The Hope of 2018

I can remember an invitation to go to the World Fair when I was younger.  I had heard about it and read about it and was so very excited. I even raised money to go. My grandmother helped me, she crocheted little hair ties and I sold them at school and around my neighborhood.

Well when the time came to go, the family member that invited me could not go and I was left deflated and disappointed. I was so very disappointed and maybe at a vulnerable age that often after that I was skeptical that anything good would ever happen to me. I often did not get excited over invites, until I was on my way or in the car to go.

As I say farewell to 2017 and it's heartaches but also some great times, I welcome the hope of 2018.

I didn't really make resolutions, but in my heart of hearts I resolved to spend more time with my girls, and to be healthier.  I also have a plan of how to make that happen, so maybe we could call them resolutions.

Anyway I was reading my devotion this morning and as I read Rick Warren pen the importance of committing to God, I thought- I am committed to God. I have given up homes, jobs,  and even some hopes and dreams to try and fulfill the great commission. I have known loss and hurt because of his service and missed out on so very much with my family to do God's work to be where I thought I was supposed to be for HIM.  As I made my list in my head. I was reminded that even all that is still not enough, it's not some magical recipe to do ENOUGH. It's not about the loss or the hurt. It's about staying committed. It's about making a choice everyday.

Though the end of 2017 has been harder than I would have liked and though there is still a mountain to climb, my story is not over. I have hopes, I have dreams and I serve a God that will help me and wants the best for me as an individual. He is in control and though I have said it many many times this last month I have to believe it. I have to stay committed and in HIS WILL. Noah had a project that lasted for 120 years that required him to be faithful and to keep hope in his heart to get him through.

As I look forward to 2018, I have hope in my heart. I know that my God will sustain me and keep me and though I do not have privy to know how my story ends, God knows and he has given me the tools and the hope in my heart to live each day committed to Him and for Him and in His service.

I want to challenge you this 2018 to exercise your faith and trust in God and do something for him, work for him, enlist in HIS service, we do so much to serve ourselves, I want to challenge you to do do something intentional for Him- commit to something for HIM and see your blessings flow. The Bible says that God is always on alert and looking for people who are committed to him (2Chronicles 16:9).

If you don't know God and you wonder what this hope is, try Him today, commit your life to Him, get to know Him through His word the Bible and see how your life changes for the better.

God is the hope of 2018 and He can be your hope too.