Seeds of Hope

Forgive, restore, revive

Many of us struggle through difficult times and painful days because of past memories.

We recall with pleasure what God has done in the past with gratitude - knowing that it was his mercy and grace that enabled us to get through difficult days and long nights.

Because of those joyous memories, we base our hope in him that he will shepherd us through dark valleys and sunless days.

In Psalm 85 our author is apparently reflecting on a loss suffered by Israel in a military battle. They looked at their loss as punishment from God.

But the Psalmist does not focus on the loss, he focuses on the fact that God has brought them out of captivity in the past and forgave them of their sins.

With confidence and boldness he says, “Restore us again, O God, our Savior.”

The message for us to take away from this Psalm is that in times of depression, defeat and darkness, we must remember God’s grace in the past and pray in the present for his restoration.

Sometimes when we look at our past and are buried with the guilt of our sins, we are fearful of going to God and asking for his grace in these moments.

We feel that we are undeserving and unworthy.

We approach his throne of grace in fear and trembling, wondering if we have any right to ask for forgiveness, cleansing and restoration.

But when these thoughts plague us, we must remember that God’s judgment is always tempered by his mercy and he will always forgive us, restore us and revive us again.

It’s the way we live

It was Sunday morning and James said to his mother, “I don’t feel good.” Worried she asked, “Where don’t you feel good?” Quickly he replied, “When I’m in church.”

One psalmist wrote, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty. My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”

What was it that made the “dwelling place” lovely? It was the presence of the Lord. But anywhere a believer is can be a dwelling place where we can find the presence of the Lord.

Wherever we are, he is, and we can commune with him and express the desires of our heart.

Many believe that God can only be found in church when they “report” for worship.

For some it may be once a week or twice a month. For a few, worship only happens on special days or occasions. Every attempt is made to “discharge” all of their obligations by making one or two trips to church in any given year.

But if God is not worshiped seven days a week, it does not seem reasonable that we will truly worship him one day a week or once a year.

Worship that is worthy of him is something we who are his children are to do consciously and constantly every moment of every day.

It does not matter where we are or what we are doing.

We are to offer our words and our work, our hearts and our habits to him as gestures of love and adoration.

Worship is not something we do; it is the way we live. Worship is presenting all that we do as a sacrifice to him.

One sees reasons to love. The other reasons to hate.

One sees unity. The other division. One finds prejudice. The other equality. One discovers compassion. The other indifference. One goodwill. The other malice. Two people, one book. One book, two views. The book is a mirror. The reflection is you.