AI
Sunday, December 31, 2023 4:18:47 AM
Hope in God's Nearness
~ As we make space for His presence today, I pray that He fills us with a new measure of hope and life in His nearness.
As sons and daughters of the living God, faith founded on God’s nearness should be at the core of our hope.
Psalm 139:7-12 says:
“Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol [the grave], You are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night” — even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.”
There is no greater source of hope than God’s resounding declaration of His nearness. Jesus paid the ultimate price that you and I might be no longer separated from God. His presence now dwells within us through the Holy Spirit. And that fact brings a pervasive hope that has the ability to profoundly impact every aspect of our lives.
As you look forward, know that the God who dwells within you knows every little thing that will happen next. He dwells within all of eternity. Time for Him is not as it is for us. And He promises to be with you in the midst of any trial, pain, victory, or defeat. He longs for you to know His presence moment by moment in everything you will do.
Your heavenly Father says:
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” ~ Isaiah 41:10
You can have the fullness of hope because the God who fashioned time is “your God.” He will help you and be there for you. He will never “leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
While the rest of the world sits in fear and worry over what the future holds, your God is leading you in the path of peace that comes from trusting in His presence. But the choice is yours. Will you place your hope in yourself, others, the world, or in God? If you try and build your hope on the foundations of this world, you will find yourself tossed about by the ever-changing waves of man’s opinion. But if you choose to found your hope on the rock of God’s nearness, your life will be filled with all the goodness and mercy of God’s steadfast love.
Take time right now to place your hope in the loving nearness of your heavenly Father as you enter into prayer.
• Why do we live as if God isn’t near to us?
• Why do we fumble through life on our own when Jesus paid the ultimate price that we might have restored relationship with our loving Creator?
God has made available a better way of living and has called us to walk in it. He wants us to know His will, love, and power moment by moment. He wants our thoughts, emotions, and actions to be fully founded in His unshakable nearness.
Paul’s prayer in Romans 15:13 is my prayer for you today:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
May your day be filled with the peace that comes from trusting in God’s nearness.
_________________
~ excerpt of an article published by: First 15
https://www.first15.org/devotionals/hope-in-god's-nearness-2023/
•
~ As we make space for His presence today, I pray that He fills us with a new measure of hope and life in His nearness.
As sons and daughters of the living God, faith founded on God’s nearness should be at the core of our hope.
Psalm 139:7-12 says:
“Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol [the grave], You are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night” — even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.”
There is no greater source of hope than God’s resounding declaration of His nearness. Jesus paid the ultimate price that you and I might be no longer separated from God. His presence now dwells within us through the Holy Spirit. And that fact brings a pervasive hope that has the ability to profoundly impact every aspect of our lives.
As you look forward, know that the God who dwells within you knows every little thing that will happen next. He dwells within all of eternity. Time for Him is not as it is for us. And He promises to be with you in the midst of any trial, pain, victory, or defeat. He longs for you to know His presence moment by moment in everything you will do.
Your heavenly Father says:
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” ~ Isaiah 41:10
You can have the fullness of hope because the God who fashioned time is “your God.” He will help you and be there for you. He will never “leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
While the rest of the world sits in fear and worry over what the future holds, your God is leading you in the path of peace that comes from trusting in His presence. But the choice is yours. Will you place your hope in yourself, others, the world, or in God? If you try and build your hope on the foundations of this world, you will find yourself tossed about by the ever-changing waves of man’s opinion. But if you choose to found your hope on the rock of God’s nearness, your life will be filled with all the goodness and mercy of God’s steadfast love.
Take time right now to place your hope in the loving nearness of your heavenly Father as you enter into prayer.
• Why do we live as if God isn’t near to us?
• Why do we fumble through life on our own when Jesus paid the ultimate price that we might have restored relationship with our loving Creator?
God has made available a better way of living and has called us to walk in it. He wants us to know His will, love, and power moment by moment. He wants our thoughts, emotions, and actions to be fully founded in His unshakable nearness.
Paul’s prayer in Romans 15:13 is my prayer for you today:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
May your day be filled with the peace that comes from trusting in God’s nearness.
_________________
~ excerpt of an article published by: First 15
https://www.first15.org/devotionals/hope-in-god's-nearness-2023/
•
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