My Hope Is In Christ

Jesus is my strength. He gives me hope and has changed my whole life. I give praise to the Lord, for He deserves it. Nobody has ever done such good things for my life, but Christ alone. To sing out to His Name now is the least I can do, for He has saved my soul from death and hell. I am forgiven, through the blood the Lamb, who was slain for the world. Every day that I look to Jesus, I am filled up with the Holy Spirit. I am in awe at what He does for me. I surely don’t deserve God’s love for my life, but His compassion is like no other. Surely, ¹“he giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:29-31) Even now He has filled me up with His goodness and strength. I alive, because the Lord is in me. Even as I go out in the darkness of this world, He lifts me up upon His shoulders and shines brightly for all to see. I am then able to bear the temptations and trials of this life because He is my shield. There is no one like our God. Even He has said, ¹“to whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” (Isaiah 40:25) The answer is nobody can take the place of the Lord God and nobody is equal to Him either. We owe all to Him. Therefore, fall down at the feet of Jesus and worship Him. Then, as you follow Him, He will bless you abundantly. I pray that your desire is to follow Jesus and no longer the things of this world.

Those that seek the Lord’s hand in their life will have their own personal encounter with Him. It may not be a personal visitation as some may want, but His presence will be there in their lives, nonetheless. He is personally there in Spirit for every person that desires to follow Him and allow Him to be their God of their lives. As it is has been said, ¹“behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:10,11) Surely, God is leading me by the hand, as my Shepherd, and He wants to do the same for you also. Just as He has done for me, He wants to help those that put their trust in Him. This does mean putting other things aside that take our precious time away from Him, like the time we spend on our phones, playing video games, and watching sports, TV, and movies. These things are only distracting you from God. So make it a new year’s resolutions to put God first in your lives. This means reading the Bible daily, praying often and doing His will, as He commands you. This will lead you to experience things like never before. And while putting aside things that don’t really matter, the Lord will give you over to things that do matter. And the best part is that He will feed your every desire. No longer will you have a need to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, because His love and peace will sustain you. The Lord lifts up those that put their trust in Him and make Him the Lord of their lives. Will you do this? God is waiting.

Let us pray:
Oh Lord, there is no one like you in the heavens and earth below. While others may lift up their favorite sports athletes, music artists, movie or TV stars, I am happy to lift You up instead in praise. There is nobody I’d rather follow then in Your footsteps. Other people have let me down over time, but You have never forsaken me. I thought that the riches of this world could make me happy, but really it was only in the moments that I had the good in things in life that I found joy, but it all passed as the newness of the items wore off, and other better things came out that I wanted instead. So I was always left feeling ripped off and never fully satisfied with what I had in life. This is not the goodness that You give, oh Lord. For what You do for us is never-ending peace, strength, hope, love, joy, happiness, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and kindness. I never have to worry about going to anyone else for things, for You are the giver of all good things. What the world wants to do for me and give me doesn’t even hold a candle of the types of things You have already done and will do for me, as I continue to trust in You. Therefore, I am so happy to say that my life is better than ever before. Because You are my shepherd, I am fed and nourished each day of my life. You have lifted me upon Your shoulders and given me strength like eagles. Therefore, my burdens are not only on my shoulders but Yours as well. Wow, You are so good, Lord. Thank You for all that You have done for me. I love You, God. I trust in You. All the praise and glory to Your mighty Name, who saves. Amen.

Let us read the Bible:
Note: Any Numbered References, found above, are listed below.

Isaiah 40

¹Isaiah 40 (KJV)
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.