{"id":35915,"date":"2023-11-10T03:30:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T11:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=35915"},"modified":"2023-11-05T20:19:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T04:19:42","slug":"november-10-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2023\/11\/10\/november-10-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"November 10, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Waiting for Hope<\/strong><\/h2>\n

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”\u00a0<\/em>Romans 15:13<\/p>\n

A friend sent me a prayer last week.\u00a0It was written by George Matheson (1842-1906), a blind man who was a pastor and hymn writer.\u00a0It is incredibly powerful.\u00a0I wanted to share it with you.<\/p>\n

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Dear Lord, You have made waiting beautiful and patience divine.\u00a0You have taught us that Your will should be accepted, simply because it is Your will. You have revealed to us that a person may see nothing but sorrow in his cup yet still be willing to drink it because of a conviction that Your eyes see farther than his own.\u00a0Father, give me Your divine power\u2014the power of Gethsemane.\u00a0Give me the strength to wait for hope\u2014to look through the window when there are no stars.\u00a0Even when my joy is gone, give me the strength to stand victoriously in the darkest night and say, “To my heavenly Father, the sun still shines.” I have reached the point of greatest strength once I have learned to wait for hope.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I can’t begin to imagine what this prayer meant to this dear man all those years ago, but it stirred my deepest heart as I read it.\u00a0Quite honestly, it’s almost too much to pray all at once.\u00a0I’ve been praying it phrase by phrase, and will keep doing so.\u00a0There are a number of things I am waiting for in hope.\u00a0This prayer gives perspective to that wait. It points out that waiting can be beautiful.\u00a0I don’t usually see it that way!<\/p>\n

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”\u00a0 Jeremiah 29:11<\/p>\n

In our darkest time\u2014whatever that might be\u2014the sun of God’s love and grace still shines.\u00a0There is hope!\u00a0There are answers to prayers coming.\u00a0There is abundant strength for what we are facing. There is new joy when it seems we have been robbed of joy. There are plans God has for us that we can’t yet see.\u00a0He has a future for us that we may not have planned. He is good and faithful, and He wants to birth hope afresh in our hearts.<\/p>\n

Father, we ask You to birth that hope in each of us. We so often lose track of the truth that You are always working in our situations, even when we don\u2019t see Your hand. Help us to trust You more, until our final breath. In the powerful name of Your Son, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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