The Place Where Hope Lives...

Greetings!

This morning the message is hope...

We can rest assured that nothing happens without God allowing it to happen, and if He allows it....we have everything we need to get through it. God doesn't wait until a calamity happens to begin working. No....He has already worked it out in our favor. Our job is to keep trusting Him.

The crazy thing is that when we are going through our issue, circumstance, problem...we forget how many times God has worked it out for us before. It can be hard to hold onto hope when everything seems to being going wrong, but God has promised us and He never goes back on His word. I trust Him because I know His record. He has been there through every trial, and every test. He has been there when things were good and when things were not so good. I KNOW Him and I KNOW He loves His children.

The thing I think we forget most of the time is that God does not punish us for the wrongs we have done. We are forgiven, and the word says that He remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17). Jesus died to free us from our sins (1 Peter 2:24), but God does chasten those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). That's different. Correction is not the same as punishment. Chastening is to get us to a place where we are more like His Son, Jesus Christ...a place of holiness, love, joy and peace.

That place is where God is. The place where hope lives. It is where we receive His goodness and His grace. It is where mercy is brand new every morning. It is where we can rest from all of our struggles. We can't get through this life without having some hurts and disappointments, times of struggle and pain. That's how we grow in faith. But we can know that whatever happens our hope can rest in the One who holds the world in His hands.

Until next time...

Be blessed