Sept 20th Devotion
Hope
Charles Swindoll
Can you remember a recent "gray slush" day? Of course you can. So can I. The laws of fairness and justice were displaced by a couple of Murphy's Laws. Your dream dissolved into a nightmare. High hopes took a hike. Good intentions got lost in a comedy of errors, only this time nobody was laughing. You didn't soar, you slumped. Instead of "pressing on the upward way," you felt like telling Bunyan to move over as you slid down into his Slough of Despond near Doubting Castle, whose owner was Giant Despair. Discouragement is just plain awful.
One of the greatest benefits to be gleaned from the Bible is perspective. When we get discouraged, we temporarily lose our perspective. Little things become mammoth. A slight irritation, such as a pebble in a shoe, seems huge. Motivation is drained away and, worst of all, hope departs.
God's Word is tailor-made for gray-slush days. It sends a beam of light through the fog. It signals safety when we fear we'll never make it through. Such big-picture perspective gives us a hope transplant, and within a brief period of time, we have escaped the bleak and boring and we're back at soaring.
God has an ultimate goal in mind: that we might have hope. And what leads to such a goal? Two things: perseverance and encouragement from the Scriptures. Again, the goal is hope. God has not designed a life of despondency for us. He wants His people to have hope. And such hope comes from the teaching of the Bible. Through endurance and through encouragement from the Scriptures, we can gain hope.
He promises us hope—relief from discouragement. Yes, it's available. And we can actually stand firm through discouraging times but only if we apply His instructions. Hard as it may be for you to believe, you will be able to walk right through those "gray slush" days with confidence. The One who gives perseverance and encouragement will escort you through the down days, never leaving you in the lurch.
Discouragement may be awful, but it is not terminal.
Charles Swindoll
Can you remember a recent "gray slush" day? Of course you can. So can I. The laws of fairness and justice were displaced by a couple of Murphy's Laws. Your dream dissolved into a nightmare. High hopes took a hike. Good intentions got lost in a comedy of errors, only this time nobody was laughing. You didn't soar, you slumped. Instead of "pressing on the upward way," you felt like telling Bunyan to move over as you slid down into his Slough of Despond near Doubting Castle, whose owner was Giant Despair. Discouragement is just plain awful.
One of the greatest benefits to be gleaned from the Bible is perspective. When we get discouraged, we temporarily lose our perspective. Little things become mammoth. A slight irritation, such as a pebble in a shoe, seems huge. Motivation is drained away and, worst of all, hope departs.
God's Word is tailor-made for gray-slush days. It sends a beam of light through the fog. It signals safety when we fear we'll never make it through. Such big-picture perspective gives us a hope transplant, and within a brief period of time, we have escaped the bleak and boring and we're back at soaring.
God has an ultimate goal in mind: that we might have hope. And what leads to such a goal? Two things: perseverance and encouragement from the Scriptures. Again, the goal is hope. God has not designed a life of despondency for us. He wants His people to have hope. And such hope comes from the teaching of the Bible. Through endurance and through encouragement from the Scriptures, we can gain hope.
He promises us hope—relief from discouragement. Yes, it's available. And we can actually stand firm through discouraging times but only if we apply His instructions. Hard as it may be for you to believe, you will be able to walk right through those "gray slush" days with confidence. The One who gives perseverance and encouragement will escort you through the down days, never leaving you in the lurch.
Discouragement may be awful, but it is not terminal.
Recent
Archive
2021
May
June
June 1st DevotionJune 2nd DevotionJun3 3rd DevotionJune 4th DevotionJune 7th DevotionJune 8th DevotionJune 9th DevotionJune 10th DevotionJune 11th DevotionJune 14th DevotionJune 15th DevotionJune 16th DevotionJune 17th DevotionJun 18th DevotionJune 21st DevotionJune 22nd DevotionJune 23rd DevotionJune 24th DevotionJune 25th DevotionJune 28th DevotionJune 29th DevotionJune 30th Devotion
July
July 1st DevotionJuly 2nd DevotionJuly 5th DevotionJuly 6th DevotionJuly 7th DevotionJuly 8th DevotionJuly 9th DevotionJuly 12th DevotionJuly 13 DevotionJuly 14th DevotionJuly 15th DevotionJuly 16th DevotionJuly 19th DevotionJuly 20th DevotionJuly 21st DevotionJuly 22nd DevotionJuly 23rd DevotionJuly 26th DevotionJuly 27th DevotionJuly 28th DevotionJuly 29th DevotionJuly 30th Devotion
August
Aug 2nd DevotionAugust 3rd DevotionAug 4th DevotionAug 5th DevotionAug 6th DevotionAug 9th DevotionAug 10th DevotionAug 11th DevotionAug 12th DevotionAug 13th DevotionAug 16th DevotionAugust 17th DevotionAug 18th DevotionAug 19th DevotionAug 20th DevotionAug 23rd DevotionAug 24th DevotionAug 25th DevotionAug 26th DevotionAug 27th DevotionWarning - If you are reading thisWarning - If you are reading thisAug 30th DevotionAug 31 DevotionBreaking News
September
Sept 1 DevotionSept 2nd DevotionSept 3rd DevotionPeace in the Middle EastSept 6th DevotionSept 7th DevotionWho are these two?Sept 8th DevotionSept 9th DevotionSept 10th DevotionSept 13th DevotionNew World OrderSept. 14th DevotionOne World RelgionSept 15th DevotionSept 16th DevotionSept 17th DevotionSept 20th DevotionWorld ChaosThe two witnesses are deadSept 22nd DevotionSept 23rd DevotionSept 24th DevotionSept 27th DevotionCan it get worse?
No Comments