I cannot remember the last time I wanted a week to be over as much as I did this past week. Truth be told- it was a crummy week. I tried to wake up each morning with the notion that ‘yesterday had passed’ and that ‘today is a brand new day’. That worked for about the first 90 seconds of being awake. I couldn’t (and still can’t) “peg” exactly what was going on but this past week did remind me that I am very much human and that I need to learn how to deal with whatever “it” was.
More importantly- I was
reminded of the Living HOPE that we have in Jesus through a guest speaker on our
weekly senior youth night. Ironically
enough, this guest speaker was also a past youth leader- someone who I served
alongside with for 4 years in youth ministry.
Because of this, I knew of some of the pain and hurt that was shared. I knew their faith was (is) strong and I admire(d)
them for it.
The message for the evening
was simply called “hope” based from 1 Peter 1:3-9. When I read the subheading in the NIV, “Praise
to God for a Living Hope”, I knew instantly that this message was directed at
me.
As I listened, I could
feel God convicting me. Now, I should
clarify. I knew that God was NOT judging
or condemning me but rather, the conviction that I felt came out of a Holy,
loving, and hopeful place. It was this...
“Nikki- I see your hurt and I feel your pain.
In your weakness, allow ME to become your Strength. Remember, in this world-you WILL have troubles. Take a step back, relax, breathe and, as hard
as it maybe, seek My face. Or have you forgotten that I have overcome the world (John 16:33). I won’t leave you. I never will.
Spend time getting to know ME once again and allow my Living Hope to
flow through you and within you”
Sounds simple right?
Spend time with God and all will work out.
Never again will I have a bad day, let alone a bad week? Hold on. STOP. PAUSE.
Did you (I) miss the
reference to how we WILL have troubles in this world? John16:31-33 says “Jesus
answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for
it-saving your own skins and abandoning me.
But I am not abandoned. The Father
is with me. I’ve told you all this so
that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to
experience difficulties. But take heart!
I’ve conquered the world” (The Message).
I believe. I do.
I wouldn’t be where I am today, without Jesus. Without that Living Hope and that deep peace
that He alone offers. Yet why do I often
feel as tho I am running to save my own skin and abandoning that Living Hope
and Peace in the process? I know Jesus
but I was reminded that I need to continue to KNOW Jesus each and every
day. I cannot (will not) put my trust,
or hope, in someone I do not know.
The
question was raised, “How do we get to know someone? How do best friends become
best friends when everyone we meet, starts off as a complete stranger?” Simple.
We spend time together. We get to
KNOW each other through learning about one another. It can be simple, basic things such as
favourite colour or animal. From there,
as we spend time with one another, trust slowly begins to be built. Soon deeper, more personal, things are shared
between the friends, both trusting the other to maintain that level of
trust. Honestly, it’s a risk. It’s a chance that must be taken for something
that is genuine and real. I want Jesus
to, once again, become my best friend.
I am well aware of what God
was convicting me to do in my own relationship with Him. It is something that I know has been lacking
and it has been lacking a LOT. Honestly,
a part of me has lost my ‘zeal’ for all things God related but I also know that
the Spirit is very willing but the flesh is so weak. This past week- my flesh definitely won, but
that doesn’t mean I am defeated.
Why? In Jesus, I have a LIVING
HOPE and its time I start to embrace it once again.
I recently picked up “The
Message” version of the Bible and I am LOVING reading it. I cannot get enough of it. As I re-discover stories I’ve heard thousands
of times before, I learning to re-embrace Jesus’ living Hope inside of me.
This. This is what God was calling me to do.
To slow down. To Trust Him.
To pray and to spend
intimate time with Him.
To rediscover His amazing
Love and
To allow His Living Hope
to reside in me once again
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