Hope For Today "Courage"

We take the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God so we can move forward into the love and care of God. Now there’s no doubt that we need something sharp and powerful like a sword.  And that’s why God gives us His powerful words – His truth spoken with the backing of His authority.

When we face difficulties and attacks we are meant to turn to God, who has proven that He has power over all evil and that He cares for us. God provides equipment and manpower to help us just as one country helps out another in their time of conflict and war.

We all experience hard times.  Disappointments come and we are brokenhearted.  Difficulties pile up and seem to crush us.  As followers of Jesus we are not exempt from these kinds of moments. But God - two beautiful words. But God is with us to comfort and support us and to show us a good way through the challenges.

We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Sounds scary and intimidating to us but here’s the good news.  God already knows it all.  We will not uncover and admit anything that is a surprise to Him.  God has already forgiven us and simply wants all the infection and pain to be revealed so we can live free from it and not have to live under the accusation and condemnation of the evil one any longer.

In a world where people believe many things – including some who believe there is no god – how do I know there is a power greater than myself?  How do I know that God has any interest in restoring me to sanity or even more important, has the ability to do so?  Our questions are valid and welcome.  We’re not the first to ask them and we won’t be the last.

Life is journey and the path before us has many unexpected things, including obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. We do have difficult times, even times of weeping. God’s way is for us to be blessed no matter what we encounter. 

We are not just insignificant no-bodies running around without purpose from the day we are born until the day we die. God has gifted each of us to do good and He wants to live in us today with power and love to accomplish those good things.

Living with God in our complicated world often presents difficult challenges such as: waiting for something we feel desperately in need of right now; not retaliating with anger when someone harms us; living with less when we could scam our way into having more; facing the consequences of revealing a difficult truth. In spite of the immediate pain we may feel, God promises that we will be blessed when we make the right choice and do the right thing.

God is giving us another chance today to humbly acknowledge our shortcomings and ask Him to remove them. I’m grateful to live today in the care of God, the God of another chance, aren’t you?

It’s Palm Sunday as we head into Holy Week.  This is the day where we remember and celebrate how Jesus, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was given a hero’s welcome.

God had filled our world with good things – truth, blessings, His presence, hope and purpose – just to name a few.  St. Patrick’s life is certainly a witness to God’s power to be with us through the many different seasons we face.

Just for today I will adjust myself to what is and not try to adjust everything else to my desires. I will trust that God is working all things for good in my life.