“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
No matter what tomorrow holds, we know that God can handle it all. We cannot control the ups and downs of the stock market. We cannot control whether we or someone we love falls sick or stays healthy. Jobs come and go. Prosperity sometimes lasts for years and other times only flirts with our desires. There is only one certainty in life: uncertainty. However, though all the world change in a moment, God remains the same.
What or who do you hope in? Do you hope and pray that a politician will rise to power who saves the day? Do you long for a knight in shining armor to ride up on his powerful horse and free you from calamity? As a child, my mother never read us fairy tales. She feared that they would confuse us about the ‘real world’. She never wanted us to believe that some fairy godmother or magic spell would save the day. Instead, she told us about the heroes and heroines of the Bible: ordinary people helped by God’s powerful hand. At the time, I felt like I was missing out on something all little girls love about childhood, but then I realized she was actually giving me a gift. If we wait for some enchanted lamp to appear and release a genie to grant us our heart’s desire, we will be waiting for a long time. If we place our hope in God, we will never be disappointed. No poisoned apple can stop God’s plans. No evil dictator can remove God’s protection from our lives. Nothing the world throws at us can stop us when God fights our battles. He gives us strength to continue the fight and stay the course. He gives us joy in the midst of sorrowful times.
Search my heart so I can grow
Psalm 139:23-24 reads, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” What a gutsy yet beautiful prayer to pray. The Psalmist is asking God to search his heart and reveal what is present. He is asking God to show him the things in his heart that offends Him.
We are often Pharisaical when we pray in that we want to tell God all that is right with us instead of asking Him to reveal all that is wrong. Are we so consumed with pleasing the Lord that we will pray a prayer that asks Him to reveal how we offend Him? How often do we have this type of humility in prayer? For growth to take place we must ask God to show us who we really are and the areas we need to work on. It is so easy to ask God to put the spotlight on everyone else but us. Let us not always focus on what is wrong with others, but practice asking God to reveal what might be wrong with us.
We are often unaware of what is in our own hearts, and what God reveals when we pray this prayer can shock us. Believe me, I know! The Psalmist is not only asking God to search his heart, but He is also saying, “God, when you show it to me, please give me the remedy, lead me along the right path that will lead to everlasting life.”
When God exposes our hearts, it can overwhelm us. We can give in to the temptation to go into fix it mode. But we cannot fix our hearts, we cannot renovate ourselves to be all God has called us to be. No matter how nice we are, we cannot lead ourselves on the right path. Our hearts are fickle, which is why we must cry out and say, “God, you lead me in the way everlasting, you direct my path” (Proverbs 3:5-6). “Search me, oh God,” is a prayer worth praying daily so God can transform us into who He wants us to be.
Only God can change the course of our life, and He never fails. So trust God for today and tomorrow. Place your hope in Him and you will never be disappointed. This world is not our home. We are just visitors who must tarry on this planet for a little while. Let us share God’s love and walk in His commands while we roam this earth, but let us never get too comfortable.
Remain blessed as you keep hope alive.