HOPE for 2016

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD,
and whose hope the LORD is.”
Jeremiah 17:7

I have struggled tremendously with this post.  I had it written out and ready to go, BUT I had no peace about it.  So I prayed again, rewrote some of it, tweaked it, BUT still no peace.  So I prayed once again, and began afresh with a brand new post and thought “this is it!”  However, I did not feel God's "word of approval upon my heart".  But, I said, “Lord, this just has to be it, because I’ve had so much fun writing it!”

Okay, here is a sneak preview from the post that “I” wanted to share with ya’ll!!

“As I look ahead to 2016, it has caused me to look to the past.   When I was growing up!  And NO it wasn’t when dinosaurs roamed the earth or when we went to school in caves and used stones as tablets to write upon!  I'm not quite that old!  But as I was walking the path down memory lane, it startled me how much things have truly changed over the years.

I grew up in a day when we could go to bed at night and leave our back door unlocked!  WHAT?  Now-a-days, you not only have a regular lock, but you have dead bolts, chains, security systems and guard dogs!  And if you don't have an actual dog, you have a fake dog that barks like a vicious Rottweiler which will send any burglar running for his life!

I also grew up when kids played outside from the time they got home from school until it was time for a bath and bedtime (of course homework was done first and you also needed to finish EVERYTHING on your dinner plate, except for that broccoli that you fed to the dog!)  And during the summer, it was a non-stop outdoor adventure!  There was nothing like jumping rope, playing hop scotch, laying in the grass, looking up at the clouds and trying to decipher if the cloud was a scary, fire-breathing dragon or simply a cute, playful, little kitten!  And, oh, the absolute sheer delight of catching lightning bugs in a jar on long summer evenings.  And picking a handful of dandelions and other weeds and feeling such joy as I proudly presented them to my Mom!  But it seems like today, most kids (NOT all of them) would much rather play video games, watch TV or text for hours on their cell phones.”

SEE, how much fun I was having writing that particular post???  BUT as I continued writing and comparing my childhood to the days in which we are now living, I got to the end of it, and couldn’t quite figure out how to draw it all to a conclusion of giving hope and encouragement for the days that lie ahead in 2016.  Yes, I did write about Christ being our hope and I even had verses written out about God never changing.  But there was still that nagging lack of peace.  So I stopped one more time and prayed, "Father, I want to give hope to ALL who may read this.  You have seen the effort that I have made over these past days to come up with just the right post to kick off 2016, and You have also seen the absolute frustration that I am causing myself.  So, Lord, I am asking You one just more time to please speak through me, to please write the words that You want me to share.  Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to come to You with my request and I wait upon You to do the writing for me.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.”

And I can honestly tell you that within SECONDS this is EXACTLY what the Lord gave me to share with all of you for the months, weeks, days, minutes, seconds which await us throughout 2016

“Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?
shall tribulation,
or distress,
or persecution,
or famine,
or nakedness,
or peril,
or sword?
As it is written,
For thy sake
we are killed
all the day long;
we are accounted
as sheep
for the slaughter.
Nay,
in all these things
we are more
than conquerors
through him
that loved us.
For I am persuaded,
that neither
death,
nor life,
nor angels,
nor principalities,
nor powers,
nor things present,
nor things to come,
Nor height,
nor depth,
nor any other creature,
shall be able
to separate us
from the love of God,
which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39

So, my friends, what I was having such a difficult time putting together in words, I pray what was penned in The Word of God thousands of years ago, will be a comfort, a blessing, an encouragement, a balm to your soul, as you travel the days throughout 2016!

“Father, all I can really say is, Thank You.  Thank You for Your faithfulness, even in the small things, such as giving to me “just the right words” to share here on this website.  Father, You know that my heart is heavy for those who don’t know You as their personal Saviour.  I pray that 2016 would be the year in which they would place their trust in Jesus.  That they would understand that trusting Jesus is as simple as believing personally that He died for THEIR sins and was buried and rose again.  Father, You are waiting with arms wide open to receive any and ALL who will call upon Your name.  For Your word says, 'For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'  And, Lord, may those of us who do know You as our personal Saviour shine brighter than ever, so that others may come to know You because they see Jesus living in us.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen”

In Christ
ALONE
our
HOPE
is found