verse of the day

Saturday 24 November 2012

Rejoicing in hope [Psalm 42 v 5 ]

Romans 12 v12 reads/Rejoicing in hope,patient in tribulation,continuing instant in prayer/, Godet in his commentary,quotes  a Hofmann ,who paraphrases these words as follows,/In so far as we have cause to hope, let us be joyful, in so far as we have cause of pain, let us hold out, in so far as the door of  prayer is open to us, let us continue to use it/
Rejoicing in hope, is this possible,when everything is taken from you?, yes it is possible, consider Job and what he suffered, consider Paul and what he suffered,yet they never lost hope.What about rejoicing in hope?, yes it is,consider Habakkuk ,he saw the devastation that was coming on his people.What Habakkuk never lost was hope, and so he was able to rejoice,he declares ,/Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation [3 v18] William Barclay wrote ,/There can never be any such thing as a hopeless Christian/, I don't know about that,but I do believe that if our hope is in God and His word, then we can truly hope and truly rejoice.When our hope is in others or even self,that hope can so easily leave us,but when our hope is in the one who cannot lie,in one who will always be faithful,in one who loves us with an everlasting love, and who manifested that love ,on an old rugged cross.
A  prayer...../Dear God, help us to rise above our fears,to trust in You,to not give into despair, and even the grace to rejoice in every situation in Jesus name Amen /

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