Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all of your heart.”
Yesterday at church my wonderful and inspirational pastor delivered a sermon on hope. I realized shortly into the sermon…it was something I really have been needing to hear. Sometimes I don’t think we realize, as people, just how much hope we have lost or how much false hope we are harboring until someone puts it out there in our face and says, “Hey…trust and hope!!”.
“In this world today it is very easy to be frightened and scared. We as people need someone to love and love us back, something to do that matters and something to hope for.” This is paraphrased, but this part of the sermon really had me going. I began to relate this to what I do in my own life…I am a musician and I began to think about musicians from the past and how many of them, while alive, had no popularity but today are remembered as some of the most influential people of their time. I think sometimes it is hard to see the validity of what we all are doing right now. It is hard to see the importance of the stories we tell, the poems we write, the people we talk to, the gifts that we give, the smile or hand shake, the time to listen to someone who is having a bad day. We are hope bearers to our fellow man on a daily basis, yet we sometimes forget to have hope in ourselves and that something great yet unknown experience of being with God one day. “Grow where you are planted, set roots, and pay attention to what is important.” I think the important things my pastor was speaking of were our friends and families, our relationship with God, our unique gifts — not our selfish wants and desires — but more the things we have already been blessed with.
With the up and down cycle of our world today it would be safe to say most people are praying a whole lot more then they have before…which is sad, because prayer should be something we choose to do. I love my quiet time with God, I have it each day…it is humbling to feel and know I am loved always, no matter what else might be going wrong in my life. Many people I know have been laid off from work, over-spent and under-saved, have procrastinated or just simply refused to face reality — and they are praying for a miracle, for a hope to come and illuminate them. But I believe when we pray for something, God does not simply grant our wish he gives us the opportunity to make it happen. Maybe this crazy mixed up world is our opportunity to find hope again…maybe this is our time to realize we are not what we can spend and buy but who we are on the inside.
I have hope and I will keep on hoping! I find hope in every person I meet I know people with much more and much less then I will ever have but I believe there is an underlying good in everyone. I thank God everyday for the wonderful people in my life my family, my pastor, my man, my pets, and of course my wonderful friends both in real life and here on buddyslim! If I could tag every single one of you on this note I would…so if I left you out I am sorry, but know I love you and care! I will never stop caring…you are all in my heart.
I believe people come into our lives disguised as angels, and sometimes angels come into our lives disguised as people. It is possible to see God anywhere. All it takes are open eyes and ears and the willingness to see miracles. They are everywhere. God is as available as we are. Having people that inspire me to rise to higher and greater levels on a daily basis is an awesome gift. Thank you!
“Grace and Nothing More”
I thought while on this voyage long
My strength God would increase
And at some point along the way
My struggling would cease
I fought with boldness, wind and wave
And yet the skirmish lost
Exhausted, all provision gone
The channel still uncrossed
As lifeless I in stillness drift
Just strength enough to pray
It’s only then I feel the surge
That speeds me on my way
By His own hand and faithfulness
He steers me toward a distant shore
And the wind that billows in the sail
Is grace and nothing more
Yes, it’s grace and nothing more
I seek the bloom of holiness
He leads me deep within
Reveals the hardness of my heart
Unearths my hidden sin
My barren soul groans in despair
In brokenness I cry
Oh, God, I find no hope in me
A smile His sweet reply
For where the tears of brokenness
Have soaked the fallow ground
The tender shoots of holiness
Now spring up all around
Strength in my weakness
Joy through the pain
Hope when I’m helpless
Loss my greatest gain
By His own hand and faithfulness
He steers me toward a distant shore
And the wind that billows in the sail
Is grace and nothing more
Yes, it’s grace and nothing more
Words by Jon Mohr
Music by Rob Mathes and Phil Naish
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