Hope in God and Renew Your Strength (Isa 40:27-31)
In a cynical age it a great assurance to know that we can spread the message that by hoping in God we can renew our strength. Too many people give in to the prevailing winds of cynical, skepticism and nay-saying but this command carries a promise of hope, renewal and great strength.
Isaiah wrote to the people of Israel at a time when King Cyrus was oppressing the people. As a result many of the Israelities complained and wondered out loud, "My way is hidden from the Lrod my cause is disregarded by my God." Nevertheless, Isaiah reminds them that the Lord is our everlasting source of strength, renewal and hope. He writes, "The Lord is the everlasting God the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isa 40;28,29)
Abraham Lincoln: At the worst part of the Civil War when victory seemed hopeless he said, "Without Christ I cannot succeed. With Christ I cannot fail."
Here are some guidelines to increasing your moment by moment hope:
1. BELIEVE - Greater faith increases our hope as we believe God has the power to create anew, refresh and revitalize worn out people. Trust God in greater ways for the enabling power to do great things to help expand His kingdom and His righteousness.
2. PRAISE - Praise God for His ability to provide you with all the provisions to sustain you through dry, difficult and discouraging times. Too many people forget to praise God for His capacity to never grow tired or to lack any good thing. When we praise God for His limitless resources we can overflow with hope.
3. KNOW - Realize that your hope in God provides you with greater certain in the midst of an uncertain world. We can increase in our knowledge as grow in our intimate experiential knowledge of the Lord’s wonderful attributes. Go to key word and write "attribues of God". There you will find 641 attributes of God that I have written along with prayers of praise for each one. This will enhance your inimtate knowledge of God as you increase in your understanding and application of knowing God more fully
4. SING - Increase your hope as you rejoice in hope through song of praise, worship and reflection. Let us rejoice in the hope of the glory, love and wisdom of God that re-configures our thinking. Go to www.cyberhymnal.org and sing along with hundreds of wonderful hymns that inspire new hope in God’s almighty power, purpose and perspective.
5. RENOUNCE - Renounce your hope in possessions, people or preoccupations on earthly things. Paul wrote, "Fix your thoughts on things above instead of on things of the earth. For your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col. 3:1-4)
6. RELINQUISH - Relinquish your hope that things in the world are going to get better. Read in 2 Tim 3,4 how the conditions in the world will continue to deteriorate as we get closer to the second coming of Christ. As we yield up our rights and realize that we can be rejoicing in hope, patient in afflication and faithful in prayer (Rom. 12:10-12) then we can more easily surrender all to the hope we find in Christ, in His word and in His Spirit’s fellowship.
7. RECHARGE - Praise God that through your morning and evening devotions in His word and prayer you can renew your hope in God. Without this time alone with God, Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing... but if you abide in me and my words abide in you then you can ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you." (John 15:5-7) Take time every morning and evening to recharge your spiritual, emotional, mental and attitudinal batteries so that you can overflow with hope that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (Phil. 4:13)
8. REASSURE - Reassure your heart and mind with the confidence in God’s precious and magnificent promises. Peter wrote, "Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who calls us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises so that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature having escaped corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Pet 1:3,4)
9. REMEMBER - Remember what you were like before Christ became your Savior and remember Jesus Christ as your source of the everlasting spring of hope. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:12, "Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." (Eph. 2:12-13)
10. RESIST - Resist the temptations to spend too much time watching the news or reading the newspaper. There is not much reason filling your mind with the hopeless situation that people in the world are in. Paul made it clear the state people are in without Christ. Refuse to give in to discouragement, criticisms, or adversities. Paul wrote, "Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things. Always bearing in our body the death of the Lord Jesus so that the life of Jesus made be made manifest in our bodies." (2 Cor. 4:4-8) Do not let the hopeless, skeptical and cynical people around you drag you in to their sense of hopelessness.
11. REMEDY - Provide remedies for people who are hopeless with Christ, His promises and His gospel’s message of promised deliverance. Speak the truth in love to help people grow up in all aspects into Christ. Know that there is no hopeless situation when we are depending on Christ for His perspective, deliverance and enabling guidance.
12. RELINK - Relink faith, hope and love. Know that the triad of Christian virtues cannot be separated. We cannot overflow with hope unless we are incrreasing in our Christ’s inspired faith, hope and love. These three characteristics are like the legs of a three legged stool. As long as they are equally strong then it will bear the weight of all our burdens, pressures and problems.
Concluding Thought:
Take your vitamins every day
Anxious- Take Vitamin A
"All things work together for good for those who love God,
who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
Blue- Take Vitamin B
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is
within me, bless His Holy name." (Psalm 103:1)
Crushed- Take Vitamin C
"Cast all your care on Him, because he cares for you."(1Peter5:7)
Depressed- Take Vitamin D
"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)
Empty- Take Vitamin E
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with
praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name." (Psalm 100:4)
Fearful- Take Vitamin F
"Fear not, for I am with you, do not be afraid,
for I am your God." (Isaiah 41:10)
Greedy- Take Vitamin G
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, running over, will be put unto your lap; for the
measure you give will be the measure you get back." (Luke 6:38)
Hesitant - Take Vitamin H
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
the messenger who announces peace, who brings good
news, who announces Salvation, who says to Zion,
’Your God reigns.’" (Isaiah 52:7)
Insecure- Take Vitamin I
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."(Philippians 4:13)
Jittery- Take Vitamin J
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."(Hebrews 13:8)
Know nothing- Take Vitamin K
"Know this that the LORD is God, it is He that made
us and not we ourselves. (Psalm 100:3)
Lonely- Take Vitamin L
"Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."(Matthew 28:20)
Mortgaged- Take Vitamin M
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is
made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Nervous- Take Vitamin N
"Never, no never will I leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
Overwhelmed- Take Vitamin O
"Overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)
Perplexed or puzzled?- Take Vitamin P
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
Quitting- Take Vitamin Q
"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."(1 Corinthians 16:13)
Restless- Take Vitamin R
"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." (Psalm 37:7)
Scared- Take Vitamin S
"Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my
life seeks your life; you will be safe with me." (1 Samuel 22:23)
Tired- Take Vitamin T
"Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
Uncertain- Take Vitamin U
"Understand that I am (the LORD). Before Me no God was
formed, nor shall there be any after Me." (Isaiah 43:10)
Vain- Take Vitamin V
"Vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.(Acts 5:16)
Wondering what to do?- Take Vitamin W
"What does the LORD require of you but to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
Exhausted?- Take Vitamin X
"Exercise thyself rather unto godliness." (1 Timothy 4:7)
Yearning for hope?- Take Vitamin Y
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)
Zapped- Take Vitamin Z
"Zealous for good deeds." (Titus 2:14)
