Anchor of Hope

“Hear my cry, O God. Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever, I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. For You, O God, have heard my vows, You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. You will prolong the king’s life, his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him! So I will sing praise forever that I may daily perform my vows.”
Psalm 61:1-8

This is one of my most favorite Psalms that I pray. When I need the protection and assurance that comes from trusting a loving, caring Father, this prayer reminds me that He is always with me as I remain submitted to Him. Do you need to be encouraged in the Lord? Go to the Psalms. See how David found strength and hope; a refuge from oppression and heart ache. He found the words to cry out to the Father when nothing or no one was able to help. Find a passage that will see you through and hold fast to it when all else fails. God’s word offers life when death is at our door, it offers joy when sorrow overwhelms us. The Truth of God can overcome every lie of the enemy. His word brings healing in sickness, dancing in oppression, peace during chaos and deliverance from imprisonment. David knew all of this. He knew how to run to the Father with his words and his songs and was able to turn his hopelessness into faith in God to see him through every trial. Find an anchor of hope and wait for your Deliverer. He is coming!

Word Above Reputation

“I give You thanks with all my heart. Not to idols, but to You I sing praise. I bow down before Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your grace and truth; for You have made Your word even greater than Your reputation.”
Psalm 1-2

Remember the days when a man’s word was his bond? You could count on him to do everything possible to fulfill a promise or oath made because not doing so would bring harm to his reputation. Keeping your word at all costs proves you can be counted on in the future. Integrity in a person is a wealth hard earned, but well worth the price paid.

How many times have we placed our trust in someone only to have them fall short of expectations? How many times have we ourselves made promises we have found hard to keep? It is so easy to over commit ourselves to people or tasks when there are so many needs. We should strive to help others when needed, but we must also know when to say no as much as when to say yes. If we're not careful we can become so busy we exhaust ourselves. We may have to bow out of something which could be more important than all the other tasks we’ve become distracted doing.

We cannot be caught up in what others think of us. Is your word placed above your reputation? Is it more important to you what others think or that you are true to your word? Your reputation is built upon your word, not the other way around.

Although this may be a short word of encouragement this week it does not negate the importance of the message. Think about your commitments. Have you fulfilled them to the best of your ability? Have you made sure your word can be trusted? Can you be counted on to finish what you start? If not, now is the time to do so.

“But give me your opinion: a man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ He answered, ‘I don’t want to’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he didn’t go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?’ ‘The first.’ They replied. ‘That’s right.’ Yeshua said to them.’ ‘I tell you that the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God before you! For John came to you showing the path to righteousness, and you wouldn’t trust him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes trusted him; but you, even after you saw this, didn’t change your minds later and trust him.
Matthew 21:28-32