Trust and Do Good

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. – (Psalm 37:3, NIV)

So trust in the Lord and do good. Live on your land and be dependable. – (Psalm 37:3, ERV)

Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in His eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on His faithfulness. – (Psalm 37:3, TPT)

Our charge is to trust in the Lord and do what is right before Him. A decision to trust and do good is not dependent on our circumstances, surroundings, nor governing bodies; it is entirely up to us to choose, regardless of these things. It was true for the last four years, and remains true for the next. Politics should not and cannot determine our own decision to trust and do good. When we choose hope, there is peace in our hearts and our homes, and we discover the depth and breadth of God’s faithfulness. Incredibly, this seems to be what I am seeing in people, as there is this pending change in the air. People on both sides are proclaiming their intention to do exactly what David reminds us to do in this Psalm. This perceived gentleness grants me hope in the humanity of those around me. God is my ultimate hope; but it is good to see people pursuing trust and the goodness of God, rather than clinging to frustration or elation at an outcome. None of us know what the future holds, yet we know Who holds the future. May we be intentional to keep trusting the Lord and do what is right in His eyes, for He is our security and His faithfulness never ends.

For the Lord is good,

In Him, we can trust;

Reach out and be kind,

For peace, it’s a must.

We each have been called,

To love and do good;

To treat each other,

As family should.

When we each intend,

To do what is right;

God’s faithful to us,

For we’re His delight.

So, rise up in peace,

Choose trust and do good;

Live and love like Christ,

Make hope understood.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You call us to trust You and do good. Thank You that our hope, security and safety come from You. Forgive us for the times that we have allowed anyone or anything to disrupt our trust and neglect to do what is good before You. Show us how to love and do good as You call us to, and remind us anew of Your great faithfulness. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we trust You and do the good that You call us to do. May Your hope and security be clear to all, through our reliance in You. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

Patient Hope

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. – (Romans 8:25, NIV) 

But we are hoping for something we don’t have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently. – (Romans 8:25, ERV) 

So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment. – (Romans 8:25, TPT) 

Hope is that beautiful space within us that believes and trusts that what is promised, the things that are longed for, will one day be fulfilled or come to pass. Our ultimate hope, the very thing we long for and have been promised, is an eternity in heaven if we choose believe and receive all that the Lord is offering. We have a lifetime to wait for it, yet it is hope worth holding. Hope is housed in that which is yet to be seen. In pregnancy, though the season of waiting feels long, especially near the end, the patient waiting is well worth the hope that has been held, when at last the newborn child is placed in one’s arms. Currently, one of my hopes that I am waiting for is to have a puppy that will listen and not be bitey. Though I don’t always see the well-mannered, obedient puppy yet, I have hope that with training and patience, what I desire most for our sweet Thor, will be realized. Incredibly, in the same way that I see glimpses of good behavior and obedience in our puppy, God grants us glimpses of His glory. All of creation reflects His beauty and majesty, reminding us of all that is yet to come. May we hold fast to the hope we have in Jesus, as He is faithful to all His promises. 

Anticipation, 

With patience, we wait; 

The Lord is faithful, 

Grows hope as we pray. 

All that He’s promised, 

Will soon come to pass; 

The Lord’s never late, 

He hears what we ask. 

God brings us beauty, 

Where ashes once stood; 

His love never ends, 

His promises, good. 

Let us choose to seek, 

It’s how hope is found; 

Patience, persistence, 

God’s glory surrounds. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can hold fast to the hope we have in You, for Your promises are true and You are faithful to fulfill as that You say You will do. Forgive us for our lack of patience when the fulfillment is a longer wait than we think it should be. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would patiently wait for all of the good that is yet to come. Show us how to love those around us well, so that they may recognize Your goodness and grace through how we love like You. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we hold onto hope, and patiently wait for all that is yet to come. Amen. 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long. – Psalm 25:5

Confident Trust

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. – (Hebrews 11:1, NIV)

Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. – (Hebrews 11:1, ERV)

Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen. – (Hebrews 11:1, VOICE)

 

Though the last six weeks have often times felt like an eternity, I am assured and have faith, that our current circumstances will not last forever. I have confident hope that though I cannot yet see an end in sight, there is one. Incredibly, with God, we can be confident now in His presence AND in all that is yet to come. Though we do not see Him, the evidence of His existence is all around us. It takes but a moment of observing creation and His created, to recognize His divine handiwork on display. May we seek the Lord to grow our faith, so that we might have confident hope – absolute conviction, in the realities that we have yet to see.

 

Now faith is the hope,

In what I can’t see;

A confident trust,

In what’s yet to be.

For God grows in us,

Hope to rest assured;

That what’s yet to come,

A future secured.

Secure in goodness,

Lavished in His grace;

Ongoing presence,

For all of our days.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can have faith, a confident hope, in all that is yet to come, even though we cannot see the how or when that stands between now and what lies ahead. Thank You that Your presence is available always. Forgive us for our frustrations and faith that falters when the road becomes extra-long or rough. Teach us to trust Your more so that our faith will grow, as we know that our ultimate hope is held in You alone. Show us how to love those around us in practical and tangible ways that offer hope in uncertain spaces. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we place our hope in You, confident and secure, knowing that You lovingly hold our future in Your hands. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. – Psalm 37:3

Faith Like Job

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. – (Job 19:25, NIV)

I know that there is someone to defend me and that there is someone to defend me and that He lives! And in the end, He will stand here on earth and defend me. – (Job 19:25, ERV)

 

The unwavering faith of Job amazes me every time I am brought back to any portion of his story. Job lost his family, his friends, his wealth and his health, yet his faith remained unflappable. In the midst of all of his loss, his friends tell him all of the possible reasons why such devastation had befallen him, yet Job knew he had been faithful to God and clung to his faith in the truth that was securely planted within him. Incredibly, Job’s story does not end in his space of desolation, but rather in one of restoration, redemption and abundant blessing. God still works in the same powerful ways. When my marriage ended several years ago, I grieved the loss and did not think it would be possible to allow my heart to love again. I trusted God with me and my sons, and it was good. Little did I know, but God had so much more for me; for us. God brought me a partner and help mate, someone to be strong when I am not, yet one whom I can challenge to grow too. His timing could not have been better, as we have weathered some intense storms together. Separately, they may have sunk us, but together, with Christ as our anchor, we have remained steady and secure. There will always be trials in this broken world, but when we know and trust God, we have assurance that the difficult will not last forever. We know that our forever will be far better than anything we could begin to hope or imagine in the here and now, and with all this time at home, I’ll bet many of us can imagine some fairly fantastic settings and spaces. May we pursue the Lord and trust in Him, so that He may grow more deeply in us, an unwavering faith.

 

My Redeemer lives,

Photo by Dee Jones of Open Door Photography ❤

I have certainty;

For in my own life,

He’s loved faithfully.

Not just in theory,

Or stories of old;

Through my own trials,

My hand He did hold.

Granted provision,

For every need;

At the darkest times,

His love took the lead.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are for us, even when it feels as if the world is against us. Thank You that our ultimate hope is eternity with You. Forgive us for forgetting the strength, hope and power that is present in You. Teach us to trust and rely on “God with us”, for You are always near. Show us how to love those around us best, so that we might encourage and strengthen them in hope. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we trust in Your faithful presence and hold fast to the hope we know is found in You forever. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

Who is like You, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and Your faithfulness surrounds You. – Psalm 89:8

He Hears Our Cry

“O Lord, I say to You, ‘You are my God.’ Hear, O Lord, My cry for mercy.” – (Psalm 140:6)

Yesterday afternoon, just prior to setting out for a gathering with dear friends, I learned that a gal whom I had grown up with, had lost her seventeen-year-old son. My heart filled with heaviness on her behalf, and all I could do was cry out to God, to cover she and her family with His peace and His presence in this horrific time of grief.
Too often, young lives end long before they seemingly should. These treasures that we are given from God, are cut short, leaving so many to grieve and wonder why. There is hope, despite the desperate tragedy. When we raise and instruct them in the ways that they are meant to go, the truth will be hidden in their hearts. Our ultimate hope is held in our eternal reunion. Though there is a seemingly agonizing season of separation on earth, imagine an eternity together…

When precious lives lost,

young taken too soon;

hearts torn and broken,

with Christ, come commune.

He is the sweet space,

where healing begins;

He is the hope held,

as anguish extends.

Every cry heard,

that we offer up;

He’ll hold heart and hand,

and carry our cup.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are our God, and that You hear our every cry. Thank You that You are merciful and kind, and that You are able to bring beauty from ashes and hope from despair. Forgive us for our fearfulness, and help us to place all into Your hands. Please provide Your peace and comfort to those who are in desperate spaces of despair, and move hearts and minds to surround the hurting to extend Your comfort and calm, simply by being present. May we love as You love us, and may many come to know the security and safety found in salvation in You. Be exalted in everything that we say and do. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

May God Almighty grant you mercy. – Genesis 43:14