Day 134: Hope, Perseverance, Character

Romans 5; 1 Samuel 14; Psalm 59

(Just had a thought:  I'm going to be a bible reading maniac for the rest of my life.  Why? Because God is the most important relationship in my life; my life centers around The Lord; the only way to get to know him truly is to read his word.)

Because of Christ, we can live at peace with God.  It is grace that allows us to stand tall in life, do all that we do, and have happiness.  Suffering is not about despair, but about learning to endure, which produces character, and that produces hope.  We can believe in that hope because of God's promises and how the Holy Spirit has filled our hearts with love (Paraphrase of Romans 5:1-5).  These are some of my favorite verses in the Bible.  Before I had even read through the entire scriptures, I felt that there was a lot packed into these few little verses.  But, after reading about the Israelites and all their choices and struggles, these verses make that much more sense.  All through the Old Testament, the people were afraid of God, they did not have much peace, their suffering was about despair, and so they struggled to develop their character or hope of any kind.  But because of Jesus, all of that changes!  We now don't need to be afraid, we can live with peace, we can face difficulties because of hope we have in the Lord's promises, and so develop perseverence and character.

Saul is a very impulsive person, very much to a fault.  Instead of asking what he should do from The Lord, he just jumps into battle because he feels he has no time and will definitely win.  Then he makes this curse that really serves a poor purpose and ultimately condemns his son. Then he plans on following through and killing his son for his own stupid words.  Saul shows me that I need to think and pray before acting.

Jonathan is a cool character though, because he decides to raid and attack the Philistines all by himself (and one helper).  He says that God can help a small number win just as easily as he can help a whole army.  Jonathan has faith that God's power is mighty, regardless of the human effort.  The same is true in our own lives.  Just because you feel like you have nothing to offer doesn't mean that God has nothing to offer through you.  We are just God's hands and feet, meant to go and serve the hurting and broken.

I love how these psalms line up with the passages of scripture that I read.  This psalm is all about God rescuing us from our enemies, just like Jonathan believed he would be rescued from his enemies and Saul would defeat his.  The Lord cares for us and wants to help us.  Believe in that promise today.