Tag: Hope

Holy Mindset

enCultivateLeave a comment

Journal Entry // July 16, 2022

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (ESV)

Romans 12:12

This morning was one of those Bible reading times where I came across a verse that made me completely stop everything else and simply focus on what I just read. Eleven simple words that pretty much sums up the antidote to my current malaise. I have been struggling for quite a while with a lot of self-doubt, a lot of worry, a lot of guilt, a lot of anger, a lot of fear, a lot of shame, a lot of despair. It’s like my mind is stuck in this rut that I simply cannot get out of and the same patterns keep occurring and weighing me down. I lose hope and depression sinks in. But this verse challenged me this morning and is a great reminder of the power of Christ in my life.

Continue reading “Holy Mindset” →

God’s Remedy

enCultivateLeave a comment

Journal Entry // May 9, 2021

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Psalm 150:6 ESV

Positive and negative, praise and condemnation, light and dark, righteous and unrighteous, truth and lies, contentment and desire, love and hate, joy and sadness, peace and conflict, patience and anxiety, kindness and harmful, goodness and selfishness, faithfulness and betrayal, gentleness and harshness, self-control and covering.

Continue reading “God’s Remedy” →

Peaceful Tribulation

enCultivateLeave a comment

Journal Entry // April 29, 2021

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 ESV

Tribulation… This is what we can expect from the world. It’s not a matter of if there will be tribulation, it is only a matter of when and to what degree. The world will most assuredly bring tribulation into my life. But Jesus has overcome the world. He does not take away the trials and adversity, but he does take away the power. The world can only go as far as Jesus allows. He doesn’t shelter me from the storms of this world. No, just as he had to walk through adversity and hardship in his life, so too do I need to walk through the struggles.

Continue reading “Peaceful Tribulation” →

Not of This World

enCultivateLeave a comment

Journal Entry // May 7, 2022

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

John 18:36 ESV

“My kingdom is not of this world.” This is the truth that should be shaping my understanding of this present world and my place in it. The kingdom of God is not of this world. To be sure, the Lord is bringing his kingdom into this world but his kingdom is not of this world. Then why do I continually try to build my own kingdom in this world? Why do I set my every thought and emotion upon the things of this world without even a moment of pondering the vastness of God’s kingdom above. This world seduces me into the continual lie that everything I see has been and always will be. The lie that there is nothing else. The lie that I should enjoy the offerings of the world, because when I die there is nothing else. And I continually believe this lie. I too easily forget that the Kingdom of God is not of this world.

Continue reading “Not of This World” →

Flourishing Plants

enCultivateLeave a comment

Journal Entry // March 27, 2021

They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.

Psalm 92:13 ESV

I think I am identifying with these plant analogies because I have been working in our garden the last couple of weeks. The more I really think on this picture the more I am amazed at the glorious truth of the gospel working in my life. I am sitting at my table looking out the window over my recently planted garden and there are a few thoughts that spring into mind.

Continue reading “Flourishing Plants” →

Sure Footed

enCultivate

Journal Entry // December 19, 2021

GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.

Habakkuk 3:19 ESV

This message from Habakkuk moves from questioning God with complaints about his purposes in this world to humble reliance upon the grace and mercy of the Lord. This last portion of the message is always so encouraging to me. Habakkuk begins this portion by listing off the different struggles that threaten life in his day. Fig trees not blossoming, no fruit on the vine, no olives, no harvest from the field, the flock and herd are no more. These are the personal disasters of my life pilling up on one on another. So that not only does today bring challenge and trouble, but the future is now in doubt as well. I feel this with Habakkuk and I understand and experience this worry with him – an anxiousness for the future.

Continue reading “Sure Footed” →

Hopeful Waiting

enCultivate

Journal Entry // February 13, 2021

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

Psalm 39:7 ESV

And what is this hope that David is waiting on? It is not the type of hope that we use in our modern day vernacular. It is not this wishful hope that we have no idea if it will come to pass. It is not hoping that I win the lottery or hoping that it doesn’t rain next weekend. No, this hope in the Lord is a surety that what God has promised will come to pass. That even in the darkest of moments when it looks like his promise is failing, we can trust that the Lord will surely bring about what he has promised.

Continue reading “Hopeful Waiting” →

Confident Reward

enCultivate

Journal Entry // November 6, 2021

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Hebrews 10:35 ESV

Remember, remember… All the great and wonderful ways the Lord has not only blessed me, but rescued me, and sustained me. After reminding his readers that they have joyfully watched as their possessions were taken from them, endured hard struggles and suffering, having been publicly exposed to shame and ridicule – the writer tells them the result of all these things, which is the building up of their confidence. A confidence not in themselves but in the Lord, which is of immense eternal value.

Continue reading “Confident Reward” →

Soul Anchor

enCultivate

Journal Entry // November 2, 2021

so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. [19] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

Hebrews 6:18-19 ESV

A sure and steadfast anchor of the soul… Hope. When I think of the word hope, I don’t immediately think about the surety of the thing hoped for. I use this word more casually and with no assurance. I hope it doesn’t rain today. I hope my favorite team wins the game. I hope I pass the test. This is not the hope offered here in this passage. It is not a wishful expectation to have my desire fulfilled. This hope from God is sure and steadfast. So much so that we are to anchor our soul to this hope.

Continue reading “Soul Anchor” →