I'm learning about hope...
several pieces coming together...
from several different places...
The word itself... hope...
catches my attention of late...
so I looked more closely...
when it appeared in Colossians...
In the first chapter of Colossians...
we see the power of hope...
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you, since we have heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for the saints,
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Colossians 1:3-5 ESV
Do you see it...?
The Colossians' faith in Jesus...
their love for the saints...
was because of the hope laid up in heaven for them...
So much was their faith and love evident...
Paul and his fellow workers thanked God for them...
always...
Hope fuels faith in Jesus and love for the saints...
Hope laid up in heaven...
the coming of His Kingdom...
the waiting we're doing in the here and now...
fuels our life of faith and love...
It's like I've been blind to the reality of what's been going on inside me...
but now the light is beginning to dawn...
I even asked a question recently...
wrote it on a sticky... a prayer of sorts...
regarding desire... and hope...
both of which I thought I'd lost...
Is my current lack or loss of strong desires in the flesh... and feeling loss of hope in this world... a transition to fully shifting my hope... onto Him...?
For years now... I've felt as if I've had no real desires...
not like I used to...
and hope... well... so many have not come to pass...
I prefer not to...
But at the same time... I've not been one who is hope-less...
despair...
depression...
despondency...
do not define my countenance...
I have not felt hope-less... even though I might've told you I was...
In these last weeks of learning to lean on Him...
wait on Him...
I've found something I didn't know I had...
Something hidden from me...
either by my own preconceived ideas of what it means to hope...
or by the enemy...
I'm beginning to see... at least I hope...
that my desire has been coming in line with His...
my hope... moving fully toward Him...
Being blinded to the truth of hope has left me feeling I had none...
but now I'm seeing... I think... that it's already shifting...
and joy begins to rise...
The hope stored up for me in heaven...
has all these years... been fueling my faith...
and my love for others...
but I didn't recognize it...
until now...
Do you see it...?
Are you blind to what's been transforming you...?
Ask Him to open your eyes... to the power of hope...
the hope He's blessed you with through the good news of Jesus...
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles
are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27 ESV
This week's readings...
Monday Philippians 2
Tuesday Philippians 3-4
Wednesday Luke 1:1-38
Thursday Luke 1:39-66
Friday Luke 1:67 - 2:21
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