Yesterday I listened to a message by Tim Keller. All on hope. My heart needed this and today I am tracing the word throughout the Bible. Let’s go.
“For the poor will not always be forgotten, Nor the hope of the burdened perish forever. Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged before You. Put them in [reverent] fear of You, O Lord, So that the nations may know they are but [frail and mortal] men. Selah.”
Psalms 9:18-20 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.9.18-20.AMP
“I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my innermost self] rejoices; My body too will dwell [confidently] in safety,”
Psalms 16:8-9 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.16.8-9.AMP
Set the Lord before me. I am looking to him, not what is around me. I will not be shaken. In fact, my heart can be glad and my soul can rejoice. My body rests confidently. That’s pretty much covering all of me. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and your mind. Mark 12:30-31
“O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful [those with moral and spiritual integrity] And fully repays the [self-righteousness of the] arrogant. Be strong and let your hearts take courage, All you who wait for and confidently expect the Lord.”
Psalms 31:23-24 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.31.23-24.AMP
Love the Lord. He preserves those who are humble and faithful. I have no strength in myself, but in the Lord, my heart takes courage. I remember I can expect the Lord. No matter my view, the Lord has it all in his control.
“For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will answer, O Lord my God.”
Psalms 38:15 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.38.15.AMP
I know God will answer. I want his answer. I want his will, in his time and in his way. I hope here in the shadow of his wings.
““And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait? My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.”
Psalms 39:7 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.39.7.AMP
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you restless and disturbed within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my [sad] countenance and my God.”
Psalms 43:5 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.43.5.AMP
Despair, restless, and disturbed do not mark a person resting in the Lord. When I see these attributes in myself, it is an indication that I need a shift. I place my hope and my waiting in his hands. I worship. I praise, for he is my help.
“For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my trust and the source of my confidence from my youth. Upon You have I relied and been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother’s womb and You have been my benefactor from that day. My praise is continually of You. But as for me, I will wait and hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And of Your [deeds of] salvation all day long, For their number is more than I know.”
Psalms 71:5-6, 14-15 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.71.5-15.AMP
Declarations. My hope. My trust. My confidence. See, this is where we fumble, we look at our circumstances or our feelings and we allow them to be our teachers. This is not the truth. These declarations are the truth. He has given us everything we need. Notice these words that keep coming together. Hope and wait. And praise. In the waiting we hope. This is not in our strength. That route fails every time.
“May those who [reverently] fear You see me and be glad, Because I wait for Your word. My soul languishes and grows weak for Your salvation; I wait for Your word. You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word. I hope and wait [with complete confidence] for Your salvation, O Lord, And I do Your commandments.”
Psalms 119:74, 81, 114, 166 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.119.74-166.AMP
I wait for Your word. (3 times in these four verses). rather than me racking my brain for solutions, or words, or deliverance. Soul, it is time to wait with the word on my mind. You are my hiding place.
“I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits, And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; More than the watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.”
Psalms 130:5-7 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.130.5-7.AMP
I wait for the Lord, not for how I can figure out my circumstances. I place my hope in his word. I look for the Lord, not pasting my solutions. Lovingkindness is a covenant word. His lovingkindness is promised. We are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb.
“How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel), Whose hope is in the Lord his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them, Who keeps truth and is faithful forever, Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners.”
Psalms 146:5-7 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.146.5-7.AMP
This final selection of hope in Psalms reminds me that no matter how life may appear, I am blessed. I declare I am making the Lord my hope. He is creator God. He holds all truth. He is always faithful. He is justice. He is giver. And he is loosing the ties that bind and setting us free.
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