A Reason to Hope

Christmas is over. Snow covers the ground. The weather has been bitter cold. All we have to look forward to is more of the same, for weeks on end.

Even worse, many of us are apprehensive about the upcoming presidential inauguration and the changes in our country that are sure to follow. It's hard to have a positive outlook when we're not sure that we can trust our new president to do what's right. It's no wonder that so many people around me seem to have lost their hope and joy.

I would like to suggest that we all need to reconsider the trust we place in our government and in our elected officials. Oh, I don't mean that they shouldn't be trustworthy, and that we shouldn't expect them to govern with integrity. In a perfect world, the people in charge of our nation would be fearless and faultless. But, I don't think I need to remind you that we live in a sinful world, filled with sinful people. History shows us that even the best presidents made mistakes.

Now, many people are expecting our president-elect to step up and change everything that's wrong with our country, while others are afraid of the harm he and his cronies might accomplish in a short time. A definite feeling of uneasiness permeates our land.

I think that many people have forgotten (if they ever really knew) that God is the only one who truly deserves our trust. He hasn't left our country. He hasn't left us! He is still here, and he knows what the future holds for us. In Deuteronomy 31:8, God's people needed to be reminded that "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” I think that all of us, here in America, need that reminder, too.

Perhaps you have heard the saying that goes, "Seven days without God makes one weak." I would like to carry that a step or two further, and say:

  • Starting my morning without God is like neglecting to take the hot morning shower that soothes my arthritis stiffness and pain.
  • A day without God is like staying in my dark basement all day long-- there is no sunshine in my life.
  • A day without God's Word is like skipping breakfast--and lunch, and supper. Lack of nourishment makes me feel faint and weary.
  • A day without prayer is like giving God the "silent treatment"--and then blaming him because he seems so far away.

If you are feeling hopeless or panicky this month, like so many are, I am convinced that God wants you to remember that he will be with you. Why don't you join me in spending more time with him? Read his Word, the Bible. Pray often every day. Pray for our government and, especially for our new president! Encourage one another. Worship together. Trust God, even if you feel like you can't trust the government.


God has never promised that he will solve all our problems and give us everything we want. Instead, he has assured us that he will be with us throughout our lifelong journey. He offers us hope, through Jesus, and peace that surpasses our understanding.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 
2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wedding Shoes

Image
I don’t remember the actual wedding ceremony, or the reception, either, when my Aunt Marj married Norm, but I know the wedding was held at the Methodist church in Norfolk. By the time I was nine years old, I had attended a few weddings and receptions and, by then, I realized that most church weddings and receptions were about the same; they were special occasions, for sure, launching marriages that might last for decades, but the wedding ceremony itself was nothing memorable for a child who had attended more than one, and the wedding cake and punch, while satisfying, weren’t much different than any other cake and punch I'd ever had. Just a few weeks earlier, my family had moved from the Oxnard Hotel in Norfolk to the Hotel Mary-Etta in Fairbury. The wedding would have marked the first time our family returned to Norfolk for a visit, so that added to our excitement. I remember arriving at Grandpa and Grandma's house that mild June morning, and finding a houseful of relatives scu...
Read more

A Little Covid

Image
Like so many of you, I am tired of hearing about Covid-19. As I look back to 2020 and the intervening years since then, I can't help but think that our government, along with many others throughout the world, may have overreacted, insisting on too many, perhaps unnecessary, restrictions. However, the fact remains that I am currently quarantined at home because, for the first time, I officially have Covid. I would never have known I have Covid except that it morphed into a sinus infection. So, I dutifully made my way to Urgent Care because I knew I would need an antibiotic to get over it. And, of course, I had to have a test to rule out Covid and Influenza A. Except, even though my vaccinations are up-to-date, the test was positive for Covid. My Covid symptoms have been minimal, probably because I’ve been vaccinated: some fatigue, some sneezing, and a headache that won't quit. Initially, I passed off those symptoms as my normal allergy symptoms, aggravated by the windy condition...
Read more

Little Anna

Image
We don't get to see our youngest granddaughter as often as we would like, because she lives with her family in Ohio. Little Anna Elizabeth is 13 months old, and Anna is truly a Little Person. Anna She was diagnosed with Hypochondroplasia, a rare type of short-limbed dwarfism, when she was just a few months old. When doctors suggested, even before she was born, that she might have dwarfism, Erin and Reed passed it off as another misconception about their family's relatively small stature. None of them are tall people, and both Erin and five-year-old Will were always near the bottom of their respective growth charts when they saw their doctors for well-child checkups. Doctors had voiced similar concerns before Will was born, but he does not have any type of dwarfism; he is just small for his age.  Will, Erin, Anna, and Reed Anna, on the other hand, has been in and out of the hospital since she was born, first for breathing issues, and then for focal seizures, which are manifested...
Read more