Tuesday... Where do I put my hope?

And that is a great question, isn't it?

I was in my spot at Aspire Coffee, my usual spot each morning and I overheard a young man talking to a barista about the fact that he had gotten to Double A in the minor leagues in baseball for the Detroit Tigers and then got hurt and had to give up on his dream. And he had come home. That is tough.

King David in Psalm 39 was doing some analyzing of his life. In verses 6-7a he writes, "We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?" Good, good question. But David in 7b had the answer, "My only hope is in you."

Now Paul in the New Testament had this church that had gotten off track and he wrote a letter to them. I have a friend who is on a trip and she sent pictures back of this town, the town is Corinth and Paul wrote two letters to the church there. They were going through a messy time. Maybe you are going through a messy time and you need to be reminded of where your hope lies too.

In 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 Paul writes, "He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

He then says in verses 18-19, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and disregard the intelligence of the intelligent.'" (Isa. 1:19) We can think we are so smart and we can put our hope in the things of the world and in ourselves.

He then writes in verses 24-25, "But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength."

And David also reminds us in verses 12-13 (MSG) what we can do even in our mess, in our weakness, in our despair. He says, "Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my cry - open your ears. Don't be callous; just look at these tears of mine. I'm a stranger here. I don't know my way - a migrant like my whole family. Give me break, cut me some slack before it's too late and I'm out of here."

Remember, "God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength." And he is our only hope.

If you have a personal relationship with God then call out to God through prayer. He is where we put our hope. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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