Challenges,
difficulties, and disasters often lead to worry, depression, and even despair. Hope makes the difference . . . hope produces
encouragement, energy, and peace. We
are created for hope . . . hope that there is more to come . . . more to do . .
. more. Hope changes our perspective of
today and tomorrow.
The
story of the man being healed in the book of Acts is filled with hope. The fact that God would heal a man that lived
on the margin . . . barely noticed by society . . . and turn his life upside-down-inside-out with
complete healing . . . gives hope to humanity.
And, there is more, the man that had never walked was not only healed
but enabled to give others hope. In
other words, we are not only given hope through the power of God but able to
touch others with hope.
What does this mean for
you and I?
It
is never too late to stand before God and ask to be transformed and renewed with
hope. God has designed us to receive hope
and in turn live with hope. Meditate on Acts 3:10
And
they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful
Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement
at what had happened to him.
The
people saw that with God, we never have to give up or give in . . . there is
more to come . . . there is hope for everyone. Only through the power of God,
can we experience the kind of hope that changes ourselves and others. In fact we are released from living the
bondage of our circumstance. The picture
of the healed man walking and jumping, who used to sit because he not been able
to walk since birth is the picture Isaiah 40:31 describes:
Yet
those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Hope
. . . the picture is given to us in these two passages. We wait on the Lord and we will gain strength
. . . we will mount up . . . run and not get tired . . . walk and not become
weary.
Learning
with you to KICK START the day . . . living in hope.
Pastor Kerrie
(written by
Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnv,lle, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnv,lle, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/