Hope in the Fog

I purchased a book from Lifeway yesterday. It is called The One Year Book of Encouragement: 365 Days of Inspiration and Wisdom for Your Spiritual Journey. "Fred Smith maintains that 'hope is the healthy mental condition of the normal Christian.' He says that if we are to live as Christians, we do so with hope-- even when situations seem hopeless."

I know, I know, it's very LAME that I have come to depend on a book to get through some days. By the way, this was for December 28th.

"Fred recounts a time when the president of a large corporation [facing bankruptcy] came to him to talk about the pressures he was under. Many of the factors that had wrecked the company were beyond his control (KEY!), and he faced tough, divisive meetings. Fred reminded this executive of the dangers of hopelessness. 'We are never to be without hope,' he told him, 'because we are never without help.' AMEN. On more than one occasion, Fred visited a friend who saw nothing good ahead and was considering suicide. He challenged the man to demonstrate hope, emphasizing that hope is not in productivity or material wealth. Enemies of hope invade our lives like toxic fog. A spouse deserts the family. Job losses devastate another family. An accident takes a loved one on whom many had pinned their hopes. The tragedies of our lives are endlessly and variously and painfully unique to each soul. For inspiration, Fred turned to Romans 5, with its ringing declaration of our lively hope. When we feel hope has deserted us, we would do well to read and re-read these verses: 'We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.' Fred declares from the promise of Scripture and long experience, 'Hope is the birthright of the Christian.'

Well. CLEARLY God knew I needed to read this book. He has pinned exactly what I've been feeling over the past few months. I've had this feeling that something was coming to an end; and while I know I'm about to start with something new, it didn't always suffice to know that. I must learn to be content with what the LORD is blessing me with. And I mean blessing me with now; not what I could be "missing" out on, but what He is doing in my life now. I wake up in the morning with air in my lungs, things to think about, experiences to experiences, people to meet and help, friends to continue conversation with. Really, what more could I ask for?