“No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.”
Psalm 33:16-22, NIV
{bold print added by me}
This psalm was so timely. I needed the reminder to praise Him and of His incredible greatness, power, and sovereignty.
One thing that particularly stuck out to me, however, was the word “hope.” It’s been a theme here lately. No matter how much I fail and fall short, I have such a great hope within me.
Oh how I’ve come to appreciate that old hymn that starts out, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.”
Nothing less, indeed! I fail so constantly that there certainly is no putting hope in myself. The world around, well, I find the opposite of hope there. Insecurity seems to be heightening at an exponential rate.
But Jesus’ blood and righteousness? It is enough. More than enough. It is a done deal. It is a sure and solid hope. Not a wistful hope. It’s not a wish, but a gift that has been given to all who will receive.
And that is amazing. “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!”
In a world of sickness, bombs exploding and fingers pointing, where I reel, weep and fall…
Lord, Help me ever receive this hope, breathe this hope that you have given. Thank you for wanting me to hope in Your unfailing love, not in the strength of myself or other people. Not in health or safety. I want those things, but I thank you that You have given me hope in this broken body and in this broken world, and that you never lie.
“…in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;”
Titus 1:2-3
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Sixty-six books in a year 