Merry Christmas

Hope

The ability to desire, dream or wish for something with the expectation of its fulfillment. Sounds simple. Yet hanging onto hope in the4 midst of life's hurts can be nearly impossible. Families are struggling to hang on to their hope after losing everything in some disaster. People are coping with poverty, job loss, divorce, death, terminal illness, chronic pain, mental or physical disabilities. Hopelessness is no respecter of age, gender, ethnic background, social status, race or religion. How do you hang onto hope when your heart has been broken?

There are more than 46 million web sites about hope. Magazines, colleges, churches, scholarships and relief organizations have names that include the word "hope." Amazon lists nearly 170 thousand "hope" items for sale. The world is searching for hope.

So where do we find real hope? Those of us in ministry will tell you that God is our hope, He is trustworthy, He is faithful. We believe it because we too have experienced hopelessness and God has shown us that nothing is impossible with Him. We have learned that God can be trusted. He does not lie.

We have discovered for ourselves that God is faithful, even when we are not. We have faced that moment of truth when we have had to make the choice between giving up or giving it up to the Creator of the Universe.

Psalm 9:9-10 is a promise: "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you Lord have never forsaken those who seek you."

Did you hear that? God never forsakes those who seek Him.

Whisper a prayer, shout to the Lord or speak to Him in your heart, but sincerely seek God. He is waiting to give you a new hope.

Joy

Are you a joyful person? Do you have lots of happy “Dee Dah Days”? Perhaps you believe joy is something experienced only by those who have everything you’ve always wanted. Or joy is a feeling that people with no problems get to have. Maybe you believe joy is a deep spiritual thing that does not necessarily mean you are happy, just that you have soulful peace.

C. S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” The apostle Paul tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice.” Lewis Smedes believes that, “To miss out on joy is to miss out on the reason for your existence.”

I love that – joy is the reason for our existence! Every day is filled with opportunities to be joyful, to feel happy. You can choose to recognize them and celebrate. Or you can choose to reject joy and be victimized by life’s disappointments and hardships. John Ortberg says, “The problem with people…is not that we are too happy for God’s taste, but that we are not happy enough.”

Whatever your circumstances, practice joyful celebration. Choose to be happy. Put on a smile until it becomes your natural 24/7 expression. Set aside a “Dee Dah Day” each week where you do something you truly love. Hang around with people who love life. Then thank God for all of the things He has given you to celebrate. Joy is contagious – be a carrier.