Sealed by the Holy Spirit

Photo from The Sanctuary Church

I've finally moved on in Ephesians, a little bit. Today I'm pondering Ephesians 1:12-14 (NASb):


¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in ^]Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In ^]Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^]believed, you were sealed in Him with ⁾the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the ⁾redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

I notice that I see this same wording in Ephesians 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, and 2 Corinthians 5:5.  All 4 of these references include wording about the Holy Spirit sealing us as God's followers.  Three of these references (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, & 2 Corinthians 5:5) include the idea of the Holy Spirit being our guarantee of what God has for us to experience in the future.

As I read these verses I find myself asking what does it mean to be sealed with the Holy Spirit?

Bible Hermeneutics website notes:

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia suggests the intended meaning is a mark of ownership by God:

God by His Spirit indicates who are His, as the owner sets his seal on his property; and just as documents are sealed up until the proper time for opening them, so Christians are sealed up by the Holy Spirit “unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 1:13; Eph. 4:30; 2Co. 1:22).

John Piper explains being sealed with the Holy Spirit this way:

"contained in this word "sealed," it is a message of safety and security in God's love and power. God sends the Holy Spirit as a preserving seal to lock in our faith, as an authenticating seal to validate our sonship, and as a protecting seal to keep out destructive forces. The point is that God wants us to feel secure and safe in his love and power."

In this same article, John Piper makes this point:

"God's great desire for his people is that we feel secure in his love and in his power. Everything else in life may be unstable—our health, our family, our job, our education, our society, our world."

I know that there's so much in my life that is not stable right now.  I've got a DON at work who should be my partner in this business we're running for the owner. She's competent and can be very hands on and effective, but she lies and manipulates. Her lies and manipulation make life very difficult for me and sets a poor tone in our building.  I'm in the midst of a class action lawsuit at work. My youngest son is trying to get an internship for this summer and has faced many rejections.  My middle son has only been on the clean and sober road since April 2015. My oldest son is on a year long deployment in Korea until July 2016 - away from his wife and new baby. I have a course in which I'm currently enrolled that I have no idea how I'm going to complete all the required work prior to the deadlines. Life is just not stable.  Not my life.  Not anyone's life.

 What does the seal of the Holy Spirit mean to me in the midst of the instability of life?

1. The Holy Spirit teaches us God's truth - see John 15:26-27, John 14:15-17, 1 John 5:6.
In the midst of the instability of life I can know what is real and true.

2. The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural power - see Romans 5:13 & 19, 1 Corinthians 2:4, 1 Corinthians 4:20, 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
In the midst of the instability of life I am not left to deal with it all on my own power.   

3. The Holy Spirit changes us - see Galatians 5:16-26
In the midst of the instability of life I get frustrated with myself, but if I cooperate with God, His Spirit within me will produce changes.

Oh Father, I need You to change me.  Change my heart so that it will be completely Yours.  Convict me each day when I'm making myself and/or others things ahead of You.  Help me open up to You and Your Word and live my life according to Your ways.  Please bring to my mind Your truth. Please help me receive Your Power so I can deal with all that is before me.  Empower me so that I can see supernatural results and favor in my life.  May I always bring glory to You.

































































































































































































































































































































































































































































 

What does it mean to be for the praise of Christ's Glory?

Photo from Crabapple 1st Baptist Church

I'm still working my way through Ephesians 1:3-14.

Today what really hit me was this repeated idea found in these verses:

v.6a-"to the praise of his glorious grace"

v.12-"in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

v.14b-"until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.".

What does it mean to be to the praise of His Glory?

 I found some insights from other writers on this topic:
  
* Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers :

That is, for the acknowledgment by all God’s creatures of the gloriousness of His grace; or, in other words, for the acknowledgment that God’s essential glory is best manifested in His grace—that He “declares His almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity.” So in Exodus 33:18-19, to the request, “Show me Thy glory,” the answer is, “I will make my goodness to pass before thee . . . and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” (Comp. Exodus 34:5-7.) He is pleased to consider His glory best realised in the spectacle of souls redeemed and regenerate by His grace, and to decree that it should be thus realised for our sakes.

* Chrysostom, an early church father, said this in his 1st homily on Ephesians:
 
The Divine nature knows no want. And wherefore then would He have us praise and glorify Him? It is that our love towards Him may be kindled more fervently within us. He desires nothing we can render; not our service, not our praise, nor any thing else, nothing but our salvation; this is His object in every thing He does. And he who praises and marvels at the grace displayed towards himself will thus be more devoted and more earnest. 

* John Piper had these thoughts:

"the glory of God is what we were made to see and enjoy for all eternity. Nothing else will satisfy our souls. Therefore if God does not exalt himself for us to admire and enjoy, then he is unloving. That is, he does not give us what we need."

* The Westminister Shorter Catechism:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,[1] and to enjoy him forever.[2]
Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,[3] is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.[4]

What does being to the praise of His Glory look like in daily life?

These are some thoughts that come to my mind:

* Spend some time away from others and alone with God each day.  During this time make sure to think on the goodness of God.  Singing praises to Him and speaking aloud of His goodness.

*  Throughout my day praise God for all the gracious things he does and has done for me.
    - God has done enough for me in Jesus that I have reason to praise Him every day.
    - He also gives me blessing every day if I will but take time to recognize and appreciate His blessings. The fact that I wake up in the morning, the beauty of nature around me, the small goodness in each day.
    - My daily thoughts should center on all the blessings of God.  I should refrain from getting caught up in the negativity around me each day.  I need to face reality and deal with negative things and events but I don't need to ruminate and stay in the negative things.
   -  Every day my speech should be filled with words of gratitude for God's blessings.  I should constantly be appreciative.

*  Live my life in a way that brings honor to God.
    - Be a person of excellence at my work.
    - Be a person who everyone knows that my word is as good a gold, that they can trust me because I'm honest and act with integrity.
    - Be a person who allows God to show me what He wants me to see in situations and and who relies on His wisdom.
    - Notice others.  Care about the people around me in practical ways appropriate to the life situations.  That might mean overlooking minor annoyances from my husband.  It could mean helping out one of my department directors. It might look like me seeing that someone seems tired or discouraged and giving them encouraging words. It could mean me sending an appreciative note to someone. Taking time to listen to my son's hopes and dreams and encouraging him. Etc.

Oh Father, THANK YOU!  I can never thank You enough for all You've done for me.  Help me to notice all Your blessings in every day and to appreciate all You've done, and are doing, for me.  May Your Holy Spirit in me empower me to keep my mind on those positive things and my words ones of gratitude. Oh Father may my life bring glory to Your name.  Empower me please that I would be a person of excellence, honesty and integrity.  Heighten my awareness to the people around me and show me ways to practically care about others.  Thank You so much....

Glorifying of the adopting grace

Photo from Living Grace Fellowship

I'm still thinking about Ephesians 1:4-6.  

God loves all humanity so much that He made us the focus of His love.  God loves me so much that I am the focus of His love.

What affect does, or should, that have on me?

I read a compelling post on this very topic by John Piper over at Desiring God. I want to look at 3 quotes from that post here:

"I think, if you said to the average American student that “being loved” is not an experience that terminates on you, they would look at you with perplexity and wonder: Where else would it terminate? I’m the one being loved. How could it not finally be about me? That’s why it feels so good — someone finally took notice of me. Cared for me. Valued me. And that sense is so strong and so natural and so obvious to most people that the thought that there might be a better way to be loved, a more satisfying way to be loved, a stronger way, is simply inconceivable."

"God loved us in eternity before we were created, and he planned to make us his children by adoption. And the aim of this love was “the praise of the glory of his grace.” He loved us this way that we might praise his grace. The ultimate aim of our adoption is the glorifying of adopting grace. A regenerate person loves to praise God’s grace in our adoption. A nominal Christian simply loves the natural benefits of adoption."

"The final decisive question is: Why does God, who loves us so much, and who makes much of us so extremely, remind us again and again that he does all this for his own glory? Why does God remind us over and over that he makes much of us in a way that is designed ultimately to make much of him?
The answer is this: Loving us this way is a greater love. God’s love for us, that makes much of us for his glory, is a greater love than if he ended by making us our greatest treasure, rather than himself. Making himself our end is a greater love than making us his end. The reason this is greater love is that self, no matter how glorified by God (Romans 8:30), will never satisfy a heart that is made for God. God loves you infinitely. He sent his Son to die that he might have you, and that you might have him (1 Peter 3:18). He will not let you settle for wonderful and happy thoughts of self. Not even a saved, glorified self. He will not let your glory, which he himself creates and delights in, replace his glory as your supreme treasure. That would not be love."


2 Corinthians 5:14 notes that: For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (NIV)

Roy Allen notes that this word compel "means to powerfully urge along a line of conduct. Force is not involved, but some impulse is so great that it evokes a strong intellectual and emotional inclination to respond appropriately. In this case, the impulse is the love of Christ, which is so immense that it demands a response as complete and radical as His love for us."

So, what does a complete and radical response to this great love look like?

 Matthew 22:34-40 records when a lawyer asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment and was told that the first is for us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is for us to love our neighbor like ourselves.


Jason Rouchie makes the point that "From the heart “flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23), and without one’s will, desires, passions, affections, perceptions, and thoughts rightly aligned, the life of love is impossible"

How do I align my will, desires, passions, affections, perceptions, and thoughts?

The only way I know if through prayer, reading the Word, and gratitude. By taking time each day to bare my heart before the Lord, to be quiet, and lean in to Him.  By reading His Word and thinking about it.  When I watch a movie, scenes from it will play over in my mind.  When I become entrenched in the Word, it changes the way I think.  Living a life a gratitude causes me to look at things differently.  Gratitude causes me to be on the look out for ways God is blessing me each day and to express my appreciation.

Loving people rides on the heels of loving God because God loves people.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 tell me that I am to have a ministry of reconciliation.  To reconcile means to win over to friendliness, to bring into agreement or harmony, to restore.  

I adore the way Peterson paraphrases some of the word in Philippians 4:4-5 by saying that we're to Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them.

These are the kinds of activities my life should be about. As I'm thinking of this some very specific life situations come to my mind:

• My medical director at work who's always trying to pull me into his alliances against other doctors or my DON.  I need to stop speaking poorly about him.  I need to speak words to him of ways we can work together.
• I need to not get upset at my husband when he does little things that I find irritating.  I need to pray for God's strength in me to over look offenses and work to be strongly united.
• I need to seek to work together with my DON at work and leave the many problems with her integrity, manipulations and lying to God.
• I need to ask the Holy Spirit to make me aware of when I'm getting an attitude toward people or looking down on them. To quicken a desire in me to want everyone's good.

Oh Father, help me be completely Yours.  May my will, desire, passions, affections, perceptions and thoughts be rightly aligned.  Oh Father produce in me the fruit of self discipline.  Help me be able to get up earlier each day so I can spend more than 5 minutes with You.  Help my heart to be stayed on You all day long.  Give me Your love for others.  Give me Your grace that I will get into work together with people instead of alliances against them.  Help me never to enter into the sin of other people but always to love them and show them that I am on their side as a human being.

What does it mean to be the focus of His love?

Photo from Raynie Peavy

I'm still looking at Ephesians 1:3-14.

Today what stands out to me is best represented verses 4-6. I read these verses in 5 different versions, but the way Peterson paraphrases it in The Message delights me most:

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

God really loves humanity, and me too.

My head knows this but it doesn't really reach my heart every day in every way.  I'm fascinated by the fact that later in this letter Paul prays that the Ephesians would be able to comprehend and experience God's love:

Ephesians 3:17B-18 (NIV)
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Paul obviously thinks it is important that we grasp the immensity of God's love for us.

Why is that? 

Joyce Meyers in an article over at the Christian Post voiced my thoughts on this issue with these words:

"many people don't really know how much He loves them, because if they did, they would act a lot differently than they do"

Somehow I know, deep down in my spirit, that it is understanding God's love in an experiential way that will change the way I live.  I don't think that guilt, fear, or shame will do it.  Only love.

Just last week our pastor spoke about "cheap grace".  He emphasized how God loves us so much and we can not cheapen his love by living in sin.  The pastor was talking about people who accept Christ just to avoid hell and then live as they want. I think part of the problem is the whole hell thing.  I believe that our church has it all wrong.  I don't believe this God Who loves us so much just cuts us off the moment we die and shuts the gates of heaven.  I believe that His love is so great that the gates of heaven are always open.  If we reject him here in this life, then when we're separated from Him after death. But we're still able to come to Him.  That love is so great that the need to focus on being good is gone.

Proverbs 23:7 says that as we think in our hearts so we are.  I believe that when I truly know I am loved, then I will experience the freedom from the bondage of sin.  My response to this great love of God's for me will be to more than gladly live my life as He wants.  My response will be to reach out and seek His Holy Spirit's power within me to change me and give me power over temptation and sin.

Brennan Manning, in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel, shares this account:

"Over a hundred years ago in the Deep South, a phrase so common in our Christian culture today, born again, was seldom or never used. Rather, the phrase used to describe the break though into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ was "I was seized by the power of a great affection". These words described both the initiative of God and explosion within the heart when Jesus, instead of being a face on a holy card with long hair and a robe with many folds, became real, alive and Lord of one's personal and professional life."

I adore that phrase Seized by the power of a great affection. 

May I be seized by the power of His great affection, His love, for me. 

Oh heavenly father, thank You. May Your Holy Spirit in me increase my understanding and experience of Your love for me.  May I be seized by Your great love for me.  May this love change the way I live.  May I be ever constantly shedding selfishness and self centered-ness.  May I see other people as You do.  May my actions toward everyone in my day be those of love.

  

The mystery of the church

Photo from A God-Man in Christ

Ephesians 1:3-14 has many themes.

Today I'm looking at this mystery referred to verse 9 (NIV):

 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,

There are two main aspects to this mystery that I see.

The first aspect of the mystery is that God allows everyone to be part of His church.  John Mac Arthur explains this part of the mystery this way:  

"In Ephesians 3:3 Paul expresses a key thought relative to the church, "By revelation he [God] made known to me the mystery" The mystery 'in other ages was not make known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit" (v.5). Verse 6 identifies the mystery: "That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, the partakers of his promie in Christ by the gospel." A mystery in the biblical sense is something that had been hidden in the past but is now revealed in the New Testament. the book of Ephesians presents the mystery of the church. The hidden secret of the past (v.5), revealed to Paul in the present (v.3), was that jew and Gentile alike would be one in Christ's body - the church."


 Throughout the Old Testament we see the nation of Israel as God's people. In Genesis 13:1-3 we see that Abraham encountered God who promised Abraham that He would make a great nation from him. Then we read in Exodus 6:6-8 about how God considered the Israelites to be His people and delivered them from Pharaoh in Egypt. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament we see Israel turning from God, and God loving them and bringing them back to Himself.  In the New Testament we have the writers revealing that this great God doesn't only love Israel, but He also loves everyone else.

Ephesians 1:10 says (JKJV):


That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

These verses tell me that God is going to gather all things together in Christ.  Andrew Womack presents the common Evangelical thought on this verse:

"The thought is that God is bringing everything together under the headship or Lordship of Jesus. That has always been God’s purpose and plan, and it will be accomplished. Those who do not make Jesus Christ preeminent and Lord over their lives are entirely out of focus with the eternal purpose of God."

But I question this because the text says ALL things.  It does not say only those who make Jesus Lord. To me it seems that these verses are saying that God always had a plan for humanity to be His. That there will be a time to come when God will get what He wants and ALL  things will be gathered to Him.

Ephesians 1:12 says (KJV):

That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

A second aspect of this mystery is that the church will be to the praise and glory of God.  Ephesians has this theme throughout the book.  In Ephesians 2:6-7 we see it again (NIV):

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

So the church, those who first trusted in Christ, will be to His praise and glory and used to show His grace. Who will the church show God's glory and grace to? 

This is such a big question that I'm going to save that as a separate study.

What does the mystery of the church mean to me?

Right away two things come to mind:

• Since Christ died for everyone, then everyone is important. If God sees everyone as important, than I need to as well.
• Since the Church is to show God's glory, grace, and kindness, then I need to live in such a way that my life shows these things.

Oh Heavenly Father, help me see people the way You do.  Help me be aware of how my actions affect others. May Your Holy Spirit in me cause me to be more considerate of my husband and not think it's OK to be a little selfish or rude since we live together in daily life.  Help me to notice the people at the store, or gas station, or where ever else I go and see ways I can practice Your grace and kindness. Help me to go through my day at work completing those tasks that I need to complete, but also help me to really see people and treat them as important.  Holy Spirit please convict me when I'm getting it wrong.  Please send people in my life to help me see when I'm not making people important or showing your glory, grace, and kindness.  Please send people in my life who do this really well that I can learn from. May I show Your glory, grace, and kindness in my life. 

God is Good

Graphic from Scott Wendall

Ephesians 1:3 in the Message version says it this way:

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him.

I appreciate what John Mac Arthur says about this verse:

"The Greek word translated "blessed" is eulogetos, from which we derive the English word eulogy. It means to "speak well of someone." Paul begins verse 3 by saying that God is good. In fact, Jesus says in Matthew 19 that "there is none good but one, that is God" (v. 17). And God is good whether we perceive Him to be or not."


I read through Ephesians 1:3-14 this morning and thought I'd go through that whole passage. Then I started re-reading and can't get past this third verse. I want to spend some time today thinking on what the Bible has to say about God being good; what that means, what it means to me, and how it can impact how I live.

I want to look at some other places in the Bible that I'm told God is good:

* From the very beginning of the Bible I see God and his creative actions described in Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, & 25 as good.

* 1 Timothy 4:4 speaks to the fact that both God and all He creates are good.

*  Psalm 119:68 tells me that God's very nature is good.

* Psalm 33:5  tells me that God is so good that the earth is filled with His goodness.

* Lamentations 3:19-33 is one of my favorite scripture passages. The 25th verse especially speaks to the fact that God is good to those who seek after Him.  Good  is who God is.


 * Repeatedly in the Psalms we're told as God's followers to give thanks to God because He is good.  To cite a few of these scriptures there's  Psalm 106:1, 107:1, 118:1, & 136:1

* Psalm 25:8-11 tells me that God in His goodness will instruct me in how to live well

* James 1:16-18 makes it clear that every good gift is from God

What does it mean that God is good?

I appreciate how Richard L.Strauss explains it:

 "First of all, God Himself is good; that is, He is everything that God should be—the ideal person, the sum     total of all perfection. There are no defects or contradictions in Him, and nothing can be added to His nature  to make Him any better. He is excellence to an infinite degree, possessing every desirable quality, and  therefore of inestimable value. God is good. Because God is Himself the highest and greatest good, He is  also the source and fountain of all other good."

God is the standard for Good.

What does it mean to me that God is good?

I want a good life. The fact that God is good; that He creates good things, shows me how to live in goodness, and gives good gifts - it all makes me want God.  I want to learn about Him.  I want to know Him. I want to think about Him.  I want to seek after Him. I want live my life in obedience to Him.

Today I'm thinking on 2 simple things the fact that God is good means to me:

1. God's goodness provides me with a standard of what is good

There are messages all around me as to what is good and how I can obtain "the good life". Ethics in the workplace are sometimes transitory.  But God is unchanging (Numbers 23:19-20, Psalm 102:25-27, Hebrews 3:18, 1 Timothy 1:18).  As I learn about Him and how He functions, how He works in people's lives, what He calls me to - this shows me what is truly good.  This shows me where my life focus needs to be.

2. Remembering God's goodness keeps me encouraged.

Although the earth is filled with God's goodness, planet earth is fallen (Genesis 3:17-19, Romans 15:12-20). Life is not perfect. Stuff happens and sometimes my life is difficult.  I do things that I don't want to do.  I mess up and I'm disappointed in myself. I see people I know and care about encounter painful circumstances and events.  I see tragedies on the news and in the world around me.

I could become discouraged.

One way to keep from discouragement is to think on God's goodness.

I appreciate these thoughts from John Piper:

"when Marshall came to speak to the Wheaton alumni a few years ago down at Wheaton and told this story, he said, at the end of his talk, summing it all up, “Life is hard and God is good. Life is hard and God is good.” That is the meaning of Lamentations. That is the meaning of Job. You might say that is the meaning of the Bible. Life is hard and God is good. And many of you are right in the midst of proving it to be so now. At least if you would trust him, if I could persuade you this morning that God is trustworthy in it, and if you held on to it, you would discover that life is hard and God is good."


How does the fact that God is good affect my life?

Two ways I want God's goodness affects my daily life:

1. I want to be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:8, Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 3:15-17, Philippians 4:6-8, 2 Corinthians 9:15).

A huge part of being thankful is choosing to focus on all the good things God's given me instead of focusing on the negative things around me.

I benefit from Joel Osteen's thoughts on choosing to be thankful:

"Choose today to let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and have an attitude of gratitude toward the Lord. Even if you have things that are upsetting you, take a step of faith and begin to thank God for his goodness in your life. Thank Him for working behind the scenes on  your behalf. As you do, you will walk forward into the life of blessing He has in store for you!"


2. I want to show God my gratitude for His goodness by giving to others.

 Vince Gerhardy makes this great point:

"The thinking of the world is that everything is mine to keep and mine to use in whatever way I choose. When God is put at the center, we realize that everything is his and he gives it to us to use not just for ourselves but for the care of others, the work of the church. As God has given to us, we start giving to others - the best way to show our gratitude.".

Oh Father, I thank You that You are a good God.  Help me to live my life in gratitude.  May my heart and lips overflow with gratitude to You throughout the day.  May I continually see ways I can give to others every day.  May I extend Your goodness to others.

Failure to follow through sometimes causes a detour

Since I didn't complete my follow through from my last time in Ephesians, I want to look at some verses the Lord brought to my mind when I was praying for forgiveness just now.

I read Lamentations 3:19-33 out of 4 different versions. I'm especially delighted by the Message paraphrase of these verses:

I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
    the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
    the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
    and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

^22-24 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left.

^25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
    to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
    quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
    to stick it out through the hard times.

^28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take,
    go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
    Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
    The “worst” is never the worst.

^31-33 Why? Because the Master won’t ever
    walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
    His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
    in throwing roadblocks in the way

Wow. What a great God!  I'm ever so grateful for His mercy.

I'm also thinking about trying a time of just "waiting for hope" when I'm stressed or struggling with temptation. Taking a few moments just for silence before God. 

The other passage God brought to my mind was 1 John 1:9.  I read 1 John 1:5-10 out of 4 versions. Verses 8 & 9 out of the NIV especially speak to my heart:

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I'm so glad that He forgives me when I ask and that He makes me clean.  May I take a few moments each evening to seek His forgiveness.