Today He has given me hope...

Today, He has given me hope. Over, and over, and over again. He is so amazing. He started off my day, actually, last night. He gav me Psalm 37:25-26
I was young, and now I am old
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
They are always generous and lend freely
Their children will be blessed.

And also Psalm 44:17-26
"All this has happened to us, though we had not forgotten You.
Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from Your path.
But You've crushed us and covered us over with deep darkness.
If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god
would not God have discovered it, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
Awake O Lord! Why do You sleep?
Rouse Yourself! Do not reject us forever.
Why do You hide Your face and forget our misery and oppression?
We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up and help us; redeem us because of Your unfailing love.

And then this morning, Jeremiah 10:2-16
Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky
though the nations are terrified by them.
For the customs of the peoples are worthless...
...no one is like You, O Lord; You are great!
And Your name is mighty in power.
Who should not revere You, O King of the nations?
This is Your due...
...but the Lord is the True God. He is the Living God, the Eternal King...
...God made the earth by His power;
He founded the world by His wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by His understanding...
...The Lord Almighty is His name.

and then this afternoon, a youtube video that I linked to off of someone's Caring Bridge site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_UF5E8AylA&feature=related

and he says...

There is a cross standing over history
It is the place where the Star Breather became the Sin Bearer
Where the Universe Maker became mankind’s Savior
And it is proof that God doesn’t always change the circumstances
He did not change them for Jesus on that hillside outside Jerusalem
But the cross is also proof that God always has a purpose in the circumstances
And that his purpose and his plan will prevail and will triumph through any circumstances in this world.

Isaiah 40
So why do you say oh Jacob and why do you complain oh Israel
"My way is hidden from the Lord", or "My cause is disregarded by my God"?
There was a moment in the history of Israel when they felt like God had completely lost sight of them.

Yes, I believe that God is big enough to make the world. I even believe that God ordained and made me. And I accept the fact that God gave His Son on a cross.

But what I really need to know right now, what really matters most to me right now is…does God see what I’m going through? Does He see what I’m carrying? Does He know that I can’t take one more step or one more day? Does He care and will He do something? That’s what I need to know.

And Isaiah answers with another question
A question for us, here.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God! The Creator of the ends of the earth! He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He’s huge! He’s the Star Breather! He’s big. But listen to what He loves to do. That God, that Creator of the ends of the earth, that "I do not grow tired or weary" God, that "My understanding’s too great for you" God, that God. Here’s what He does…He gives strength to the weary and He increases the power of the weak.

For even the youths will grow tired and weary, and young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord… another translation… those who wait upon the Lord. The Hebrew word simply means this, when it says "hope" and "wait" it means: those that stand right in the midst of the craziness; right in the midst of the pain; right in the midst of the chaos; right in the valley of the shadow of death. And they don’t gloss over it. They’re dealing with the hardest stuff in life. But standing in the middle of it, they say "You know what, I don’t see what God’s doing. I don’t understand what the plan is. But I’ll tell you one thing, I am not going to give up on God! And I’m going to stand right here in the middle of this moment and I’m going to trust that God is sitting on the throne; that He has a purpose for my life, and a plan for my life. And I believe I’m going to see the goodness of God in the land of the living and I’m not going to stop believing that no matter what."

That’s what the word means, to wait, and to hope on the Lord. And He said, "Here’s the promise: You’re going to wake up to rosy circumstances" No. Oh, He can do that and He does do that. But the promise is greater than that. He said "Those who wait upon the Lord, here’s what I promise: I will renew your strength. When you think you can’t take one more breath. I’ll give you enough to keep going, and enough to keep going on, and to keep going and to keep going on. You keep hoping and I’ll keep causing strength to rise when you hope. And you will feel like you have been swept up on the wings of eagles. And you will run and not get weary. And walk through it all and not faint." He said ‘I will hold you. Even when you let go of me. I’m not going to let go of you."

Louie Giglio

And so, while circumstances have not changed, and I'm still not sure I'm making the right decisions, and I, more desperately than ever, need Him to guide me and hold me because I'm not sure what the future holds, I am going to press ever closer in to God. I cling to my faith that He's got all of this in His mighty hands, and He's got a plan for us, and is allowing this. This battle. Cassie's battle, and our battle. This is training ground for our faith and we just have to continue to trust in Him.

Thank you God for a better attitude today.
Love you all
Kendra