Hope is My Anchor
Strength for your soul amid life's storms December 2006
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Merry Christmas!
This is a difficult time of year for people who are struggling chronic illness, caring for
loved ones, or facing other hardships. Sometimes it feels as though the world doesn't
care and God is nowhere to be found. I find I go through times of wondering, have I
upset or angered God? I know this is thinking like Job's friends! And yet, the
questions and soul-searching must come. That's when I reflect on one of my favorite
scriptures: Now is the time of God's favor.
I love to watch my children. They bring a smile to my face, just because they are
mine! They don't have to be perfect for me to be blessed by them. Sometimes they
succeed and sometimes they fail, but always they look to my face to find acceptance,
to see if they have pleased me.
Our hearts longingly look to God in this way too, hoping to find acceptance,
pleasure--hoping to find favor with God. This is the gift so beautifully wrapped in the
Christ child, who later became the man "who for the joy set before Him endured the
cross."
Sometimes we miss the joy. We're so busy re-examining our own guilt--which has a
time and place as well--that we forget that God finds joy in us. In us? How can that
be? He is God, and we are mere mortals...and yet He does, because we are His.
Because He looks forward to that glorious day when we will be like Him, in His
presence--a life we long for but can scarcely imagine.
Like children, we will sometimes succeed and sometimes fail in doing what is right
before God. But thankfully our salvation doesn't depend on us--but on what He has
done for us, and us trusting in Him.
Do you long to please God? Bask in His favor today. Rest in His grace. Lean
back, look up in His eyes, and find the joy of a parent who longs for you to know you
have found favor with Him.
In Christ, Merry
Strength for your soul amid life's storms December 2006
_________________________________________________________________
Merry Christmas!
This is a difficult time of year for people who are struggling chronic illness, caring for
loved ones, or facing other hardships. Sometimes it feels as though the world doesn't
care and God is nowhere to be found. I find I go through times of wondering, have I
upset or angered God? I know this is thinking like Job's friends! And yet, the
questions and soul-searching must come. That's when I reflect on one of my favorite
scriptures: Now is the time of God's favor.
I love to watch my children. They bring a smile to my face, just because they are
mine! They don't have to be perfect for me to be blessed by them. Sometimes they
succeed and sometimes they fail, but always they look to my face to find acceptance,
to see if they have pleased me.
Our hearts longingly look to God in this way too, hoping to find acceptance,
pleasure--hoping to find favor with God. This is the gift so beautifully wrapped in the
Christ child, who later became the man "who for the joy set before Him endured the
cross."
Sometimes we miss the joy. We're so busy re-examining our own guilt--which has a
time and place as well--that we forget that God finds joy in us. In us? How can that
be? He is God, and we are mere mortals...and yet He does, because we are His.
Because He looks forward to that glorious day when we will be like Him, in His
presence--a life we long for but can scarcely imagine.
Like children, we will sometimes succeed and sometimes fail in doing what is right
before God. But thankfully our salvation doesn't depend on us--but on what He has
done for us, and us trusting in Him.
Do you long to please God? Bask in His favor today. Rest in His grace. Lean
back, look up in His eyes, and find the joy of a parent who longs for you to know you
have found favor with Him.
In Christ, Merry
| The Time of God's Favor |
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© 2004 Dave and Merry Marinello, all rights reserved.
Welcome! Thanks for visiting our little "harbor" amid life's storms. We hope you
will find rest and encouragement in your struggles, big or small. Here you can:
will find rest and encouragement in your struggles, big or small. Here you can:
The Time of God's Favor
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Hope is My Anchor
Strength for your soul amid life's storms
Strength for your soul amid life's storms
| "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. —2 Corinthians 6:2 |