Oceans

Where is Your Hope?

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?        Psalm 27:1 NKJV

The drowning man was flailing in the waves just 100 yards from the beach. Two men ran up to the shoreline. The first on the scene was a business man who while passing by had heard the shouts and seeing the man going under he threw out 50 yards of line and shouted to the man, “that’s all I can afford. Swim for it!” The second man on the beach that day happened to be a politician listening to the commotion. He grandly stepped up with a smirk and threw 1000 yards of line toward the drowning man who was now going under for the second time. Then he dropped the rope and walked away shouting, “Somebody ought to grab that rope!”

Just as the man began to sink for the third time, Jesus came walking out on the waves, took the drowning man by the hand and whispered, “It is I, don’t be afraid!”

beach during daylight

Photo by Daniel Jurin on Pexels.com

Where is your hope today? Is it in your past success? Is your hope in what others think about you or what money you have in the bank? The Bible tells us that the only thing we can hold onto when everything and everyone is failing is our faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Coming to the Red Sea

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Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14

One of my professors at Bible college often said that the Christian life wasn’t hard to live, it was impossible! In our lives the Red Sea represents that place of impossibility.

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It is impossible for us to become Christians, impossible to grow in our faith and impossible to accomplish anything without the miraculous grace of God. The story of Moses and the children of Israel leave us an encouraging example of how God chose to work by His miracle grace. Maybe you are in an impossible situation or one is looming on your horizon like a dark cloud. It is like facing the Red Sea with the sound of your enemies at your back. While it is quite natural to feel a sense of panic, but in that in that moment remind yourself that God Himself has led you to that shore. One of the greatest fears we face is the fear of the unknown. We can’t imagine how our life will be if x, y or z happens. But God specializes in doing his best work when we don’t understand. Let your faith work in the same way that you welcome anesthesia before a surgery. Since you will be asleep your confidence doesn’t lie in your ability to direct the surgeon’s hands but in the confidence that he is operating for your good. You will never have a greater opportunity to grow in your trust towards God. Nothing is by chance in the battle you are in. You haven’t taken a wrong turn and this is not a dead-end. In fact you are in exactly the right place. God has brought you to your own Red Sea. Stand strong with expectancy and you will discover what only God can do next!

 

From Hope to Praise

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Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Psalm 43:5

Have you ever been so down that you just couldn’t even sing even in church? You don’t need to feel alone because even King David the writer of the song book of the Bible, came to that place; and said so not once, not twice but three different times. David had bravely faced had Goliath and defeated him, but when he found himself hunted by his father-in-law and some of the same soldiers with whom he had fought beside in battle he became discouraged. Then his wife was taken from him and given to another man and he was separated from his best friend Jonathan and was forced to hide in the countryside. That was when he reminded himself that he would again praise God because all his hope came from Him. Yes, there are times when we as believers struggle to praise God. But God’s word gives us hope so that at those exact moments we can say, “Hold on! This is not the end! There is still hope! I will praise Him again!

Hope for the Soul