Questions: How would you define hope? What is the difference between wishing and hoping?
“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” Psalm 25:4, 5
Father in Heaven,
Thank You for the promise and hope of Your Word. Thank You that You can be counted on to guide me through my day. Today I need to walk in the hope that only You can give. My way is unclear, my path sometimes feels like it twists and turns in confusing and busy ways as I wind my way along my journey.Show me Your ways, Lord. Show me how You would walk in these places. Teach me Your paths of grace and mercy and integrity and love. Help me to grasp Your ways so I can walk securely in them even in insecure places. I need Your perspective today.
Guide me in Your truth, Lord. Without Your Word active in my heart and mind I cannot know Your truth. Help me to make time to read my Bible. Help me to take time to think on it and let it penetrate my heart. Lord, Your Word will guide me as a beacon and a light. I need Your Word to guide me. Forgive me when I have left it on the shelf or have simply grabbed a verse and run off for the day, quickly forgetting what I read.
Thank You that You promise to guide me and teach me as I let Your truth impact my heart and my mind.
Oh Lord, You are my Savior, my rescuer and my redeemer. You alone are the One who restores and renews my spirit and brings meaning to my life. You bless me. May my heart overflow with thanksgiving to You for Your hand in my life.
I will put my hope in You today, all day long. Remind me by Your Holy Spirit to look to You to guide me. Call me into Your quiet presence to think on Your truths and may I not be distracted. This is the oxygen of my soul. Thank You that You give the hope and help and peace I need today. Thank You that You never cease to call me to Yourself. Help me to respond afresh to Your presence in my life. In Jesus’ strong name I pray, amen.
Questions: How would you define hope? What is the difference between wishing and hoping? Why can we hope in God all day long?
Further Reading
• Gentle Spirit How do I embrace a gentle spirit when I have been hurt and/or deceived?
• From Victim to Victory – Physically and emotionally abused as a child, Sharon stopped crying at 6 and stopped talking at 9
In Isaiah 54, God reminds us of his unwavering love and compassion.
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10
After a long hard day at the office, everything seemed dark and heavy. Every thought running through my head came from this dismal place — a place I could not escape. Even the leisure activities I looked forward to after work became just another opportunity to complain.
I wanted to hide, but I had to take care of one last bit of business. I plopped down at my desk and prepared for the final conference call of the day.
My seven-year-old son knocked on the door and strolled into my room. “Dad, you look a little tired. You should rest. I love you.” With those precious words, a rush of love swept over me. I looked up at him. “Thank you, son! You made me very happy.”
In Isaiah 54, God reminds us of his unwavering love and compassion. In a world founded on the notion of needing to have more, accomplish more, and be more, God reminds us **it is the love of his heart that we need more of — the source of true peace when peace seems so distant.
In times of desolation and discouragement, seek refuge in Jesus Christ where you can rest and repair those parts of your life the world has worn down. He is our key to peace during times of stress and confusion. Pray always to him and be comforted by his kindness and compassion, hope and love, light and consolation — the perfect cure for a troubled heart and soul.
Lord, thank you for your endless source of peace and love to all who seek your place of refuge. I ask that you remind me to call on you whenever I find myself uprooted, confused, and restless in this world, a world that tries to draw us away from our source of true peace — found only in you. Amen.
