When it comes to trials sometimes perseverence is all you think you can do.
But that doesn't mean it's all God can do.
He wants us to hope. To hope in Him moving in our lives.
Maybe you think you're running out of hope.
You can pray for hope. Ask for greater hope. Ask for the grace to persevere in hope.
It's always worth it; hoping.
Just so long as what you are hoping for is God's Will to be fulfilled in your life. Anything else is not worth hoping for. It will leave you unsatisfied and still needing God's Will in the end.
That is, after all, the best thing and it is also the only thing worth desiring. It is the only thing which satisfies in the end because it is the end for which the human heart is hard wired to desire.
So ask for hope when you're struggling with life.
"Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him and He will act." (Psalms 37:5)
He will act.
_____________________
I really like the image of the "handmaid" from Biblical times. The Blessed Virgin Mary refers to herself as the "handmaid" of the Lord. What was a handmaid? As I underatand it this refered to a servant who stayed at her master's feet and kept her eyes on the master's foot or hand; at the slightest, indicating movement from the master the handmaid would immmediately get up to fulfill the master's desire which was made known through a simple flick of the hand or a movement of the foot.
Mary delighted to be this "lowly" servant; perfectly patient and attentive to her Lord's slightest indication. She was a woman filled with hope because she kept her eyes transfixed on God and listened for His Word. With her whole being she waited and listened. When God desired to speak His eternal Word into the center of her feminine being - her womb - she was able to humbly consent:
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)
God intends to bring us to a point of making a deeper "fiat" (Latin for "let it be") to His Will through helping us grow in hope. He allows that we are brought to a point of greater dependency on Him; a greater need for His intervention. He wants us to lovingly sit at His feet and wait for the slightest indication of His Will not out of fear but out of LOVE.
Where else could you possibly want to be if not sitting at His feet listening to his Word?
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feed of him who brings good news." (Isaiah 52:7)
And if He seems silent for a time is there anything that could hold your attention better than the love in His eyes? If you are looking for and hoping for something other than Him; if you THINK God isn't enough for your heart right now; if your attention is diverted away from Him... maybe God just wants you to refocus and be an attentive "handmaid" again.
"For hope does not disappoint." (Romans 5:5)
Because true hope is always fulfilled in God. Always. So don't give up. Go to Him and wait for Him to act.
"For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." (Habakkuk 2:3)
It will certainly come and will not delay.
"Wait for the Lord, take courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27: 14)
Meditate on Psalm 27 and receive the gift of hope.
-MM
So ask for hope when you're struggling with life.
"Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him and He will act." (Psalms 37:5)
He will act.
_____________________
I really like the image of the "handmaid" from Biblical times. The Blessed Virgin Mary refers to herself as the "handmaid" of the Lord. What was a handmaid? As I underatand it this refered to a servant who stayed at her master's feet and kept her eyes on the master's foot or hand; at the slightest, indicating movement from the master the handmaid would immmediately get up to fulfill the master's desire which was made known through a simple flick of the hand or a movement of the foot.
Mary delighted to be this "lowly" servant; perfectly patient and attentive to her Lord's slightest indication. She was a woman filled with hope because she kept her eyes transfixed on God and listened for His Word. With her whole being she waited and listened. When God desired to speak His eternal Word into the center of her feminine being - her womb - she was able to humbly consent:
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)
God intends to bring us to a point of making a deeper "fiat" (Latin for "let it be") to His Will through helping us grow in hope. He allows that we are brought to a point of greater dependency on Him; a greater need for His intervention. He wants us to lovingly sit at His feet and wait for the slightest indication of His Will not out of fear but out of LOVE.
Where else could you possibly want to be if not sitting at His feet listening to his Word?
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feed of him who brings good news." (Isaiah 52:7)
And if He seems silent for a time is there anything that could hold your attention better than the love in His eyes? If you are looking for and hoping for something other than Him; if you THINK God isn't enough for your heart right now; if your attention is diverted away from Him... maybe God just wants you to refocus and be an attentive "handmaid" again.
"For hope does not disappoint." (Romans 5:5)
Because true hope is always fulfilled in God. Always. So don't give up. Go to Him and wait for Him to act.
"For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." (Habakkuk 2:3)
It will certainly come and will not delay.
"Wait for the Lord, take courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27: 14)
Meditate on Psalm 27 and receive the gift of hope.
-MM
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