The strain of my misery
into the strength of His mercy
The storm of my feeling
into the serenity of His faith
The wound of my hurt
into the wonder of His healing
The bread of my adversity
into the beauty of His adoration
The torment of my failure
into the triumph of His favor
The guilt of my sin
into the grace of His salvation
The confusion of my wandering
into the clarity of His ways
The bitterness of my rebellion
into the beauty of His righteousness
The groan of my wrestling
into the glory of His resting
God Can Make...
....all things beautiful in His time.
The poem above was written by Alan several years ago.
Hope in God's promises, therefore, is not a wishful longing but a faith-filled confidence for the future. It is simply impossible to trust one of God's promises and not anticipate its coming true. To know God is to trust Him. And to trust God is to trust His promises. And to trust God's promises is to be sure of their fulfillment. This assurance concerning the future, anchored in God's promises, is what the Bible calls "hope." ~Scott Hafemann
The God of Promise and the Life of Faith. Crossway Books, 2001, p. 109.
Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called “the rejoicing of hope” (Hebrews 3:6).
~William Gurnall A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 144.
Every Christian who struggles with depression struggles to keep their hope clear. There is nothing wrong with the object of their hope – Jesus Christ is not defective in any way whatsoever. But the view from the struggling Christian's heart of their objective hope could be obscured by disease and pain, the pressures of life, and by Satanic fiery darts shot against them… All discouragement and depression is related to the obscuring of our hope, and we need to get those clouds out of the way and fight like crazy to see clearly how precious Christ is. ~ John Piper
The three above quotes were taken from: Grace Christian Quotes
Hope in God's promises, therefore, is not a wishful longing but a faith-filled confidence for the future. It is simply impossible to trust one of God's promises and not anticipate its coming true. To know God is to trust Him. And to trust God is to trust His promises. And to trust God's promises is to be sure of their fulfillment. This assurance concerning the future, anchored in God's promises, is what the Bible calls "hope." ~Scott Hafemann
The God of Promise and the Life of Faith. Crossway Books, 2001, p. 109.
Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called “the rejoicing of hope” (Hebrews 3:6).
~William Gurnall A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 144.
Every Christian who struggles with depression struggles to keep their hope clear. There is nothing wrong with the object of their hope – Jesus Christ is not defective in any way whatsoever. But the view from the struggling Christian's heart of their objective hope could be obscured by disease and pain, the pressures of life, and by Satanic fiery darts shot against them… All discouragement and depression is related to the obscuring of our hope, and we need to get those clouds out of the way and fight like crazy to see clearly how precious Christ is. ~ John Piper
The three above quotes were taken from: Grace Christian Quotes
I love this picture. Is this one of Whitney's??
ReplyDeleteThe leaves are reaching for Christ! :)