Hold My Hand

Hold my hand cause I can't see and my only hope is You leading me,

Hold my heart cause the cut is deep and it feels like all life is beginning to flee,

Hold my head cause my thoughts are racing, focus is lost, these are giants I'm facing,

Wipe my tears cause the pain is real, I'm becoming numb when I just want to feel,

Steady my lungs cause I'm so afraid that I'll be found lacking at the end of the day,

Why do I worry and why do I plan when all that I have rests in your hands?

Why do I cry and why do I grieve, Your word is truth, You'll never leave,

Lord take this burden, help me to let go,

Help me believe, Help me to know,

Help me to remember just How far we've come,

How Your love is redeeming, How you sent Your Son,

How in the midst of doubt and fear, everything's wrong and nothing's clear,

Nothing has changed, You're purpose goes on,

You are Good, You are Holy, You are Sovereign, You are GOD

What If His People Prayed?

I fully believe we underestimate the power of prayer. If we really understood it, and really believed what the Bible said about it, we would be spending hours in prayer everyday. Personally, I fail at it. All the time. I have so much to learn and so far to go.

"What if his people prayed, turned from their own way and truely saught his face?"

“Prayer is action. By it we step out in advance of all other results….Praying is an activity upon which all others depend. By prayer we establish a beachhead for the kingdom among peoples where it has never been before. Prayer strikes the winning blow. All other missionary efforts simply gather up the fruits of our praying. ”
David Bryant

"Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as all-sufficient." John Piper

“We can reach our world, if we will. The greatest lack today is not people or funds. The greatest need is prayer.” Wesley Duewel

“In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God’s work, especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer." Dick Eastman

“ It is possible for the most obscure person in a church, with a heart right toward God, to exercise as much power for the evangelization of the world, as it is for those who stand in the most prominent positions.”
John R. Mott

Our Hope Is Alive

1 Peter 1:3-7 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”

Phillipians 1:6 “ And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

I love the hope found in these passages. As Christians we put our hope in Christ. We believe He died on behalf of us, and through Him our relationship with the Father has been restored. We believe through Him, one day all of Creation will be restored to its intended state. Everything will be made right. He will wipe away every tear, relieve all suffering, and justice will be served to all the Earth. When we are born again and decide to follow Christ, everything is not made right immediately, it is just the start. The Holy Spirit begins a work in us, transforming our hearts and minds to the likeness of Christ. This work continues our whole lives. It can be hard here and now because although Christ has started a great work, everything is not yet right. But it will be, and that is our hope. He who began a good work is faithful to see it finished. He who started a work in us is not going to let it slip away. We are His. Although we have not seen Him, we love Him. We believe in Him and we rejoice -not because life is easy and things are always good, but because they will be. One day Christ will be revealed to the whole Earth, we will watch as He takes His seat on the throne, and He will reign.

This is reason to rejoice now.

Things may be hard, but they are only momentary. We may cry tears because of our struggles, but one day He will personally wipe them all away. We may be in situations that are not fair, but we keep loving and striving to live for Him, because on the day He takes His throne justice will be served and all will be made right.

Don’t forget your hope. Don’t let your heart be discouraged. Keep living for Christ. Keep loving. Keep serving. Keep doing what is right even when you want to stop. Keep praising Him even when you don’t understand your situation. Your hope is alive, He is working, and one day all will be right.

Press on.