Because my hope is in you

This morning as I rode the bus into work, I started thinking about God's plan for my life. Looking back, it has not exactly gone as I had planned, and I mean that in a good way. I love the life that God has provided for me. Therefore, I have continued to trust Him even through the setbacks. The bus was quiet this morning, the sky not yet filled with the brightness of an August day. There were a few rain clouds still hovering, and the faint glow of the sun peered out over the city. As I read my Everyday Bible, the Psalm of the day was Psalm 25 verses 16-22. The only verse that stuck out to me was...

21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,

because my hope is in you.

"Because my hope is in you." For some reason this morning, that pierced my heart. Often times I find myself forgetting that God is in control, and I begin putting my hope in other things. Like my job, or my family, friends, politics, etc. Glancing through a Christ-Like perspective, these inconsistent things seem pretty silly to put my hope in. A Pastor once described hope as being something we are confidently expecting. Hope is not a wish that we beg to come true. When we hope for something, we should give it to God and stand confident that He will fulfill our need according to His plan. Now is it wise to hold our politicians, who rule our government, to that confident standard? In the words of my grandmother, I don't think so?!

Hebrews talks about having hope in 11: 1

11 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hoping for something is being sure that God will answer us. Certain that He will give us the desires of our heart, and trusting that God has our best interest in mind.

For example, if you hope for true love, and wait patiently for God to allow you to find it in His timing, your trust is in Him. Rather than wishfully searching without a clue, you are hopeful that God knows you so well, that He can confidently point you to the one who will compliment you and love you for who you are.

Waiting on God to reveal His plan, and allowing Him to take you where He wants you to be, is half the battle. Most of us are unwilling to let go of the wheel in order to allow God to steer us in the right direction. Yet, if we do let go it will be like our desires just fell in our lap without any work or anxiety on your part. Every time I look at my husband, I think of hope and I am so thankful that I put my trust in God.

The same can be said about finding a job. When I graduated from college, I was confident that I had put in the time at internships and course studies to land a prominent job in either journalism or politics. Every one of my professors and fellow students told me that I would have no problem finding a job. I trusted in that. After nearly two months of rejection letters, I began to think differently. However, when I put my trust in God and handed my career over to Him. He was quick to place me in the job that would provide for me exactly what I needed. The funny thing was, I didn't even apply directly to that position. I had applied somewhere else and my employer received my resume from an old colleague of hers. It was like God was hand delivering my resume right to the person He wanted me to work for. Amazing right?

So what do you put your hope in? My minister friend once talked about people who put their hope in everything but God. He challenged us to look at where we were dependent on everything other than God to fulfil our lives. Does any of the following sound familiar?

My ability to succeed depends on my own strength

If I keep working hard then someday I will have everything I want

I wish that I will get that promotion

The only one who can help me succeed is me

Letting go of the reins is difficult. Likewise, having hope in God is often hard to hold onto, especially during difficult times. But God calls us to lean on Him. To trust in His unchanging, unfailing and perfect ways.

Because I put my hope in you....may integrity and uprightness protect me. Let's breakdown the rest of this verse.

What does integrity mean? According to Dictionary.com, integrity means to be sound, complete, whole in understanding and in "perfect condition." Now is the Bible telling us that we have to be perfect? Again, I don't think so. I do think that God is revealing to us that He is perfect, sound, and complete. If we trust in Him, put our hope in Him, then we will see how His ways are the perfect condition for our lives! How can we place our hope in anything else? Does the world offer that kind of stability and perfection? Again, I don't think so!

What should we fear? Or be anxious about when the integrity of the Lord and the uprightness of His authority are what we place our hope in?

If you have some time today, reflect on how God has fulfilled your desires. Think about when you let go of the wheel and let God take control of your life.

Finish this sentence, "Because my hope is in you...."

My hope is that you find God's grace and trust in His will.