Daily Devotion (September 19, 2024)
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Romans 15:13
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Isaiah 40:31
31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Verses on HOPE! I have been in this world for a few years. I have seen people at their best and at their worst. I have witnessed those who have given up in and on life. When you lose hope, it seems you have fallen into a tunnel of darkness with no end in sight. There is a sense of isolation and despair. BUT there is a light of hope! Look down the tunnel and you find that small light waiting for you. As you move closer to the light it becomes larger and larger. You discover as you continue to focus upon the light it is moving towards you.
That light is Jesus. Jesus is our hope. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. He was imprisoned for his faith. He did not quit or give up. What beautiful words he wrote about the God of hope. God knows us and has a plan and purpose for our lives. We live in a world of turmoil and evil, but God says He has a plan of hope for us.
God does not promise us hope filled with empty hot air. We know from Scripture we will go through difficult times. Paul writes in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” There is no Shangri-La here on earth.
Are you going through tough and difficult times? In Isaiah 40:31 God says WAIT. Wait on God. In those dark and painful times in life God is there.