by Suzanne Benner
**Do you struggle with suicide? http://womentodaymagazine.com/chat/askus.html
“This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:9, 10).
Where is your hope?
Do you hope in your own ability, your talents, your personal competence?
Regardless of your intelligence, education or proficiency, trusting in yourself is shaky ground.
Do you put your hope in money, the financial security you have built for yourself?
Wealth, also, is an uncertain foundation. Later in the same letter to Timothy, Paul addresses the idea of putting our confidence in money. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (1Timothy 6: 17).
Do you put your hope in your family or friends, good but fallible human beings?
Although everyone needs a support system, faith in people will eventually fall short of what we need.
There is only One who is completely trustworthy, only One who will never fail us, only One in whom we should put our hope.
Who is this One?
He is God, the living God; He is the Savior of all men.
He is “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:15, 16).
~ Thank you Holy God for reminding me that You alone are my hope. Help me to fix my thoughts and attention on You. Show me when I begin to put my confidence in anything or anyone other than You and draw me back to You. Amen.
Questions: In what or whom are you most likely to put your hope? How does knowing you serve the living God, the Savior of all men, change your life?
About the Author: http://talk.thelife.com/experience/devotionalforwomen/authors/suzanne-benner/
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August 6th, 2008 at 5:46 am
Our Hope! Thank you for this devotion! I put my hope in God anjd i try to believe with all of my heart that He will take care of me! I try to believe that He cares for me and I not only try to believe this, but I have read this and I am told He Cares! Sometimes, It get a little hard especially when I feel so overwhelmed with my problems! This morning I kept saying I have so many things to do and I said I would write them all down on paper. After I was calling them out to the Lord in prayer. I picked up my “outdoor Meditation book” which read… Not my will but God’s Wil. I suddenly realized that of all the things I named, not one was to allow God’s Will to be done in my life. The book said, I must realize God is in complete control. Yes I must commit to my heart that God will never fail me and I can put my trust in Him! God right now I am asking in the sweet name of Jesus that I never doubt again the love you have for me. You told me this morning that I should take no thought for tomorrow and I should consider the lillies of the field. You told me you will take care of me Lord. Lord I need a break through with my finances, I need to strenghten my body with more excercises. I need to increase my spiritually walk with you Lord. I want a boyfriend who I can have fun with. God I know you know I have need of these things so I am asking in Jesus sweet and Holy name that you please bless me Lord. God, I am speaking to you for me Lord. My prayers are the same for others, help us Father God. Thank you! Bless all the people who visit this site today Lord. Show us all that we can put our total faith in you and you only Lord. god Let this month of August be a good month for Linda. Amen Lord.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Brenda S.- I agree with you in prayer that the desires of your heart will agree with the Lord’s desires for you.(Psalm 37:4,5,6) v.4 “Delight yourself in the Lord & He WILL give you the desires of your heart.”v.5- Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him & He will do this: v.6- He WILL make your righteousiness shine-like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
Proverbs 19:21-” Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” I pray that I will come to see myself the the Lord’s eyes so that I may walk intimately with Him. I pray this for you as well, my sister in Christ.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Linda, you so kind! Thank you very much! That the key to delight myself in the Lord. thank you for this scripture. commity my way to the Lord and Trust In Him. god has been showing me signs and wonders for the past two weeks or so and I am so amazed! I pray that god continue to strengthen you and bless you with excellent health. How is this month going so far?
August 6th, 2008 at 8:55 am
My hope and trust is in the Lord and by doing this it gives me peace knowing that He is in total control of my life. That nothing good or nothing bad happens to me that God Himself does not allow. But don’t get me wrong I am not perfect, it doesn’t mean I always like it but it does mean that deep down in my heart I know that it is Gods will and is the best thing to have had happen. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 3:5 and 6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Brenda I think you were talking to me when you asked how my month was going regarding the anniversary date of the loss of my daughter, well the truthful answer is I am weepy and emotional. Thank you for your prayers for strength and excellent health as I am really struggling with my pain levels right now so I truly appreciate your prayers. Hugs, Linda !!!
August 6th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Linda R. I am so sorry and I am grateful you are honest about your feelings. Your sentence regarding nothing good or nothing bad happens to me that God Himself does not allow…it doesn’t mean I always like it but it does mean that deep down in my heart …gods will and is the best thing to have had happen is so profound to me. This is where I get off centered. I think because bad things are happening, it means God isn’t there for me. When Good Things happens, I feel like God has heard me and he Cares. But after reading your statement, I am learning to believe. Thank you for that statement. I, too love Proverbs 3:5 and 6. My sister’s son’s birthday is August 31 and he would have been 18 years old. He died June 21 of this year. I was talking with her last night and she said she feels as though she has received a whopping from God! I shared a lot, but tonight I will share your statment with her. I hope you feel better. Hugs, Brenda.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Brenda Please tell your sister she will be in my daily prayers, My heart must aches for her as I Know Just How She Feels. Also tell her she is more that welcome to email me if she ever just wants someone to talk to as I believe you have my email address. Brenda in Psalm 139:16 it says: All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. That is saying God knows the day each and every one of us is going to die. There is nothing we can do about it. When Lee-Anna was killed in that car accident God didn’t say Whoops ! Oh, that wasn’t suppose to happen, God Never, Ever Makes a Mistake That was Her time to go! I didn’t like it, I hated it when people would say to me Well at least she is in Heaven With Jesus! Who cares I wanted her back here with me! Brenda she was one of the Happiest people you could ever meet and she Loved the Lord so much and I will never understand or know why He had to take her at the age of 15 1/2 but I Know It Was Gods Timing & Gods Will and that I Can’t argue against. And you know what just like your sister I too thought at first I was getting a whopping from God, but God Doesn’t do that, No He is a God of Love, it was Lee-Anna’s time to go. Give your sister a Big Hug for me and don’t forget you too are still welcome to email me if you want.
Hugs, Linda!!!
August 6th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Good Morning dear ones,
Beautiful devotion today. It brought to mind immediately a song we sometimes sing in church….
MY HOPE IS BUILT
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Heartfelt sharing this morning. LindaR you are in my thoughts and prayers, dear sister and friend. Brenda praying for you too and all of us that our hope will be in the one who loves us more than we can imagine…JESUS!! Praying that we will all keep our focus on Him, His promises and the hope we have in Him. Loving you all from here,
Donna
August 6th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Donna thank you for your thoughts and prayers, Also thank you for Sharing that Old Hymn with us, I can just close my eyes and see everyone singing that song in our Church when I was growing up and you sang the chorus between each verse every time. What wonderful words they are and oh how we need to remember them every day. Hugs, Linda!!!
August 6th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I never really lost a child but I lost a father when I was 10yrs. old Linda R
I pray that you feel God’s comforting presence as well. Yesterday my son who is a pastor had a scooter accident in Mennisota. His scooter blow a rear
tire and skidded to the oncoming traffic. A passer by and an 18 wheel truck
driver saw what occur and slow the traffic. My son was taken to the nearby
hospital but denied and only to be taken to Sioux Falls, S.D. The
accident happened in a small town. The hospital does not have the surgent or the expertize my son nedded. Anyway, he had road rash on his right cheek, right arm ,elbows and knees. No broken bones and no
internal injuries. God still has a purpose for my son. He will be 37 next
mo. I had him when I was 18. Please pray for speedy recovery so that he
can have skin graph and be back to his normal appearance. He has deep thacut in his right eye brow. Its stitched. Its pretty bruise up. I trust God but not always
I have to be reminded of the scripture too. Everyones comment makes
me think. We can’t depend on our money or our family and friend although these are necessary for evereday . Like money with out it we
can’t pay our bills. We have to be wise and ask God to give us wisdom
With family and friend they fail us like we fail sometimes too. Yes,
God is the only one that does not fail us if we ask according to His will.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Anita Thank you so very much for your prayers I truly appreciate them.
Dear Heavenly Father I just bring Anita’s son to You right now, Lord I just pray that You will just help him to have a speedy recovery from the injuries that he got during his scooter accident yesterday. Jesus You see everything that is wrong with him and I just pray that Your Healing Hand will just minister to his body where ever it needs to be healed. Lord we also want to thank You that he wasn’t injured worse than he was as we just know that You were watching over him and we Thank & Praise You for that. I just pray these things in Your Name in Faith Believing Amen! Hugs, Linda !!!
August 6th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hi Anita,
Joining LindaR in prayer for your son…Heavenly Father, Anita’s son has been injured as you know. Almighty God, please help him heal quickly. I pray Lord that in your mercy and compassion that he might not feel too much pain. Thank you Lord that you have this, as all things, under your control. Believing that he will be restored to health I thank you Lord. In the powerful name of Jesus I pray….Donna
Anita keep in touch and let us know how he is doing…..
August 7th, 2008 at 4:00 am
DonnaL and Linda R I shall keep you all posted in my his progress. Yesterday, He opened his left eye the right eye is swollen and bruised.
As I mentioned earlier he has road rash on his right cheek, right arm, both
elbows, right hip and both knees. So far I heard that he does not need
skin grapping on his hand. His hands were all bandage up when my
daughter-in-law saw him. Praying his deep cut on his right eye brow will
heal quickly and his skin so that the doctor can place some new skin on him. Thanks for all the prayers. Many Christians have been praying for my
son. the lord used him mightily in his preaching and one on one
counseling. He and his wife are God’s workers. Bless them both. They work in the past with the youth in Des Moine Iowa and have reap real
good reward for their labor. For the most part I heard that all the youth
are very active in God’s work and honor Him. Then they labor in a small town of Maine for 3yrs. God gave an increase as well spritually speaking
but not in finance. The town is having financial problem and so as the
population. So my son and his family move over to Michigan while awating
God’s calling. He is computer savvy so while waiting he worked for a coup
le weeks updating software and doing thing that pertain to computer in
Michigan. That went on for 6 mos. He had to work part time for Arby’s
he use to be a manager there in high school and in college till he graduated. He had a chance to take the job as manager but he has to
sign to 3yrs.contract. God comes first. he said no. So he worked part-time.
He had cashed his retirement money to pay the bill. There was another
job offer to from an insurance comp. but the same responce God he will serve. God met their need. A fellow Chritian friend had a bonus and gave
them 600.dollars. Now I’ just looking for more blessing from this accident.
Even though its hard too. My daughter in law on the way to see my son
had the rock hit her windshield and with the price of gas the finance will be tight. That’s why my son was using a sccoter. Its 22yrs old scooter.
And they have a van and four kids. Three girls and one boy. Gotta go
to work.
August 7th, 2008 at 11:43 am
i put my faith and trust in God for there are somethings only He can do
August 7th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
today’s message is definitely enlightening. for someone like me who have been quite independent through my life (raised my children practically by myself and now with own business) sometimes i forget that it is God on whom i should put my whole trust. but i think there is nothing wrong if we prepare for our future, especially for retirement. i am currently struggling on this but i pray that God will lead me to the right direction. i praise God that he touches me though at times when i am in trouble, like when i have to make crucial decisions in my business. he reminds me that he is always there and that i can depend on him, that he will never leave or forsake me. its something that is lost on my mind amidst all the things to do, pressures, etc. yes, my hope is always in the Lord.