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September Hope

It's September 1st which probably ranks as one of the most favorite days of the year for me. I LOVE September, even typing it out makes me smile!!You probably are wondering what makes this month so special, but there isn't really a reason.  Crazy huh?  Both sweet hubby and myself have birthdays in September, but we don't celebrate all month!  No other special things occur in Septemeber, but I think it is the home and promise it holds that makes me smile.


In the deep south, we've hit the 'dog days of summer'.  It is hot outside.  Not just hot, but miserable hot.   Hot, Humid and Hazy has been the weather forecast for months now. 'Cool' weather is still at least a month away, but September marks a glimpse that fall is coming. Oh, how I love fall!  Pumpkin everything, cooler weather, more outside time, time to bake, long sleeves, apple cider are some things that I'm looking  forward to. I can't see it or feel it, but I know it's coming!

Hope is kind of like that.  There is something in each of us we long for or look forward to. Capturing a glimpse of it brings hope to us.  Focusing on it, brings purpose and anticipation. While we wait for it to come, we are excited and eager. Then once it arrives, we are ecstatic and fulfilled. 

My hope for fall is a sure thing.  God the Creator ordained the timed and seasons.  Faith kicks in when it is understood this is a sure thing. Sometimes we gamble on our hope, we might long for and hope for something not sure or true and experience great disappointment.  Where we put our hope is vital.  Hope in God   True hope is something that should not waver, because it is rooted in the faithfulness of God. Only when we look to the truly firm foundation for living -- Jesus Christ -- will we find a hope that can anchor our souls. 

Here are four practical steps you can take every day to build a sure foundation of hope that will carry you through the storms of life:


  1. Submit yourself to God. God is the source of our hope. Come to Him in humility and He will restore you (1 Peter 5:6-7).
  2. Strengthen your faith. Allow God's previously fulfilled promises to renew your hope. God has given us written record of countless ways He has provided hope for believers in centuries past. Look to these marvelous accounts for renewal (1 Chronicles 16:11-21).
  3. Trust God's timing. Sometimes God answers our prayers and fulfills our hopes quickly. At other times, for His own divine reasons, He allows us to wait. Remember, it was through faith and patience that Abraham's hope was fulfilled.
  4. Thank God today. Though it's arduous to rejoice as we wait for hopes to be fulfilled, rejoicing enables God to perfect us in ways we are unable to see at the time. And this kind of hope, purified in the crucible of waiting, and sometimes suffering, "does not disappoint" (Romans 5:1-5).
Hope makes my soul alive because God is hope.  One of my favorite verses reminds me He is the God of Hope.   Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

Happy September to you!  May this be a month full of joy, peace and hope for you!
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