As I am sitting in a quite corner of my church, waiting on the boys to be finished with their choir and study time, I have found myself studying my Billy Graham daily devotional. It is titled, "Hope for each day", and it has little morning and evening mini messages. I have to admit, I wasn't drawn to the book because of the title, or even by the author, I was drawn to it based solely upon it's cover. It is an older looking, leather type bound book, even the way it feels is special, and for a book lover like me, reminds me of long ago trips to the local "flea market" with my grandmother, and digging through countless boxes of books, most older than me.
I have been sitting here, enjoying the silence, running my fingers over the book and traveling back in time to those cherished moments with her, and the place that I have settled upon today, coincidentally, is a time spent sitting and looking through the "hope chest", that she had when she was married, the same one, that still contained special little treasures, some of which she had been acquiring from her childhood. I loved to hear the stories of when she would find that special little piece of lace, she would tuck it away to be used in a handkerchief that was carried on her wedding day, then borrowed out to one of her daughters when they walked down the aisle, or those special pearls that survived all the moves and travels of her life, the same ones, she placed around my neck on my wedding day. It saddens me that most families don't even have the concept of a "hope chest" anymore, I know how I felt realizing that I wouldn't share that tradition with my sons, somehow I think that the excitement of finding the perfect china pattern, or delicate little piece of fabric that could be sewn into a baby quilt, or other "girlie" items would have quite the same effect on them.
Still, it has gotten me to thinking about how we tend to lose "hope", the value of storing up the things we are hoping for in the chests of our hearts and souls. I am afraid we look at what the world has become around us, and we simply don't see the point. I mean, we have the world at our fingertips, literally, anything we can dream up, can be ordered and shipped with a few simple taps on the keyboard. I am afraid, with my own life at least, that I have lost the value in sitting down and telling God the things I hope for, and tucking those away in a quite, safe place in my heart, and pulling those out from time to time, and remembering, and looking ahead, with Him.
It made me wonder, just how important Hope was to Him, and when I searched my bible app, these are just a handful of verses that it linked to:
"Be of good courage , and he shall strengthen your heart , all ye that hope in the LORD ."
"Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy ."
"The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy ."
"The LORD is my portion , saith my soul ; therefore will I hope in him."
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen."
" But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts : and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear"
It seems to me, that Hope is very important, very vital to our successful existence in this life, and more importantly, essential to our passage into the next. The one that particularly touched me was the last one listed, "But sanctify The Lord God in your hearts: and be ready, always, to given an answer to every man that asketh you the reason of the HOPE that is in you." We should live our lives in such a way, that the broken, the hurting, the lonely, the rejected, the lost around us, can see the HOPE that dwells within us. I cannot imagine where I would be, without that. That no matter what, I still have the HOPE of Him. I know that God will send those people to us, He has called us to be the Light of this world to them, to somehow pierce through the darkness that satan oppresses with, I am pretty sure, that if we all look back to a time, when we were trapped in that darkness, how we felt when we saw that glimmer, the moment when our soul realized there was life, and love, and forgiveness, and mercy, and grace. The moment when HOPE took hold and gave us the strength to believe, there was something, Someone, bigger than ourselves.....how could we not want to shout that from the rooftops?
Today, I am thankful for memories, they remind us of not only times long gone, but also of the path we have walked,......I am thankful for lessons that He can speak, in ways I never even imagined.....but most of all, I am thankful for that HOPE,.... unending, unfailing .....HOPE that no matter where I go, or what I do, never fades. Looking forward to the tomorrow of this journey....but for the grace of God, go I..........
No matter how dark it gets. No matter how far from His path we have traveled. You are right, that is that Hope that we have clutched tightly within us that will always lead us back. If we have nothing left to us in the world, no earthly possession left to call our own, our Hope can never be stripped from us if we hold tight to it and know that God will provide and that He is the creator and fulfillment of all Hope. And I agree that Hope has become less important in today's society and it should not be. Never lose Hope. Keep your eyes focused on God and He will renew your Hope with His beauty and wonders every day.
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