By: Cris Corzine-McCloskey

Reading Psalms is a peek in to David’s private journals. We can see all the anguish he faced, as well as his one unshakable hope. So, what was David’s hope? It certainly was not in people. In Psalm 146 he writes about the dangers of putting our confidence in powerful people, that there is no help there. In Psalm 118 he states that it is far better to take refuge in God than in people. I also don’t believe he placed his hope in circumstances, because in Psalm 27 he wrote that he kept despair at bay by believing he would see the goodness of the Lord. That is a trust that no matter what happened, it was going to be good, because he knew God was good.

That was the secret of David’s success. He put his hope and confidence in the Lord. As a counselor I see us believers putting our hope in the Lord to change another person (which is the same as putting our trust in people) or in a circumstance to change. When things don’t work out how we think God should have done it, we get a ‘faith fail,’ and hope starts lagging. The result is body of disillusioned believers whose last hope is a trumpet blast and a ticket on the first bus out of here.

Here is the ultimate example of what I mean. Israel hoped for a Messiah. Indeed, it was a promise from God. Their minds were set on what that would look like. Enter Jesus, who looked nothing like what they’d hoped for. Not only did he not look or act like what they hoped, he did not try to overthrow Roman rule. Israel’s hope in who the person should be and what circumstance should be changed was thwarted, so they rejected and crucified their King. But God’s plans were bigger. He used the cross to rescue us all from the true enemy, sin. You see, God’s goodness is so much bigger than what our minds can contain.

Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do way more than what we can even dare to ask or hope for. That’s great! But there is a caveat. That promise requires David like hope in God’s goodness. A bulldog determination to hope in the Lord. If that spouse changes, Amen and Hallelujah! If not, so be it. We don’t get a faith fail, because our hope is in God, and not in the person of our spouse. That also means that if the circumstance is less than ideal, you trust in God to work it out for good, because he is a good God. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!” Ta Da!!! That is why we can’t hope in people or circumstances to change, because our minds can’t wrap around God’s plan. We just have to trust in Him to be spectacular. So relax, accept that God’s ideas for all of this are way better than ours, and enjoy each day for what it offers. In the words of David, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad!”

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