"Hope"

“Speak Lord, because I am listening! I don’t want to hear any other voice but Yours, the voice of truth. The words You speak to my heart are powerful and convicting. You are telling me that I can do it…that I can make the finish line! The Lord is telling me to run to Him Who is waiting with open arms. The Lord is waiting to come to my rescue! Amen. Thank you, Daddy!” — Jen Barrick in Hope out Loud

Hope. The concept may be one of the least understood, and yet most common phrases we hear. “I hope I get that job.” “I hope today is better than yesterday.” “I hope it doesn’t rain on our parade.” Somehow, that is not the feeling that I get when I read Jen’s prayer. Her prayer of hope is much deeper. Much more active. Hope birthed through pain and trial.

At age 15, Jen was involved in a horrible head-on car crash. A drunk driver going around 80 miles per hour hit the family van and, as a result, she suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Before that tragic day, Jen was blossoming into a beautiful young woman. She loved God with all of her heart. She read His word every morning and memorized many verses. Then, in an instant, she was changed into a broken girl, in a deep coma, struggling for life. The doctors warned her family that even if she did emerge from the coma in a timely manner, she would be different. Probably angry and irritable, cursing and crying. That’s why it was a miracle when, even in the coma, she would start praying out loud in the middle of the night. And, as she did begin to come out of the coma, before she could even recognize her own mother, brother or dad, Jen started quoting Scripture out loud.

Jen will never be the same. She will never do most of the things that she used to do. But she radiates with God’s presence. The prayer quoted above is from her journal that she wrote after the accident. Full of hope. Full of trust. Full of God.

Isaiah 40:31 says “but those who HOPE in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”(NIV) In the Hebrew, the word is qavah (kaw-vaw) and means “to bind together by twisting”. This is not a sit back and “hope” something happens. The word here speaks of “hope” in action, and yet, it is not about activity. This is not the flurry we so often get caught up in of trying to make things happen. Rather, the energy in this kind of hope is found in deep, intimate, uninhibited communication with God. Intertwining ourselves with Him. Immersed in His presence. Now read the verse again,those who “bind themselves to God by intertwining themselves with Him”, will renew their strength. Wow, the verse takes on a new life does it not?

Your story may not hold the pain that Jen’s does. Or it may. It really doesn’t matter. This kind of hope is offered to all who will journey with God. Bound to Him. Intertwined. A hope that will turn your life around.

Source:AACC,Jen Barrick

“W-I-I-F-M”.

Most really good sales people can immediately tell you what this acronym means. It has been pounded into their psyche. The knowledge of the depth of its meaning will drive them to success. The words? “What’s In It For Me?” The question every person asks every day, about seemingly everything in their lives. Answer this question for the prospective buyer, and you make the sale. In this self consumed world that we live in, the concept of “others” and “generosity” is sadly, a forgotten grace.

God loves a “cheerful giver”. (2 Corinthians 9:7) And so does everyone I know. However, in scripture, it is not the receiving of gifts (as much fun as that is) that is really significant. The greater blessing comes from giving the gift. Paul goes on to say in verses 6-11, “The point is this”… when we give “bountifully” (generously)… not grudgingly, or because we feel that we “must – or else”, God will then pour out His grace abundantly on us. Not just for our sufficiency, but so that we can be generous to those around us. Why? To produce “thanksgiving to God.”

When was the last time you were generous? It could have been a simple word of encouragement. An “at-a-boy” at a ball game. (I love what Benjamin West said, “A kiss from my mother made me a painter.”) How about a handwritten note to a friend? Or taking a couple out to dinner that is going through hard times? Maybe an anonymous gift to a family with no job? Gifts that are given with no motive beyond the simple joy of generosity.

The true spirit of giving can only flow out of a heart that has experienced God’s gift of Grace. Paul’s exhortation concerning generosity was anchored in God’s “indescribable gift” — His son Jesus (vs 15). Our generosity must be fixed securely there as well.

W-I-I-F-M? Cheerful giving brings abundant sufficiency and blessings from God.

Generosity. It just might turn your life around.

Source:AACC