The month of January lay before us as a blank slate, its days yearning for purpose, for direction, and for hope in the new year.
My online Bible Study group, Hello Mornings, kept the month as a 31 day challenge.
Life brings challenges and demands which often require more of us than we think we are capable. We can often wonder how far we will stretch before we break.Yet we find ourselves, holding on and hoping.
This month in our online group, we are studying the topic of “Hope” using the 31 day devotional journal, 31 Days of Hope by Susan Chamberlain Shipe.
Our first week of study brought these five observations on the topic of hope:
- We can overflow with hope. God is the source of hope in us. “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit”
(Romans 5:13, NLT). We cannot muster up or produce hope on our own. It is the product of the Holy Spirit and is done in His power at work in us. He fills us with a joy and peace resulting in a trust, and we overflow with confident hope. - God has a plan for our lives and nothing takes Him off guard. “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 29: 13-14a, NLT). We are to seek Him wholeheartedly, not placing our hope in others, position, possessions, or money. God wants us to be devoted to Him at all times, in all circumstances. - The love of God and His love towards us keeps hope alive in us. His love deposits hope into our hearts, enabling us to endure every circumstance in life. This hope gives us all we need to not only get through every situation but gives us all we need to love those difficult people in our lives. “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:7, NLT).
- God is coming to us. God is coming to be with us, wherever we find ourselves today. “This is what the Sovereign Lord says, ‘O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again” (Ezekiel 37:12, NLT). He’s coming to meet us right where we are and to redeem our lives and situations.
- We are to praise God. Isaiah made quite the observation – those already dead cannot praise God. “For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise … Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next” (Isaiah 38:18-19, NLT). Hopefully, we all make the observation that we are yet living and breathing and are FULLY ABLE to praise Him. As long as we have and can praise Him, God’s hope will fill us up because He is ever faithful. Our hope is in the faithfulness of our God. Our responsibility is to praise God for it is the way the next generation will know of His faithfulness.
Over the next three Tuesdays, I will be sharing the lessons learned from this devotional each week. I hope you will return next week for more on this topic. And in the meantime, you can read more about the book on the author’s website HERE.
Today I am joining … Trekking Thru the Week and #RaRaLInkup and Teaching What Is Good .
It’s so funny (or maybe sad) how I KNOW each of these things in my mind, but somehow I don’t function like I know them in my heart. So grateful for your reminder today!
Isn’t it true how we can so forget! I was reminding myself when I wrote! Praying we both remember in the days ahead.
I heard a line on a TV show (of all places) last night that struck me. When accused of giving false hope, the actor said, “There’s no such thing.” Of course, we know there can be in certain circumstances, but we all need hope. I have always loved the verse that says, “When there was no hope, Abraham believed in hope.”
Donna, that is one of my favorite verses. It’s Romans 4:18 for anyone who needs the reference. I love that Abraham was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He has promised to do. May we hold onto hope!
Hope anchors everything! I love your word for the year too – audacious! Let us all live a bold and fearless life!
🙂 That was my word last year. I need to figure out how to change it. My word for 2018 is “Focus”.
I want to overflow with hope!
Me too, Debbie, me too!
I’m so intrigued by this idea of an online Bible study, and I need to give it some attention. Thanks for stretching me, Joanne.
Grateful you do the same for me, friend!
Susan sent me her 31 Days of Christmas devo, and I’m sure this one is just as good! What great insights you experienced in the first week of study. I hope it continues to be rich and fruitful for you and your group.