July 9 - Always Hope

July 9 – Always Hope

“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.  My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.” (Psalm 71:14-15)

It really is difficult for me to spend extended periods of time with people who enjoy wallowing in their trials and tribulations.  When I use the word ‘enjoy,’ I’m not kidding.  It’s as if they enjoy describing every problem that has brought them to this point and they don’t ever see their lives getting any better.

See, the problem I have with that is that in my extended group of friends, I have many who live with terrible things and you simply don’t know about it unless you are close to them. They never complain, they don’t talk about themselves unless pressed and every moment they are overcoming their trouble with joy. It is almost an honor to get close enough to these people to have them confide in you, because it is so rare for them to do so.

They always have hope.  Hope that tomorrow will bring a fresh joy, hope that the pain they live with will abate, even for just a few moments, hope that they can impact someone else’s life for the better, hope that they can be a witness to the joy that God brings to them every moment of the day.

I will always have hope.  Some days I don’t express those words as clearly as I should and when I focus on myself and the things I have to face, I ignore the call to praise God.  Fortunately, that hope that is part of my relationship with Him brings me back to Him all the time so that I am reminded of how great His gifts to me are and how much I adore Him and I praise Him.