Hope_Trust

Hope & Trust (II)
"..but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.. not be weary." Isa 40:31

Our trust & hope in God can be strengthen by living reality the Christian way diligently:

By practising God's teaching
Being obedient to God & fulfilling our multiple roles the Christian way. Doing God's Will let us taste the goodness & mercy of God. It makes us feel "connected" to God as we grow in faith & trust for Him.

Be loyal to God
We cannot serve 2 masters - we cannot love God & the World at the same time. We have to keep constant check on our focus with God. When our hope is strongly placed with God, we are more likely to be faithful; and trusting God will come quite naturally.

Be Christ-centred & Christ-like
If Christ is not in the right place in our lives, how can we trust Him?
By surrendering our "self" to God is as good as trusting God with our lives. Of course, to be Christ-like, we need to be diligent & firm in our pursuit of spiritual fruits. (Gal 5:20)

Seek God's Will
Matt 6:33 "seek ye first the kingdom of God & His righteousness..."
In whatever we do, make effort to check our standing before God, asking if the things we want to do is for/against God's commandments? Is it for God's purpose or serving our selfish desires? God the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, thus our hearts can only be at peace in the assurance of God. Trust in God, trust in Jesus but not our heads.
Do not be afraid to do God's Will even if the path is rough. Trust that God will provide us with what is needed to accomplish His task for us. Therefore, persevere in seeking righteousness and not concentrate in avoiding sins. This is spiritual living - living by grace & not by law.

Share & Learn
Sharing our experiences, God's calling or even our "imaginations" with fellow Christians (preferably someone godly with spiritual wisdom to test the 'visions') helps to strengthen our faith & relationship with God. Sometimes God may even send us goodness or mercy through His other children. Sharing God's work in our lives with others not only benefit all but also give God His glory!

Do not despair
We must understand that spiritual living is not about us feeling good with what we are doing but it is all about God's Will be done!
Sometimes things get tough & we may even suffer despite having trust God. Remember that trusting God's teachings & promises helps us to be disciplined and also keeps our negative impulses in control so that we do not fall into deep discouragement & depression.
God will not fail us or forsake us. Pray for God's peace and He will give us strength & wisdom to move on. Be mindful not to allow adversities distract us from our hope in God. For mankind, even the worst depression can recover with hope because hope releases the promise of better things to come. So, there's more in store for the children of God whose hope is in our promise-keeping God!

Be contented
Phi 4:11-13 - learn to be contented in God.
Appreciate whatever we have comes from God. Learn to trust in God's promises & His power to meet our needs. Learn the difference between our needs & our wants. Do not allow ourselves to be obsessed to get things God would not give us (against His Will) such as our wants for cash, meterial possession or selfish desires.
Only God can help us. By trusting God to provide us our needs (Phi 4:19), our attitudes and desires can change from wanting everything to being contented (not complacent) in God.

Feel God's Presence
Our identity as a child of God is a divine heritage. Share our lives & the things we do with God like a child does with his father. We will be amazed by the close bond with God, enjoying His presence & also hear His voice in our hearts.
As long as we make effort to be faithful to God & trust in His Promises wholeheartedly, "..neither death nor life, ..angels nor demons, .. neither anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from God.. Christ Jesus.." (Rom 8:38,39)

Be Humble
Especially before God. Humility is not insisting on doing things "my way". It is "I don't want my way if my way is not God's Way for me".
Let God lead & decide, we just trust & abide.

God's Timing & Plan
No one knows God's plan - the 'how', the 'when' & the 'why' He does it. God is the Master of Time (2Pet 3:8) and an unhurried Deliverer who works by His Plan & at His timing, not by ours.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.." Jer 29:11
Trust God & be patient with Him.

Secrets is with the Lord
Learn to accept that sometimes God will not accede to our prayers despite our strongest petitions and we do not have to know why.
"The secret things belong to the Lord our God..." Deu 29:29
We must learn to accept that there are things which :
- we do not have to know
- we are not required to know
- we do not have the ability to understand or know
Such acknowledgement make us aware of our limitations & put our curiosity & impatience to rest. This sense of calmness is the peace of God which gives us inner strength to move on & also to accept & trust God with everything (even problems & the unknowns) in love, faith & hope.

Be Prepared
Refer the parable of the bridesmaids (Matt 25:1-13)
Let us live every day expecting to meet Christ - by His second coming or by our physical death.
Our longing for heaven will help us see physical deaths of children of God as the "door" to heaven and turn our sorrow over deaths into joy. Though on Earth we are to set our hearts & minds on things above which are good & everlasting. In this way, we will be waiting in joyful hope heavenwards and not be conquered by the troubles of the world on rumours of it coming to an end!

Housekeeping our hearts
If we are ungodly or immoral, how can we trust God?
Make it a point to self-check our heart regularly. Ask for God strength & wisdom to get rid of anything unwholesome eg: immorality, greed, envy, temptations or evil desires. Jesus taught us to "wash the inside of the cup and not just the outside".
"Blessed is the pure in heart, for they will see God." Matt 5:8

Be Positive in God
- Don't give in to doubts or fears
- Don't give up, be patient with God
- Choose to have a positive attitude towards God, rejoice in the Lord always.
- Choose to forgive when hurt; forgiveness through God brings healing to the heart and strength to move on.

Be strong in God
Accept suffering or adversities as a passage and not an end. Trust God for strength to go through and overcome. Ask God to help us adjust ourselves to the difficulty or loss. Believe that God is with us even though He may seem so silent in our adversities. Believe that suffering builds our character and our relationship with God (Rom 5:3-5). So do not quit or be hardened by trials.

Be grateful
Recalling God's blessings is an important exercise for spiritual growth. Knowing & being grateful to God for the things He has done for us will encourage us to trust God even further.
Count our blessings, every little ones included. A quiet day is a blessed day! We don't need catastrophe to see the loving hand of God at work. Be assured that even when we cannot see the goodness of God, we will find His mercy - by looking at the positive aspect even in the worst situation (Rom 8:28)
Count our joy and not our loss; look at what we still have and not what we have lost.

Sure, there are more ways to strengthen our faith, love & hope in God. But in reality is, we tend to trust God more freely in good times because we are happier. In times of adversities, we are more engrossed by the harsh circumstances and our negative emotions than making efforts to trust God help see us through.

Therefore, in whatever circumstances & in whatever we do (Christian & non-Christian activities), work as if we are working for the Lord. Refer Col 3:23.

We have to keep in mind that "the good we do not do we sin" and other guidelines from God such as:
1 Cor 10:23 "Everything is permissable but not everything is beneficial..not everything is constructive."
Phi 4:8,9 "Whatever is true..noble..right..pure..lovely..admirable..excellent..praiseworthy - put into practise. And the God of Peace will be with you."

When we keep ourselves in line with God's words & teachings and be as Christ-like in our attitude and behaviour, we have put our beliefs to live "IN Christ", "FOR Christ" & "THROUGH Christ" into practice - Our spirituality embracing reality without having to compromise our faith, love & hope in God.

"So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the Will of God, you will received what He has promised." Heb 35-36

Of course, we need total commitment and have faith in His Promises :

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in the year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jer 17:7-8

In Hope we Trust.
God Bless.

Irene / 301102