“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (Romans 12:12 NLT)
As I watched the news over the weekend, my heart went out to people all around the world, afar and as close as the avenues and streets in your community. Consider the happening reported on the airways. Disarray, disruption, deviousness, destruction, discrimination, decreasing morality, demagogues making destructive decisions on the increase, distancing from not only biblical principles but also the principles that were followed in our democracy for decades fill the news.
Progress is showing signs of retardation, peace is described but not ascribed to, and public education has purged curriculums to hide the facts and highlight falsehoods or a failing recognition of the truth. This may sound editorial, but this is not opinion, but rather the obvious that can be observed.
I stopped Saturday morning, paused to pray and as I looked to heaven pursuing help from above. Yes, help, because what one think is right is not always right when it does not line up with the righteous behaviors we read to in the word. I really don’t see the difficulty in defining what is definitely right. Why? Because I recall in The Book of Micah, a verse from God’s word that says, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
This generation, as was the case with many generations from our grandfathers’ eras, is surely looking for hope. The chorus of a song Mahalia Jackson sang back before I was a teen, sixty-five years ago, reminds me that there is still hope, and it goes further to tell where it can be found: “The only hope we have is in Jesus. Confusion is great in this world today. Persecution’s may come with such a heavy weight, but we have this hope and it’s in Jesus.”
As they used to say my friend, “Keep hope alive,” for there is still hope. Have a great Monday, depending on the Lord. Praying for better days and permeating the world with your righteousness will help too! Be blessed!
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NLT)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
Thank God we can still have hope. Everyday is full of swift transitions. Staying close to God will help us keep hope alive.
Thank you, Dr. King! I appreciated your response and I agree with your prescription for keeping hope alive. Be blessed!