To-Do List for Finding Hope

I woke up this morning with a heavy heart. Anxious. I don't typically live in fear. For whatever reason my siblings all seemed to get the "scaredy-cat" gene. However, I am more or less fearless. But, a few months ago my parents and littlest sister moved to Florida. Not far from Orlando. And with all that has happened there in the last few days, it is unnerving. In addition, my Florida family has been making frequent overseas trips. My dad just left for another one today. And I will admit it, I am a bit uneasy. So, I woke up praying this morning-praying for my family, my dad, our country. As I prayed, I was reminded of what God told Solomon immediately following the dedication of the temple. It had been a joyous time for the people of God. I Chronicles 7:10 says, "....he (Solomon) sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people." However, that very night God appeared to Solomon and told him that WHEN (not IF) he shut up the heavens and there was no rain, or commanded the locust to devour the land, then, "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14) And realization washed over me and I felt that peace that passes all understanding. Because, ya'll, healing for our country doesn't depend on our government. It doesn't depend on their decisions regarding marriage or bathrooms. Healing for our country doesn't depend on our President. It doesn't depend on the phraseology he uses or doesn't use when he refers to the most recent horrific attacks; it doesn't even depend on our right to bear arms. Healing for our land depends on God and HIS PEOPLE. That's me. And, if you are a Christian, that's YOU! It depends on God's people. My dad always says faithful Christians have a hard enough time acting Christ-like. How can we then expect the unregenerate to act as redeemed? We can't. God doesn't. He expects HIS PEOPLE, to do several things: 

1-Humble ourselves. Realize we are but dust and in desperate need of His all-sufficient grace. 

2-Pray. When we pray we are acknowledging that we are not in control. We are surrendering to His Sovereignty. We are continuing to humble ourselves. And according to James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."  

3-Seek His face. Seek: to go in search of or quest of. In I John the Bible tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. To seek God, to seek His face, is to search the Word, Scripture. 

4-Turn from your wicked ways. In Psalm 139:23-24 the Psalmist asks God to, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts; And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" God is faithful. He will reveal our wickedness, our grievous ways. But then, by His death-defeating power, we must TURN from our wicked ways. We must turn to the faithful, righteous, narrow way. 

THEN He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land! My type A (triple A?), list-making, list-checking personality loves this. Follow these steps and there is a predictable, sure outcome! What hope!  

Hope is my favorite word. I have it tattooed on my wrist with an anchor. Because hope is an anchor for our souls. 

According to I Peter, hope is living! It is alive. Because our ultimate hope, healed land or not, is found in our imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance, kept in heaven for us. Our inheritance is guarded by God the Father, through faith, for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (I Peter 1) Our ultimate hope that will anchor our souls, that will ease our anxiety, that will calm our uneasiness is that our fire-tested faith will produce for us an eternal (FOREVER) glory.  "Our light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (II Corinthians 4:17-18).