March 11 -- "Hope and Help"

 Today’s Reading: Psalms 134, 145, & 147

"Hope and Help"

The word “blessed” means “oh how happy.” This verse expresses the wonderful and happy experience of being helped by – and finding your hope in – the Lord.

There is no better source of HELP than the Lord our God. After all, He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. He frees the prisoners. He opens the eyes of the blind. He lifts up those who are weighed down. He cares for the orphans and widows. The Lord is all-powerful. There is no problem He cannot solve, no burden He cannot lift, no injury He cannot heal, no relationship He cannot restore, no heart He cannot transform, no sin He cannot forgive, and no sinner He cannot redeem.

What do you need help with today? Do you need help paying your bills? Do you need help finding a job? Do you need help dealing with depression and discouragement? Do you need help salvaging a damaged marriage? Do you need help dealing with disease or sickness in your body? Do you need deliverance from an addiction? Whatever is going on in your life right now, don’t look “inside yourself” for the help you need. Look to the Lord your God. Cry out to Him for His supernatural help. It is there. Lay your burden down, let Him carry it. Let Him help. Oh, how happy you are if you are finding your help in the God of Jacob!

Also, there is no better source of HOPE than in the Lord our God. Hope is the optimistic anticipation of future good. Hope is not “wishful thinking.” It is the firm faith we place in the future that God (who cannot lie) has promised us. We can find so much hope through the gift of eternal life made possible through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. No matter what trials, temptations or pain we may suffer, we can always hold onto the hope God extends to us. The Apostle Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

It is easy to lose hope in our world darkened by sin. We see so much of the dark side of humanity that we can easily drift to hopelessness. But, in Christ there is a never-ending source of true hope and courage for the future. Do you need more hope in your life today? Look to the Lord your God. Cry out for Him to restore your hope and make your hope shine like a light for other hope-deprived people to be drawn to and find salvation in Christ. Oh, how happy you are if you are finding your hope in the Lord your God!