Hope in God

Ps. 146:5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,

8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.

9 The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.


It was a week ago right now that we started this event.

I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again, but I didn't sleep that well. Maybe it's because I haven't really done any exercise this past week, maybe because you all brought so much food for us to eat, but I think it's because I was thinking about kids and parents a lot.

I'm reading a book by John MacArthur entitled "A Tale of Two Sons". The story is one of the most recognized stories in the Bible. It's about a father with 2 sons and one takes his fortune early and blows it. Most people know it as The Prodigal Son, but as J. Mac is laying out, it is really not as much about the sons as it is about The Father.

I have been thinking about this because while we were in the hospital so many people came into the waiting rooms hurting both physically and emotionally. God allowed us to move quickly away from emotional pain to rejoicing. In this time quite a few people have talked to me about their own kids and I know that many of you are hurting because they aren't walking with the Lord. I know you love them very much and I really can't imagine your pain in this. Why does God choose one child and not another? Why does He let people who truly love Him go on hurting in life from the weight of a wayward one? We are not going to understand much of what God does, but we can trust that He knows what he is doing.

I want to encourage you this morning with just a sentence from a song that Larnell Harris sings and those words are, "As long as the heart still breaks, there is hope".
We can have hope in God, because God works all things for His good.
We can have hope in God because He is the Father in the story and He REALLY loves His sons; both of them. He allows us to make decisions that He already knows are not the best for us, but He also knows this things will teach us.

We can hope in God, because He has actually saved some of us, though we are certainly not worthy. We can hope in God, because He has given His Son for us, just so we can have a relationship with Him.

Keep praying for your loved ones. If God can raise Grant to life, He can and does do miracles. Grant is sitting on the couch with Teresa and I right now:)

Ps. 36:5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

Thanks again for all you have done to strengthen and encourage our family this past week.

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