The Hope in Me

I sit here reflecting on 2012. I am smiling as God brings to life simple truths from His Word that have recently fallen afresh on me again. I love it when that happens.

Looking over the past year, I can say with absolute certainty that God is good. That He is sovereign. That He is faithful. And because He is all of these, I can trust Him, even when I cannot see - or when what I do see doesn't appear good to me. So I can agree with Eli when he bravely resolved, "It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him." 1 Samuel 3:18. The crowds so accurately proclaimed, "He has done all things well." Mark 7:37.

In light of God's goodness, I have hope. A renewed and refreshed hope. Or perhaps I have simply been given a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Hope that I've already been given: "that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:26-27. 

Letting that really sink into the heart and mind: "Christ in you." Overwhelming. 

Christ in me. Christ in me. Christ in me.

Who am I that the Lord would choose to live within me?! I am just a mom - who lives in a small town - in the eastern part of the world - with a small sphere of influence. Yet, God chooses to live in me!? Considering the greatness of our God, does this overwhelm anyone else's heart? Such an undeserved and priceless gift. This knowledge is too wonderful for me; too high for me to understand.

I have been given this Gift so that "...I might live for God...," and that I "might no longer live for [myself], but for Him who died and rose again on [my] behalf." 2 Corinthians 5:15. So what will I do with this glorious truth...this glorious possession...this glorious gift? What will you, if you are a Christian, do with this glorious truth - Christ in you - this year? 

Knowing that the same power that raised Christ from the grave lives within me makes all the difference. It gives freedom. It gives worth. It gives hope. It gives courage.

As I contemplate the year ahead, I have courage to live this life for Him rather than cower to the lies of failure and insignificance. To truly believe that God can and will do amazing things in and through the lives of His people - and then to act upon this belief. To pray more fervently. To love more tenderly. To serve more heartily. To attempt more courageously things for Him that, before, may have seemed "out of my league" or unlikely for me. Reminding myself of what Jesus Himself declared, "...with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26. 

And so I have hope for glorious things in 2013.

Christ in us for His glory!