28
Nov '18
Hope Is Our Strategy
28
Nov '18
Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7)
My favorite football team has lost eight consecutive games as I write this. With each loss, it’s harder to hope this season can be redeemed for them. The coach has made changes weekly, but they haven’t resulted in wins. Talking with my coworkers, I’ve joked that merely wanting a different outcome can’t guarantee it. “Hope is not a strategy,” I’ve quipped.
That’s true in football. But in our spiritual lives, it’s just the opposite. Not only is cultivating hope in God a strategy, but clinging to Him in faith and trust is the only strategy. This world often disappoints us, but hope can anchor us in God’s truth and power during the turbulent times.
Micah understood this reality. He was heartbroken by how Israel had turned away from God. “Woe is me! . . . The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men” (7:1–2). But then he refocused on his true hope: “Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me” (v. 7).
What does it take to maintain hope in harsh times? Micah shows us: Watching. Waiting. Praying. Remembering. God hears our cries even when our circumstances are overwhelming. In these moments, clinging to and acting in response to our hope in God is our strategy, the only strategy that will help us weather life’s storms.
Father, You’ve promised to be an anchor for our hearts when circumstances look discouraging. Help us call out to You in faith and hope, believing that You hear our hearts’ cries. Amen.
After reading this devotion I pray you walk away with hope in times of discouragement. He is your source of hope. What does it take to maintain hope in harsh times? Watching. Waiting. Praying. Remembering.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalms 37:4