Hope

Romans 15:13 "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."
I looked up that word "hope" in the Hebrew and it means "quiet strength". In this world that is so full of hopelessness, we as believers worship and trust a God of quiet strength...and He wants to pass that on to His children. Many are feeling hopeless these days because of the continual bad reports from Wall Street. You can't turn on the news without hearing about the collapsing economy, the crime, the drought, and on and on it goes..but we have a God of quiet strength, who asks us..whose report will you believe? You see God's report says that we can trust Him, no matter what is going on around us. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not on thine own understanding". God's report says "For we are more than conquerors THROUGH Him that loved us." Romans 8:37. God's report says that like Paul, though we may be troubled on every side, we do not have to be distressed..II Cor. 4:8...so I ask you..whose report will YOU believe? Do we believe that we can trust God, even in troubled times?
I will never forget one of the most rewarding things that I ever had the privilege to be a part of was a Purity Seminar hosted by my wonderful friend Donna..who had such a heart for young women. She said one of the wisest things I've ever heard, to this room full of beautiful young women one day. She told them to make the decision NOW to honor God in their lives. That way, when they were tempted in ANY way..their decision was already made! That way, they didn't have to think about it, as they were going through a time of temptation. They already KNEW what they were going to do..They wouldn't have to make a decision about something in a point of weakness. The decision was already made! They were going to live for, and believe GOD! I have used that same idea over and over in my life..and I am saying to each and every one of you that we should never give ourselves the freedom to doubt God or His love and faithfulness toward us. We can be determined to set our own will against doubt. We can make a decision NOW that when we are going through times of testing, that we will CHOOSE to believe God!!!
It's very easy to fall into the HABIT of doubting, worrying, and wondering if God has forsaken us when we are going through a trial, and we wonder if all of our hopes are going to end in failure. But let us refuse to be discouraged and unhappy! Let us refuse to give in to it..when doubt or discouragement tries to invade our thinking..we don't have to be confused or wonder what God is doing. We will have already made the decision to trust Him. I don't believe that it was ever the intention of God for His children to be unhappy. I believe that as we stand firm, refusing to doubt, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid, reviving our faith, and giving us victory!