Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I turn my eyes to You, help me begin my day deeply knowing I'm embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. .
"May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).
Yes, Lord. You bring to mind Your written Word to confirm Your spoken word: Listening for Your leading this morning, I hear in my heart: "Hope is a beautiful gift and a mighty weapon. Put your hope in Me and I will fill you with My hope." ...
Hope is gift from You -- just like joy and peace. And You fill us with hope as You fill us with "the power of the Holy Spirit." It's not just a little trickle of hope, not just a little hope to get us through another day, not just enough hope to get us over to the other side. It's a hope that empowers us to thrive and not merely survive, to "abound in hope" and not merely stick around in wishful thinking that it might turn out okay after all.
Hope comes by believing in You, by trusting in You. Then, it's a beautiful gift we receive and a mighty weapon we wield.
I've known what it is to feel hopeful and to feel hopeless, to feel encouraged and to feel discouraged, to feel faithful and to feel faithless. But Your Word is greater than my feelings and Your Truth can overcome any doubts I'm feeling at the moment.
So as best as I can and all by the power of Your grace, I choose this day to put my hope in You. I choose this day to open wide my human spirit to filled afresh with Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), to be "endued with power from on high" (Luke 2:49). And I choose this day to thank You and praise You that You are "the God of hope" who is filling me now "with all joy and peace" as I am believing and trusting in You. You are my "Living Hope" -- living in me and filling me with Your hope today (1 Peter 1:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be filled with hope and joy and peace today by the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling you with power to hope from on high, in Jesus' name. May you embrace this beautiful gift from God and wield this mighty weapon against the darkness and doubt, the fear and confusion, the hopelessness and despair in the world around you. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
And remember, though the days are uncertain, my door is always open. It's no good suffering or going through situations in silence. You are never not welcome! to contact me. Though Starbucks and Waffle House are no longer open to meet, you can call me, we can meet at the church, outside in a park, my front porch or on FaceTime. You never have to go through a day of addiction, depression, fear, frustration, anxiety or any other feelings that still exist and these days can bring up. It's always good to talk but its even better to listen, and to be listened to. Some days this hits closer to home than we think. I'll always lend an ear and my heart. My hands are always ready to raise in prayer. Anyone who needs a space of peace and non-judgement to chat is welcome to contact me anytime.
Please share your thoughts and reflections with us in the comments box below.
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