Christian theologian Richard John Neuhaus was being driven from an airport to a speaking engagement. During the drive, one of his hosts went on and on about the disintegration of the American social fabric and the disappearance of Christian values and virtues from the culture. After what was a tedious drive listening to the man talk, Neuhaus finally was able to offer a response: “The times may be bad, but they are the only times we are given. Remember, hope is still a Christian virtue, and despair is a mortal sin.”

It may be true that Christian values and virtues are disappearing, but there is one virtue that should remain as long as a single Christian survives: the virtue of hope. Regardless of how bleak the circumstances, hope can continue. Hope cannot be taken from the Christian—it can only be surrendered. And as long as God exists, there is reason for the Christian to hope. After all, it is God who is in charge of the present and future, not society or culture.

Whether your concerns are cultural or personal, as long as you refuse to surrender your hope in God, you will live to praise Him another day.( Turning Point)

What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of life.
Emil Brunner

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.”–2 Corinthians 4:1

As we look around at the world that we live in today, it seems that old-fashioned, biblical commitment is becoming a thing of the past. People are generally not as committed to their spouse, to their company, to their favorite brand names or sports teams, or even to the doctrine of the Word of God as they once were. It seems the philosophy that is most prevalent in our society is situational ethics, or what we might call an “accommodating theology.” This is the philosophy that asks, “How can God benefit me?” As Christians, we have moved our loyalties and even our beliefs to accommodate self more than the Saviour. Many times, God is little more than a 911 number in our lives.

The Apostle Paul is a man that was totally committed and surrendered to the Lord. Paul’s commitment and loyalty to the Lord did not depend on the situation or on how well it would accommodate his needs, but he had made a commitment to Christ and would let nothing interfere with his calling. As he wrote to the church at Corinth, he was challenging them with his testimony of commitment and faithfulness to the Lord. Paul’s commitment was evidenced in his faithful walk with God.

Paul’s walk was a walk of acceptance. Paul was accepting the fact that God had called him to serve Him with his life. “Therefore seeing we have this ministry,” Paul says, “we faint not.” Have you accepted the fact that when you were saved, God, at that very moment, had a purpose for your life and called you to serve him with your life? Have you committed your life to this purpose?

Not only has God called us, but He has bought us. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price…” It is only reasonable that we would present our bodies a living sacrifice. A committed Christian does not deny God’s ownership of his life but embraces it. You are no longer just an E4 in the military, a doctor, a lawyer, or a waitress, but a servant of the Most High God.

Paul’s walk was also a walk of mercy. “As we have received mercy,” we faint not.” A committed Christian does not view serving God as bondage. If you want to know what bondage is, look at the average unsaved person who is bound by alcohol, materialism, or lust. It is not bondage to serve God; it is by His mercy that we have the privilege to serve Him.

Paul’s walk was also a walk of commitment–“we faint not.” A committed Christian determines to be faithful until he is called home. A lot of times the values and beliefs of the Bible completely contradict the world today. Sometimes it becomes difficult to serve Him; it can sometimes be difficult to be a witness and to believe what we believe; nevertheless, if you are committed to the One who has called you, you will remain faithful to the Lord.(Dr. Paul Chappell)

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” –Habakkuk 3:18

If ever, as we pass through this wilderness, we feel one drop of solid joy, of true happiness, it must flow, it can flow only from one source–the manifestation of Christ to our souls. This joy may be very transient–we may have to look upon it through a vista of many years; and doubts and fears may becloud the mind whether we ever rejoiced truly in Christ, or whether our joy might not have been “the joy of the hypocrite” that perishes. And yet we are brought to this point–we can find true joy and peace in Him alone. Sin, the world, the things of time and sense, business, amusement, pleasure so called, afford now no lasting joy; there is an aching void, a feeling of dreariness and misery connected with everything short of divine communications of mercy, favor, and love. So that though we may not be enabled to say, ‘we greatly rejoice at all times, in all places, at all seasons, in the Lord;’ yet we can come to this point–we can rejoice in no other; we can take real pleasure in nothing else. One smile from the Lord, one word from his lips, one gracious breaking in of the light of his countenance does, while it lasts, communicate joy; and from no other quarter, from no other source can a moment’s true joy be drawn.(From “Daily Portions”)

For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.– Lamentations 3:33

Here is a fact well known — the Lord afflicts His children. Trouble never springs out of the dust — nor do afflictions come by ‘chance’. No! Every trial and affliction is sent from our Father’s throne — and its direction is written by our Father’s hand. He appoints the kind, the degree, and the direction of our afflictions.

We are afflicted with disappointments, losses, and crosses. None are exempt. None can always escape, for “the Lord tries the righteous.” “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.”

“He does not afflict willingly.” He only grieves us from necessity. He has fixed His end, which is to make us holy, and to conform us to the image of His Son; from this, He will not be diverted — but He will surely accomplish it.

In the afflictions which He sends, God aims at . . .
our deeper sanctification,
or our greater usefulness,
or simply at His own glory,
which is always linked with our good.

He therefore afflicts us — to exercise our graces; these would otherwise often lie dormant, become weak, fade, and wither.

God afflicts His children — to wean us from the world, to which we are too much attached, and would be more so, if it were not for trials, disappointments, and vexations.

God afflicts His children — to  embitter sin, which is the prolific root, on which every pain, grief and sorrow grows. 

God afflicts His children — to endear the Savior, who is our solace in sorrow, and will be our glorious deliverer from it. Never does Jesus appear so precious — as in the hours of trouble and trial.

God afflicts His children — to prevent our falling into temptation, which we would do more frequently, if we were not kept awake and watchful by our various sorrows.

God afflicts His children — to fit us for usefulness, for as the land must be ploughed, harrowed, and crushed — if it is to be fruitful and supply our needs; just so must we be tempted, tried, and troubled — if we are to be of much use to man, or to bring much glory to God.

God afflicts His children, to make us long for heaven — which we seldom do when all is pleasant, bright, and sunny below.

If God loves us with an infinite love;
if He has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son;
if He will make us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;
and if He will correct our faults and our follies –He must afflict us!
–By James Smith, 1853

“So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth”   (Psalm 58:11).

As we fret and fuss about the difficulties and dangers of life it helps us to cope and conquer by remembering that God is in control and He always does what is right. These following words by C. H. Spurgeon will help you start your day with the right perspective.

God’s judgments in this life are not always clearly to be seen, for in many cases one event happeneth alike to all. This is the state of probation, not of punishment or reward. Yet at times God works terrible things in righteousness, and even the careless are compelled to own His hand. Even in this life righteousness has that kind of reward which it prefers above all others, namely, the smile of God, which creates a quiet conscience. Sometimes other recompenses follow, for God will be in no man’s debt. But, at the same time, the chief reward of the righteous lies in the hereafter. Meanwhile, on a large scale, we mark the presence of the great Ruler among the nations. He breaks in pieces oppressive thrones and punishes guilty peoples. No one can study the history of the rise and fall of empires without perceiving that there is a power which makes for righteousness and, in the end, brings iniquity before its bar and condemns it with unsparing justice. Sin shall not go unpunished, and goodness shall not remain unrewarded. The Judge of all the earth must do right. Therefore, let us fear before Him and no more dread the power of the wicked.