Hope

Reason to Rejoice

We find all sorts of reasons to celebrate. There are the common ones like birthdays, graduations, and holidays. We also celebrate first days of school, sports victories (even when we aren’t the ones playing), and science fair wins. In America, we even get festive about something called “Groundshog’s Day” – where a furry underground creature is supposed to predict the arrival of Spring! We are a celebratory people.

However, we only tend to celebrate when we think something has happened that’s worthy of celebration – when there’s an event that demands a response. Most days, people are complaining about their lives, not celebrating what’s happening in it. As much as we like festive occasions, we don’t carry that same spirit into our every day lives.

Christians, however, know that there is also a reason to celebrate. Even when there are bad things happening in our lives, we can rejoice that the Lord is on His throne. We can celebrate that God –  the perfect, holy, loving and just God that we serve – is the One who holds the Earth in His hands, and is organizing and arranging things according to His good purpose.  Our lives aren’t happening by chance, nor is there someone less worthy (like ourselves) in charge, but instead, the fact that He is reigning over all gives us cause to celebrate, even when there is not much else in our lives that seems worthy of joy.

Psalm 97:1 states, “The LORD reigns,let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” The Psalmist realizes that there is cause for celebration. If the waves and seas can find gladness in the fact that God is on His throne, than shouldn’t we? After all, we know that God is not only in control, but is also lovingly concerned with our lives. Shouldn’t we consider this a reason to rejoice?

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Hope

Stored Up

Years ago when I took the StrengthsFinder® test, I discovered that one of my “signature strengths” was “input.” Basically this meant that I was a collector – of facts, trinkets and whatever else I set my fancy on. My parents no doubt already knew this as, at different times in my life, they had to contend with my shell collection, my rock collection, and my collection of key chains. As I grew older, my “collections” turned into file folders of quotations  & articles, boxes of pictures, a penchant for saving small artifacts from significant times in my life, and mounds and mounds of books. Collections were my way of setting things aside, in case I might need them at some other point in my life.

The challenge with collections, however, is that they must be stored, and storage is limited. Additionally while the articles are filed away, or the key chains are in their container, it may seem as if they serve no useful purpose. They are simply waiting to be accessed, waiting for when they are needed.

Similarly, God is a collector of sorts. However, what He’s storing far exceeds anything that we can put away. God is storing up blessings for His people (Ps. 31:19). He is gathering up good things, setting them aside for the day that they are needed. Unlike me, God has no limits to how much He can collect. He gathers them, and He apportions them for just the right moment. He knows that in a year we will need some encouragement. He knows that tomorrow we will need a comforting word from a friend. And He waits; storing up those blessings, eager to pour them out on His children.

This can provide such comfort to us. If we are going through a tough time, we know that God has blessings that He is waiting to give us, when He knows that they will have their greatest effect. If we are the recipient of His gifts, we can thank Him for His generosity in preparing those blessings in advance. And regardless of our circumstances, all His children can eagerly look forward to the blessings He has in store for us in His Kingdom.

I can tell you from personal experience that storing things only makes sense if one day they will serve some useful purpose. With God, we can be confident that whatever He has in store, He will use – for His glory and our good.

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