HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Today was day two of the migraine that had kept me at home and in bed... with curtains drawn. As I lay in bed with the blankets pulled over my head, a multitude of thoughts swirled through my head.

I thought of all the different tasks waiting for me at work... the things I should have been there doing. I thought about my house and the things that needed cleaning and straightening. From time to time, I could quiet my mind enough to sleep... and then I would wake up again to "chase rabbits" in my thoughts.

The thought "rose like a bubble" to the top and "popped"... about the blog I wrote yesterday... the one concerning the "disquietude" I felt in my heart and in my spirit concerning the current affairs of our country... and the impact the recent election could have on our future.

It was then that I realized that I was looking at the situation in the "natural". I wasn't looking at the condition of our country through eyes that recognized that God is in control. I wasn't looking through "eyes of faith".

Nothing has happened that caught God unaware. Nothing took Him by surprise. The Lord knew what would be going on today before the United States was even formed into a country... and long before that.

That doesn't mean that life in this country won't be different from what we have known in the past. That doesn't mean that we won't have to make adjustments in our lives that we have never imagined. It does mean we have an intercessor who is always in the presence of God, interceding for us.

No matter how bleak things may look... no matter what we hear on the news or read on the internet... we have to remember that our God does indeed have a plan for us... remember that He alone is in control... and remember He is our Hope for the Future.

If God is FOR us... who can be against us.

PRECIOUS GIFT

The Precious Gift that Jesus gave us... His cleansing blood shed once… for all... redeemed us from the punishment that was ours. His sacrifice "bought us back" from the penalty of our sins. Our sins were forgiven... PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.

Our enemy satan is called "the accuser of the brethren". One of the "devices" of the enemy is to accuse us to ourselves... to bring up our faults... past sins... or poor choices. His aim is to distract us from the changes that occurred in each of us when we received Jesus as Lord and Master of our lives.

We must keep our minds stayed on who we are "in Christ"... and refuse to be "side-tracked" by satan's lies. We can’t allow his accusations to "take root" in our hearts and in our minds.

The Word says,
"I AM . . .

1. A child of God (Romans 8:16)

2. Redeemed from the Hand of the Enemy (Psalms 107:2)

3. Forgiven (Colossians 1:13-14)

4. Saved by Grace through Faith (Ephesians 2:8)

5. Justified (Romans 5:1)

6. Sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11)

7. A New Creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)

8. Partaker of His Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4)

9. Redeemed from the Curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)

10. Delivered from the Powers of Darkness (Colossians 1:13)

11. Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)

12. A Son of God (Romans 8:14)

13. Kept in Safety Wherever I Go (Psalms 91:11)

14. Getting All My Needs Met by Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:19)

15. Casting All My cares upon Jesus (1 Peter 5:7)

16. Strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might (Ephesians 6:10)

17. Doing All Things through Christ Who Strengthens Me (Philippians 4:13)

18. An Heir with God and a Joint Heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17)

19. Heir to the Blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:13-14)

20. Observing and Doing the Lord's Commandments (Deuteronomy 28:12)

21. Blessed Coming in and Blessed Going out (Deuteronomy 26:6)

22. An Heir of Eternal Life (1 John 5:11-12)

23. Blessed with All Spiritual Blessings (Ephesians 1:3)

24. Healed by His Stripes (1 Peter 2:24)

25. Exercising My Authority over the Enemy (Luke 10:19)

26. Above Only and Not Beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)

27. More than a Conqueror (Romans 8:37)

28. Establishing God's Word Here on Earth (Matthew 16:19)

29. An Over comer by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of My Testimony (Revelation 12:11) 30. Daily Overcoming the Devil (1 John 4:4)

31. Not Moved by What I See (2 Corinthians 4:18)

32. Walking by Faith and Not by Sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)

33. Casting Down Vain Imaginations (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

34. Bringing Every Thought into Captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5)

35. Being Transformed by Renewing My Mind (Romans 12:1-2)

36. A Laborer Together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9)

37. The Righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)

38. An Imitator of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1)

39. The Light of the World (Matthew 5:14)

40. Blessing the Lord at All Times and Continually praising the Lord with My Mouth "(Psalms 34:1)

The power of reading and meditating upon God's Word will renew our minds and remind us that we are "joint heirs" with Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we have hope for tomorrow.

HOPE FOR A BETTER FUTURE

Bruce, a close relative of my husband’s, had to travel to a large city in another state for heart surgery. The chance of success was not good but the alternative was sure death.

The surgery went well but within a few days vital organs began to shut down. The battle raged. Many prayers went up. Finally, Bruce passed from this life to the next. He was “absent from his body and present with the Lord“!

My hubby has “more first cousins than you can shake a stick at” so we were two of many who drove in to pay our respects and to support his family.

The funeral was crowded. This man was well known and loved.

As each minister stood to share his thoughts about Bruce, I listened intently to the things they said. One said he had never heard Bruce say a negative thing against another person. Someone else pointed out that he had been a deacon at two churches and was a very active believer all his life, raising his daughter in church. Another pointed out that when he was about to have his car repossessed, Bruce loaned him the money that enabled him to keep it… and many more wonderful things were said about his integrity and about his life as a believer.

It was observed what a wonderful family man he was and how his wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandsons adored him. They had a very happy home. It was a good funeral… if there is such a thing.

I had a lot of time to think as we rode that 300 miles home. I wondered about what people will say about me when I die. Probably something like, “the first ten years she belonged to the church she was there every time the doors opened… and was involved in every activity that came along. She was on that committee and she liked to help out in the kitchen when we had meals at church. She was part of that group of ladies who met weekly throughout the year and did Bible studies together. She taught some of them.

But then what happened to her? She slowed down in her church attendance… just coming on Sunday mornings. Then she started missing Sundays here and there. Now it seems like all she does is go to work and go home. Work and home?"

Life has slowed down tremendously the last two years... almost to a crawl in recent months… slowing somewhat because of my husband's age... and the physical and emotional challenges we have faced.

Depression... anxiety... fear of crowds.... and then the headaches started. It has felt like like a downward spiral... with no end in sight

Still... I want to be a soul winner for the Lord. I want to be a daughter of whom He can be proud. I realize that I have issues that need attending to.

My “circle of life”… “circle of comfort”… circle of friends has grown smaller and smaller, each caught up in their own work and families. This “circle of friends” with whom I had shared so much for many years are leading busy lives, doing what the Lord is leading them to do.

The question on my mind today is how much have I accomplished for God… and how much was never done because I was too caught up in my physical limitations… too “bogged down” by depression and anxiety… too limited by my very real fears... to give God’s work the attention it deserved?

In so many ways I feel I have failed God. I haven’t been the bold and powerful witness that He desired me to be in quite a while. In many cases, I have given in to the physical and mental distractions…. and allowed them to be an excuse for being less than acceptable to the Lord.

All during this time, the Lord has remained near and dear. He has heard my every prayer and comforted my heart when it cried out to Him. He is a Father like no other... and He loves His children with an unconditional love.

Have you ever wondered how you will be remembered once you are gone? Would they say that you had lived your life with zeal... and vigorously completed the work God had assigned? I'm thankful there is still time left to work.

At the end my life I want to hear the Lord say, "Well done, You good and faithful Servant". I want to know that I have "fought the good fight, finished the course, kept the faith.”

As long as there is breath in my body, there is hope for a better future. I want to be a blessing to God... and a blessing for God. The thoughts He has for me are thoughts of peace and not of evil... thoughts to give me a future and a hope!