Hope

Psalm 130:3-5 - “Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?  But You offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear You.  I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on Him.  I have put my hope in His Word.”  NLT

I often take time to reflect.  I reflect on the last few years, the last several months and the last several days.  One of the things I do when I reflect is hold myself accountable to goals and visions that I establish on an annual basis and personal accountability to Christ’s expectations of me on a daily basis.  Normally, I do this annual reflection at the close of the year as I begin to think about the new year. But I also reflect daily as I read thru my devotions.  I have found this to be a good exercise of my mind and heart.

I have learned, over the years, Satan can lay a trap in this type of thinking.  Is it thinking that I should not do?  Not at all.  We should review our lives on a continuing basis, but here is the trap.  If I do not keep my heart focused on God and His plans for me, I can easily get sidetracked into thinking of all the failures of the past days/year and focus on those.  This passage of scripture today helps keep you focused on the main thing when you take time to hold yourself accountable - “But You offer forgiveness...”.  God, in His great mercy is ready to sit down with us anytime and anyplace to review our lives...be it for the last week or the last year.  He, too is concerned we take an accounting of how we have spent our time in serving Him and His purposes.  BUT - we are not to focus on the sins and failures of the past.  That is a huge trap and will paralyze you.  This trap will trick you into thinking you are a failure and your failure to accomplish His purposes in you is because of that sin from two years ago when you....  Of course, if there is a sin you have not taken care of do so immediately and move on.  But do not dwell on the sins and failures of the past that are covered by His forgiveness.  That is Satan’s plan for you not God’s plan for you.

Failure serves two purposes - one, it assures that you are attempting to do things.  Two, it serves as a lesson plan for the future.  Failure is never to serve as a swimming pool of sorrow, sulking, self-pity.  It is never to serve as a seed bed for growing bitterness or rebellion.  We are to release the past and learn to fear God with a Holy Fear(awe) that keeps us in a place of counting on Him for the future.  The blood of His Son, Jesus, has already cleared the past - there is nothing ahead but the future.  Put your hope in Him.  If He can forgive your past, and He has, you can certainly count on Him for your future.

Take sometime today to reflect, hold yourself accountable, find assurance that you are on God’s page then move forward with hope in His Word - “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

You are loved and prayed for,
Pastor Roger