“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
― Emily Dickinson
On what can we anchor our hope? Hope is that sensation and desire to keep believing that tomorrow is better no matter what the circumstances are today. We surge ahead through whatever trials face us, knowing without a doubt that joy resides in us and before us. It is the force which allows us to endure many hardships because we know that what lies before us is God’s best. Without hope we would wither and die in despair at the trials that surround us. Hope gives us the strength to always get up and face each new dawn with a song of praise in our hearts.
The enemies surrounded David; yet, instead of despair and sorrow David wrote:
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
He saw the truth of His circumstances. He knew that if all He could see was the circumstances, he would have fainted in despair. Yet, he believed in the goodness of the Lord and believed in His promises. Hope rose within him as courage and strength filled him from God’s fountain of love. When all around you looks bleak and filled with pain, hold tight to the promise of God in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 17: 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
When everything looks hopeless, then
1. Look up and seek the face of God. Psalm 27: "4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord,"
2. Remember who is your rock of protection–the Creator of the entire universe, the Almighty, the great I am. Psalm 27: "5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock."
3. Sing Songs of Praise to God for who He is. Psalm 27:6 "I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord."
4. Ask for Wisdom: Psalm 27: "11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path"
Question: What do you do to find hope when everything looks bleak?
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©2013 Effie Darlene Barba
Photography by Sarah Barba ©2013 (used by written permission) http://fineartamerica.com/featured/arch-art-2-sarah-barba.html
I hope this song helps to strengthen you today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg&feature=c4-overview&list=UUPsidN2_ud0ilOHAEoegVLQ
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