What God Gives Us For Tough Times

What is it that has the power to buoy us up when times get tough?

That's right.  Hope.    

Not hope in the sense of,  "I hope it's a nice day." or "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

Spiritual Hope that God alone can give us.  A Fruit of the Spirit, a product of abiding in the Vine.

               

We have 2 classes of muscles in our bodies. Some are ‘voluntary’ and some are ‘involuntary’.  

The voluntary muscles are the ones we move by our will.  We “tell” our leg to move forward and then the other leg.  Pretty soon we are walking.

The involuntary muscles mostly belong to groups like our organs.  Our heart is one we can easily relate to.  It just pumps.  We don’t have to tell it to.  Sometimes it speeds up or slows down, and for the most part our conscious mind doesn’t have much to do with that.  That’s probably a good thing—forgetting to give our hearts instructions would land us in a pickle!

Virtues are kind of like that too. 

          

On the side of fallen human nature-- the "voluntary" side-- we can tell ourselves to do virtuous things— kind acts toward our fellow humans, regenerative acts toward our environment.    We know we are supposed to, so we try.  Some of us have a better track record than others.  But things go wrong— moods, circumstances, behavioral triggers from the past— and our good intentions fall by the wayside.  We can even start to exhibit self-serving, negative behavior—lying to protect ourselves, being gruff or negative to intimidate others into doing things our way— stuff like that.  Our human nature is subject to the Fall, and doesn’t always make us look good.  There are lots of ups and downs, and just when you think you are seeing progress, the bottom drops out and you have to start all over again.  It's frustrating.  Thankfully, it's not how God intended us to operate.

On the other side are the spiritual virtues that God works into our lives over time--the "involuntary side".  This comes about through the initiation of the Holy Spirit, the practice of surrendering to God, confessing and asking Him to help us, learning lessons from trials and even some hard knocks.  

These are the Fruits of the Spirit.  We don’t have to think about them—they just happen.  Not out of Habit or Effort or Trying Hard, but they flow out of us like rivers of living water to bless and heal those around us.  You have probably floated on that blessed river.  Take a minute to savor that experience—God will show it to you.

The natural virtues are the wood, hay and stubble in our lives that will be reduced to ash in the end. 

 

The spiritual virtues are the gold, silver and precious stones that survive the fire and go with us into the Kingdom of God.

Hope is a Fruit of the Spirit, the result of spending time abiding in the Vine, hanging out with God, “proving Him o’er and o’er”.  

Hope is a deep-down involuntary heart-knowledge that God is in control and keeps us steady when life is wonderful--and when it is painful.  Like the beating of your heart, Hope steps forward to save the day without even having to think about it.  It undergirds all that we do.  It allows us to venture out onto unproven ground or even a shaky limb, knowing that God is there, always has been there, and always will be there.  And when we fall, it lifts us up again. 

“All is not lost,”, whispers Hope, “The best is yet to come.”

Jesus has got us in the palms of His hands and He holds on tight.  He will never let us go.

We can base our Hope on that.

Psalm 130

1From the depths of despair, O Lord,

    I call for your help.

2 Hear my cry, O Lord.

    Pay attention to my prayer.

3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,

    who, O Lord, could ever survive?

4 But you offer forgiveness,

    that we might learn to fear you.

5 I am counting on the Lord;

    yes, I am counting on him.

    I have put my hope in his word.

6 I long for the Lord

    more than sentries long for the dawn,

    yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord;

    for with the Lord there is unfailing love.

    His redemption overflows.

8 He himself will redeem Israel

    from every kind of sin.

I love this hymn, and I especially loved this rendition of it when I say it on YouTube. I hope it speaks to you like I does to me.  

Click and enjoy.

In Times Like These

 

In times like these you need a Savior,

In times like these you need an anchor; 

Be very sure, be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

In times like these you need the Bible,

In times like these, O be not idle; 

Be very sure, be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

In times like these I have a Savior,

In times like these I have an anchor;

I'm very sure, I'm very sure

My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!