Passing on Hope
“I’m glad we’re Christians, Mama.”
Smiling in agreement, I asked my 11-year-old what made her feel that way. Her response still echoes in my heart.
Read the rest of the story at Just18Summers
Being Still in the Storm
Yesterday our family took an exotic trip.
Well, sort of. We went to the zoo, where we saw some very exotic animals.
It rained a little during our drive in, but the light drizzle cleared up before we left the parking lot. The sun came out a few hours later and bathed the animals and their habitats in brilliant light.
As we rode a tram to another side of the zoo, however, we noticed ominous black clouds literally splitting the sunny sky in two.
I wonder which direction those are heading? I mused.
Within minutes of arriving at our destination, the sky opened and a downpour began. Thankfully, we had just reached a pavilion, where we waited out the storm.
After the showers let up, a beautiful rainbow streaked across the darkened sky, reminding us of the God who keeps His promises. 
Life is a lot like our experience at the zoo. Sometimes storms come out of nowhere. Other times they spend a long time building up their fury. Either way, we’re often left scrambling for shelter.
I’ve faced a few such storms recently. Oh, how thankful I am for God my refuge.
“God is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1.
Always near and abundantly available, Jesus is a secure shelter for all who come to Him in faith. He’s also the strength we need to face those storms and whatever lies on the other side of them. And always, as yesterday’s rainbow reminded me, He is working to bring good out of every difficulty we face (Romans 8:28).
Because God shelters, strengthens and protects us, we can “be still and know that [He] is God…The [God of angel armies] is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold” (Psalm 46:10-11).
In what ways do you need God to be your refuge today? From what storms do you need a shelter? What weakness makes you desperate for Christ’s strength (2 Corinthians 12:9)?
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An Anchored Soul
Panic gripped my heart as I read the text from my sister –
“Emergency Alert: Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” 
My sister and her family moved to Hawaii three weeks ago. Just in time to enter the path of a ballistic missile.
I fought back tears while searching Google for any sign this might be a mistake. Thankfully, I found tweets calling it a false alarm, and within minutes my sister confirmed the alert had indeed been an error.
Relief replaced fear as I thought of what could have been.
These are crazy times, crazy scary times, in which we live. How easy it would be to spend our days in fear or negativity. And we’d have good reason to live that way, except for one thing.
We belong to the God of hope.
Hope.
What a beautiful, life-giving, fear-quenching word. Used nearly 150 times in Scripture, hope is central to our faith in Christ.
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary” (Hebrews 6:19, NLT).
No situation, no tragedy, no uncertainty, no problem, no sin can change who our God is – merciful and gracious, all-powerful and perfectly pure. He Himself is our hope, the anchor of our souls in every storm we’ll ever face. And He’s always at work – in good times and bad.
In this hope I rest, secure in the love and goodness of God lavished on me though Jesus.
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But I know I won’t face it alone.
The God who holds eternity in His hands, who keeps the stars shining and the earth in orbit – that’s my God. He loves me and is always with me. He’s washed me clean in His blood. He’s made me forever His child. And one day, He’ll right every wrong and make all things new.
This hope – it’s the anchor of my soul.
How about you? If you know Jesus, how does your friendship with God give you hope? What does that look like in everyday life? I’d love to hear!
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Just a Taste
Samples. They’re my kids’ favorite part of shopping at Costco. (They might actually be mine, also. I’m just too grown up to admit it.) 
Just a taste. Enough to make you rush over to that cooler and grab your own box of goodness to take home for dinner.
Jesus’ coming at Christmastime was a bit like tasting a sample. For 33 years, God physically lived among humankind. He chose 12 men to be His closest friends and daily opened His heart to them.
He healed the sick and made the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see. He displayed His power over darkness as He commanded demons to release their hold on human souls. He raised the dead, forgave sinners and birthed hope in weary hearts.
All this was a taste of things to come. God with us showed what God forever with us will be like.
“…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).
One day, God will walk among us again. He’ll wipe away all sickness for good. Never again will people become lame or deaf or blind. Demons will be banished and sin will be forever gone. And death? It will never sting again.
This is the gospel of the Christ Child – born in a stable, killed on a cross, risen from the grave and coming again soon.
As we celebrate Emmanuel this Christmas season, may the good news of His gospel burn within our hearts and be ever ready on our tongues. May He fill our hearts with hope as we look forward to His return.
May we savor the joys with which He surrounds us and rest in the nearness of God.
How have you tasted the goodness of God (Psalm 34:8)? I’d love to hear! Please comment below.
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On Questions without Answers
By Meredith Mills
@DazzledByTheSon
Why, God? Why?
Has that question ever haunted you? Does your faith flounder when life deals a low blow, like our punching bag shuddering before my kids’ Kung Fu fists?
Mine does sometimes, especially when logic goes unsatisfied and cliché answers just won’t do. It’s been one of those seasons for me lately as we’ve grieved with several friends over the loss of beloved family members.
If you, too, wonder why, I invite you into the wrestling match within my soul.
Here are some of the questions I’ve been asking God lately:
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If You are sovereign, as Your Word says You are, why do You sometimes allow horrible things to happen? I get the whole “free will” thing – some people chose to hurt others. And if I’m honest, I hurt others at times, too.
But why accidents? If You are good, as I’ve tasted and seen You are, why don’t You stop them before they occur?
I can’t make sense of this. And my heart is afraid to trust You with my future.
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Oh, the comfort of bringing my restless heart to Jesus and listening as He speaks through His Spirit and His Word. 
God led me to the story of Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11). Remember that time when He could have stopped His friend from dying, but He didn’t? He didn’t get there in time – on purpose.
I’ve never before noticed the connection between verses five and six. “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.”
What?
Because He loved them, He stayed away long enough to let Lazarus die.
That seems utterly illogical. Lazarus’ sisters thought so, too. They both essentially accused Jesus of not loving them because He let their brother die through His tardiness. Divine love often baffles human reason.
Yet Jesus didn’t get angry with their questions or rebuke their boldness. On the contrary, He did something quite the opposite.
Jesus wept (John 11:35).
He knew the miracle He was about to perform – He would command death to release it’s grip on His friend. Within minutes, He would restore Lazarus to life and give him back into his sisters’ arms.
Yet His heart was so deeply moved by His loved ones’ suffering that He, too, wept with them. He felt their pain, and He feels ours, too.
He could have prevented Lazarus’ death, but He saw a bigger picture. Instead, He drew near to the sisters and wept with them.
This is Emmanuel, God with us. Near to the brokenhearted. A very present help in our need (Psalm 34:18, 46:1). The God of comfort restores shattered lives, trades beauty for ashes and replaces heaviness with praise.
He knows the end of our story, too – that for believers in Jesus, death is not the end. One day our suffering will be over. Like Lazarus and his sisters, we will be reunited with those gone before us into heaven.
But Jesus’ knowledge of the future doesn’t prevent Him from feeling our pain in the present or pouring out His comfort in abundant measure. 
After weeping with Mary and Martha, He proved that He Himself is the resurrection and the life. Death has no hold on Him. And one day, it will have no hold on us either.
Until that day, there will be many unanswered questions. Many times we won’t understand or feel the love of God. We’ll have many opportunities to wrestle with Him and choose faith when nothing makes sense, because we’ve found that Jesus alone holds life, hope, healing and peace.
He will set all things right someday.
In the meantime, He is so close, and His nearness is our good.
How has God walked you through wrestling matches of the soul? I’d love to hear – please leave a comment below.
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