Recently I received an encouraging letter in the mail from a friend. She wrote on a small piece of paper a challenge for me, and I hung it on my bedroom wall. Her challenge was: Find joy in Jesus. Where does your joy come from? Jesus or things? That really got me thinking... I then rephrased that question with the word hope. Where do I find my hope and joy? I've learned from experience that it's easy to answer that question in hard times, until the things we really did place our joy in our taken away from us. When life seems to be falling apart, then we can truly ask ourselves where our joy is found, test our motives, and re-shift our focus.
The truth is, when the things we have hoped in start to fall through our hands, it gives us the ability to fully latch hold of our Savior as we should. Oftentimes, hard seasons in our lives cause us see the areas we maybe didn’t trust God in entirety before. Difficult times enable us to view His Word through a different perspective. Christians have hope even in their suffering, and good news that many others don’t. Now that’s something to rejoice about! What has kept us from letting this joy spill over and bless those around us? Is it because we've been too caught up in the things of this world? Over the years, God has taught me that my hope never was to be placed in material things. As much as I enjoy my friends, home, comforts, hobbies, and commitments, none of those things could ever satisfy me or keep me rooted. The only way I am guaranteed to have a sure foundation, regardless of the storms that come, is to be grounded in Christ. After all, are we really meant to only find joy in temporal things that’ll waste away? Take a step back this week and look at life through a different perspective. Jesus really is in control. He knows what it's like to suffer and to be beaten down with earth’s heaviness and oppression. Yet one thing that He never did was lose sight of His Father. Jesus knew that He was just passing through. Any trial He endured here on this earth paved the way for those who followed Him to endure with hope. Jesus didn’t die so that we could be tangled by the affairs of this world. He died to save us, give us eternal life, and assurance of the fact that He's already overcome! How does that inspire you to view these hardships through a more glorious light this week? If we are dedicated and true followers of Christ:
So whatever you’re going through right now, whether it be a sickness, confusion, financial struggles, a loss, or stress, please remember... Jesus is still here. The hope that He gave us does not come and go like our hardships do. It doesn’t matter what we lose, because what we have gained in Him is so much more. It doesn’t matter where we end up in this life, because in the end we know that we will be with Christ for eternity. Anything that we have hoped for here on this earth is sure to pass away, except our Lord Jesus Christ. He never changes. You still have hope, and no one can steal that from you. Romans 5:3-5- “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” *How may I pray for you this week? Send me an email at [email protected] with any prayer requests, and my prayer warriors and I will be sure to lift you up.* Love in Christ, Hannah K.
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AuthorHello, I'm Hannah and I'm so glad you're here! I'm a twenty-year-old Jesus-loving writer, National Bible Bee Alumna, and homeschool graduate. Jesus redeemed me, and now I give my life, and this blog, to serve Him. Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to encourage each other daily, lest we be hardened by sin. I hope that reading each blog entry that I post you will be encouraged and challenged to become more like Christ daily. |