretive and Perceptive Will

A distinction exists between what God wills for Himself to accomplish and what He wills—in orders and commands—for us to accomplish. What He wills He will do. His “decretive will” (as the New Bible Commentary labels it) actually happens, no doubt. What He wills us to do (love others, follows His ways – “perceptive will”), He graciously allows us the choice of obedience, which I so often fail to complete. (**See source below.)

The New Bible Dictionary says, “God’s will is not arbitrary, but acts in complete harmony with his character.” What God wills is not determined on a whim, but instead on His supreme intelligence (Isaiah 55:8-9), which comes from a heart of love (1 John 4:7-12).

We know because of His Word and His heart that God wills good things to those who seek to serve Him (Psalm 34:10).

As my husband and I continue to discover more about our son’s medical needs, we wish, we pray, and we ache for whole healing and deliverance from these troubles. But, I tend to want to over-control. And God is showing me: it’s His will, not mine. There were times in the hospital that I had no control over what happened to my son. So, what were my choices? I can worry incessantly or I can trust the God I know to be loving, even if events we endured as a family were not what we would want.

What God Wills

Perhaps I’ll know sometime in this life why He chooses certain things for our family. Perhaps I won’t. But, I do know that God wills what is ultimately good.

Though we may not always understand why certain events occur in our lives, we can trust God loves and provides what we need to live our lives spreading His love.

How do you understand and accept God’s will? How have you seen in your life that God’s will is ultimate and ultimately good?

Sources:

– *New Bible Dictionary, p. 29 – “Amen” is also described as the “promises of God, uniquely fulfilled in [Christ].”

– **New Bible Dictionary – pg. 419

I Trust Because He Delivers {Run to Him Psalm 40}

February 17, 2012 by Caroline 10 Comments

Sitting in a hospital works wonders for one’s trust in God.

My husband and I have seen with our own eyes how God delivers people from pain, troubles, and sadness. It’s not that we won’t experience these hard things. We will see suffering in this life (Romans 5:1-5), but God always remains present for us to trust through the good and the rough. His answer may not always be what we expect, but we can rely on Him to give us what we need (Psalm 34:8-9).

Waiting While Crying Out

In Psalm 40, David waited and received answers from God on his previous troubles (Psalm 40:1). He witnessed God’s good deeds, deepening his knowledge of Him (Psalm 40:3) and set about praising Him.

“Such wonders of God demand a response (Psalm 40:5). No ritual will suffice (Psalm 40:6), only serious commitment to God’s will (Psalm 40:7-8).” (Source: New Bible Commentary, p. 512)

Image from Microsoft Clip Art

Yet, David still needed God’s help and deliverance (Psalm 40:11-13). Continuing to need God’s help did not cause David’s trust to suffer. Instead, he trusted all the more because he had witnessed God’s saving redemption. And because of that trust, he waited patiently while still crying out to God for His saving help. Trust breeds patience and that patience signifies deep trust. Oh, to have that trust!

The New Bible Commentary looks at David’s example of patient trust and summarizes: “How we react to life constitutes a potent testimony and nothing is more powerful than to maintain a simple attitude of waiting trust” (p. 512).

He Delivers

God’s love and faithfulness protects (Psalm 40:11). He gives not only His salvation and His physical protection, but His love and faithfulness protect our hearts, too.

Psalm 40:17 declares that God helps and delivers. We can trust even these words because we know His Word to be true (Psalm 33:4).

We always need God’s gracious help. And He is always willing to give it His children, who love Him, revere Him, and seek Him wholeheartedly. We can do all of this in trust because we see how He delivers. We have known from the beginning (Psalm 22:9-10) and in spite of those who mock the faith (Psalm 22:8) – God is trustworthy. I may want answers fast or a different path than what may be placed in front of me, but in and throughout it all, I have a God who opens my ears to hear His blessings (Psalm 40:6) and opens my heart to receive His love.

My prayer today is to trust like David shows us because God’s love and deliverance produces this praise-filled reliance:

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” – Psalm 37:7

How have you personally seen God deliver? What else did you learn from this week’s Run To Him reading in Psalm 40?

Ten Verses for Trying Times

February 6, 2012 by Caroline 9 Comments

What do you do when you start feeling anxious, troubled, scared? Do you pray? Do you run to a spouse, a friend, a family member?

I wish I could say I always cry out to Him first. But I don’t.

I feel like it’s up to me to fix something, deal with trouble, solve a problem.

But it’s not.

God is always there.

How can I focus every bit of my heart – in every moment of life – on Him first, rather than on worry or “self-sufficiency.” How do I train my heart to seek His shelter rather than scrounge for my own?

A few ways helping me so far (and maybe able to help you?): Store up His Word in our hearts! Seek out verses to memorize, leading to quick recall when those trying times occur. Place His Word first in our hearts over and over and over again so we form a habit of going to Him first.

How can we find these guiding verses?

Pray first for God to open your heart to His leading and heighten your awareness of applicable verses for your situation.
Use a concordance (found in most study bibles) to find a topic (I searched for grief, trouble, fear, worry…) and read verses listed.
Use online bible study resourcesto search a specific topic.
Image from Microsoft Clip Art
Study one passage (a chapter, a book) for several days in a row, asking God to lead you to needed truths at the right times.

Ten Verses for Trying Times

Here are ten verses I’ve found helpful in getting through hard times:

Hebrews 12:7 – Hardships train us.
Psalm 27:13-14 – Wait for and trust in Him in all things.
Psalm 16:7-8 – God counsels.
Psalm 34:2-5 – God hears.
Psalm 34:18 – Brokenhearted? He remains near. (Our Run To Him reading for this week speaks on His redeeming us from troubles!)
1 Thessalonians 5:8-11 – We need not hold on to grief for we have His hope and joy in the midst of grief.
Psalm 10:14 – God sees our troubles and helps.
John 16:19-24, 33 – Grief caused by this age will be wiped away in the age to come. (John 16:33 is one of my personal favorites.)
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 – God comforts our troubles, and then we can share His comfort with others going through similar troubles.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – These troubles, no matter how severe they are, are nothing compared to the eternal glory coming. I have to remind myself of this perspective sometimes.