Stand Firm Resting in Hope
"I have set the Lord always before me, because he is my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh shall rest in hope." Psalms 16:8,9
Closing my eyes with the words "I shall not be moved" on my mind, I see an old large oak with large limbs stretching over a stream and shading the banks for the tired and weary animals to find comfort and protection in the shade of the tree and refreshment from the water giving life to the old oak tree standing with deep roots holding it firmly in place. The old oak can stand firm because it was planted (most likely by a squirrel stopping for a drink of water) on fertile ground by a stream which never ran dry, and the weary who find rest in the shade comes with hope to find a place of comfort.
As my thoughts wonder, I remember a short old man with a Bible in his coat pocket. He sits on the porch of the whitewashed house with children running and playing in the yard. The adults, his children and grandchildren, are sitting under a large tree for shade as they tell stories of times past and share news of the day. Every now a then, a child runs out of the house past their Papa. Papa is what everyone calls him. I always notice that old worn Bible sticking out of the large pocket of his black coat and recall the stories of that Bible opened to be used to discipline a naughty child. The Bible is handed over for the child to memorize verses. His love for all us continues to this day through memories of a man standing firm in his faith with hope for each of us to follow Jesus.
When I think of Papa and my own father, Jeremiah 17: 7 & 8 come to mind. "Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Since they placed their hope and trust in God, they were like that old large oak tree. Since they placed their hope in the living God and fed themselves with the living water of the Holy Scriptures, they were able to stand firm, bear good fruit, and never be moved. They taught us not to waver but to stand firm in our faith.
Now, I examine myself. Am I spreading my roots of faith? Will my children place their hope and trust in the Lord? Will they drink of the living water growing their faith so they can stand firm and rest in the hope of what God will do for them?
So, how about you? Are you placing your trust and hope in God? Can you stand firmly with Jesus? If you do, you shall not be moved. And, by the way, I'm praying for you. Open your heart, read the scriptures, and stand firm resting in the hope of a life with Jesus.
Closing my eyes with the words "I shall not be moved" on my mind, I see an old large oak with large limbs stretching over a stream and shading the banks for the tired and weary animals to find comfort and protection in the shade of the tree and refreshment from the water giving life to the old oak tree standing with deep roots holding it firmly in place. The old oak can stand firm because it was planted (most likely by a squirrel stopping for a drink of water) on fertile ground by a stream which never ran dry, and the weary who find rest in the shade comes with hope to find a place of comfort.
As my thoughts wonder, I remember a short old man with a Bible in his coat pocket. He sits on the porch of the whitewashed house with children running and playing in the yard. The adults, his children and grandchildren, are sitting under a large tree for shade as they tell stories of times past and share news of the day. Every now a then, a child runs out of the house past their Papa. Papa is what everyone calls him. I always notice that old worn Bible sticking out of the large pocket of his black coat and recall the stories of that Bible opened to be used to discipline a naughty child. The Bible is handed over for the child to memorize verses. His love for all us continues to this day through memories of a man standing firm in his faith with hope for each of us to follow Jesus.
When I think of Papa and my own father, Jeremiah 17: 7 & 8 come to mind. "Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Since they placed their hope and trust in God, they were like that old large oak tree. Since they placed their hope in the living God and fed themselves with the living water of the Holy Scriptures, they were able to stand firm, bear good fruit, and never be moved. They taught us not to waver but to stand firm in our faith.
Now, I examine myself. Am I spreading my roots of faith? Will my children place their hope and trust in the Lord? Will they drink of the living water growing their faith so they can stand firm and rest in the hope of what God will do for them?
So, how about you? Are you placing your trust and hope in God? Can you stand firmly with Jesus? If you do, you shall not be moved. And, by the way, I'm praying for you. Open your heart, read the scriptures, and stand firm resting in the hope of a life with Jesus.
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