There is Hope

I had some verses and thoughts sent to me today and just wanted to share a few of them.

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. Romans 12:12
God has big plans for you--even if it may not seem like it right now. Even in the worst of circumstances, God has provided a heavenly hope. Keep telling him about your struggles, and he'll keep holding you up.

...Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33
God doesn't promise to protect us from problems on this earth. Instead he promises to give us the courage to face our problems with his strength when we put our hope in Him.

O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O Lord, from childhood. Psalm 71:5
Sometimes in a hopeless world it is nice to know who our hope is in--It is the Lord Jesus.

For I hold you by your right hand— I, the LORD your God. And I say to you ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.' Isaiah 41:13
He is walking with us every step of the way. Every part of our life. He wants to be so close to you and wants you to feel so safe with him. He wants to help us.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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. Isaiah 40:31
When you know Jesus, you’re continually refreshed. Even when you are most weary, God will come to you. He’ll gently carry you when you can’t walk on your own. On the way up to Jenny's service today, there was an eagle soaring over our car for a bit. I thought of this verse as I watched it, and I thought of how she was now strong and walking with the Lord, never to be weary or in pain again.

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16 The Message
As Eric made reference to today at Jenny's service, when you are a believer in Jesus, life doesn't end in death, instead, death is the beginning of life. When we believe in Christ, our life does not end when we die, but goes on forever. Our troubles, pains, sorrows, and tears are gone. We are COMPLETELY healed from all that has gone on in our lives on earth.

My chains are gone, I've been set free, My God My Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns, unending love, amazing grace.