Category: Hope

Wrapped Up In Christ
Christmas · Hope

Wrapped Up In Christ

RefreshHer1 Comment

Are you all wrapped up on this December day? I’m not referencing your foiled paper and glitter-laden bows, I’m talking about the state of your heart and mind. I’m wondering if you’re wrapped up in hope or fear? Joy or turmoil?

I watch a gal on You Tube that is a very gifted artist, but she often talks about the fear of “something getting ready to happen.” It breaks my heart for her. All that’s going on today keeps the world in a state of panic.

But it doesn’t have to be that way!

I’m happy to say that because I know Christ, I am not afraid My hope is wrapped up in the One who came as a Babe in a manger.

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if Jesus had never come – if He had not humbled Himself to take the form of man?

Without Christ…

  • We would have no hope of heaven, BUT we do!
  • We would be lost in our sin forever, BUT we aren’t!
  • Life would have no purpose BUT it does!
  • There would be no way to know God BUT there is!
  • Sin and suffering would never end BUT it will!

I am sure that list could go on and on. When we consider all we have in Christ, we realize that our very lives each and every day are all that they are because of Christ. Even when we are experiencing the worst day or season in our lives, we know that because of Christ, this is is the worst we will ever experience. This is the only hell a believer will ever know. For one who has not trusted Christ, this is the only heaven they will ever know.

It is our choice to choose what we are wrapped up in –

Hope in Christ

or

Fear and depression

I’m thankful that right now at Christmas we remember that baby Jesus, but more importantly, the Savior who died on the cross and rose from the tomb victoriously! When we feel fear threatening to overwhelm us, we must remember that our hope is not wrapped up in anything in this life, but in the Lord Jesus.

Things are so different for me this year, but my one constancy is Christ. He is my anchor. He is the reason I can press on. He is my hope this Christmas. I pray He is yours, too.

Merry Christmas, my friends.

I posted this last year, in difficult 2020, and I’ll share it again in the midst of all the suffering so many are experiencing today. I pray it will encourage you.

The Thin Ice of Despondency
Christmas · Hope · Responding to trials · trials

The Thin Ice of Despondency

RefreshHer10 Comments

Just this week I watched Little Women again. Oh, I love that movie! I’m all in with the emotions – especially at moments such as when Amy falls into the frozen lake while ice skating. Her sister, Meg had been angry with her and left her to lag behind while she and Laurie skated. Then hearing her screams, followed by the terrifying silence, she and Laurie race to give her a stick so they might rescue her. Thin ice is risky.

But thin ice isn’t relegated only to winter lakes.

Continue reading “The Thin Ice of Despondency” →
Blow Off the Dust
Hope · Spiritual Refreshment

Blow Off the Dust

RefreshHer6 Comments
See the dust coming from the top of the page?

It was early Sunday morning and I had gotten my coffee and journal and cozied myself on the sofa where I could read my devotions and enjoy the warmth of the sun on a cold November dawn. Looking around, I realized I had left my Bible in the other room. I glanced over to the bookcase beside the sofa, and I spotted one of my old Bibles that I had “retired” quite a few years ago. I pulled it off the shelf and seated myself once again. This Bible was like an old friend. It’s pages are worn, curled and marked, but oh, so loved.

I flipped the pages to go to where my Bible plan had brought me. It was II Peter 1. As the page opened, I saw flecks of dust dancing in the sunlight! It was proof that this Bible had been unused for some time, but when I read its pages, it said,

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

My heart swelled as I read those words. How precious that the Lord has given us everything we need for this life in Christ, and where do we find it? In His word.

  • When my heart is overwhelmed, I can get strength from His Word.
  • When I am filled with fear, I can get faith from His Word.
  • When I am sad or worried, I can get peace from His Word.
  • When I feel alone, I am reminded of His presence in His Word.

To neglect the Word of God is to reject all that we need to do more than merely survive the day. I’m pretty sure we’re all interested in more than “just making it.”

It’s easy to get too busy, too involved in other activities, or too tired that we neglect God’s Word, and when we finally come to ourselves, we find our souls more dusty than the Bible’s pages.

If you’ve “fallen off the wagon,” in your reading plan, go get your Bible and open its pages to find just what the Lord wants to teach you about Himself today. It’s truth is deeper than the dust. It will show you
the Way to go,
the Truth you need to hear and
the Life to guide you on your way…
and all that is found in our Savior,

If you’ve neglected God’s Word, blow off the dust and dive in. You’ll be refreshed and strengthened for your path today.

Let Others Be Glad When They See Me!
Hope

Let Others Be Glad When They See Me!

RefreshHer2 Comments

I am very much a visual learner. To really understand something it helps me to see an illustration. The Lord so often teaches me His Word by giving me a visual aid. I clearly remember one illustration the Lord gave me in a hospital room.

My husband and I went to see a dear friend and church member who had been hospitalized again. She had been battling an illness for months and it landed her in the hospital several times. When we got to her room, it was obvious that she was completely worn out from her sickness. Her breathing was difficult, being interrupted by a deep and debilitating cough. We slipped in to leave flowers and have prayer with her, asking her not to try to speak. However, even though it was somewhat difficult, she told us of God’s sustaining grace during this difficult time. She told us of answered prayers that she’s seen while ill and of the Word of God that has come to her mind in the late night watches that she thought she’d forgotten. She also shared the desire to hide more of God’s Word in her heart for times such as these. It was hard to see her like this, yet she was a blessing to my heart.

The blessing came as I stood by her bedside and was reminded of the psalm that I had prayed earlier in the day. It was Psalm 119:74 –

They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.

I did indeed have reason to be glad because I saw her hope (confidence) in God’s Word! How beautifully was she illustrating this truth before my eyes!

When you and I go through hard times in the future, whether it’s illness, the death of a loved one, or some other trial, will we make others that love the Lord glad when they see us because they see we are trusting in God’s Word? Or will they instead be grieved because we’re falling apart? There’s only one way to really be able to answer that question positively, and that is by preparing now for those hard times. How do we do that? By studying, meditating, and memorizing God’s Word. We may be in a situation where we can’t pick up the Bible and read it. Do we have enough tucked away in our hearts to sustain us?

I was also recently reminded by Whitney that we should also make other people glad when they see us through means of our social media posts. Are we always complaining? Are we full of fear? Is our life only revealing negativity because we aren’t truly clinging to the hope we have in Christ and His Word? I’m guilty.

Psalm 119:74 is such a good reminder to ask the Lord to help us make other people glad that they bumped into us today!

I was so glad I got to see my friend trusting her God, spite the difficulty. Will others get a visual picture of Psalm 119:74 and be glad when they see you today??

Let’s refresh others by our strong confidence in our great God!

Encouragement · Hope

One Word Can Change Everything

RefreshHer4 Comments

Benign.

Innocent.

Passed.

Completed.

Free!

Think of the scenarios in which those words would make all the difference in a person’s day! They would mean…
No Cancer!
You were found not guilty!
You can graduate!
The last of the hard project is over!
The prisoner is no longer captive!

One word can, indeed make all the difference in a day.

As I recently read through the Book of John, I was struck by this thought as I heard Jesus say one word that would change everything for Mary. Remember that she is the first one to the tomb after Jesus’ death. She found the stone rolled away and then seeing a man, she assumed he was the gardener. Then He called her name,

Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Mary went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken to her. In my mind’s eye, I see her joy, I hear her amazement and relief! She was no longer weeping! Hearing Him say her name had changed everything for her with just a single word.

Is your heart heavy today? There is so much going on around us to cause grief in our heart, but we can have the same experience that Mary had; we can get alone with the Lord, open His Word and allow Him to speak a single word to us to give us joy and remove our tears.

Forgiven!

Hope!

Loved!

Rapture!

Heaven!

Mary was encouraged because she went looking for Jesus on that early Resurrection morning. We, too, must “go looking for Jesus” as we open the pages of His Word. Then we will find comfort and then everything will be changed when He gives us the Word that we need to hear.

What word has the Lord given you today that has filled your heart with hope again, even in the midst of heartache?

Refresh your heart with One Word from the Lord!