Hope

Today in church a lady sang one of my favorite songs. By the time it was over, I was a puddle in the pew. Then, our pastor gave a fabulous message from 2 Corinthians 4:7-11:

⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

The bottom line? God wants us to be cracked pots. Scarred, broken beyond mending; and don't try to hide the cracks or cover them up. It is so we can be full of Jesus and He can shine through the cracks. I am broken, cracked beyond mending. I find myself thinking it's for naught. Today reminded me why it is; so He can be manifested through me.

Our pastor's sermons are some of the best teaching I have ever heard. You can find links to them at CapeBibleChapel.org

Oh, the song?


Our Hope Endures
Sung by Natalie Grant

You would think only so much can go wrong
Calamity only strikes once
And you assume that this one has suffered her share
Life will be kinder from here

Sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear
But our hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our hope is unchanged

How do we comprehend peace within pain
Our joy at a good man's wake
Walk a mile with a woman whose body is torn
With illness but she marches on

Sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear
But our hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our hope is unchanged

Emanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient
Emanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient
Emanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient

We never walk alone
This is our hope
Our hope endures, the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
let the earth quake
let the earth quake
let the earth quake
Our hope is unchanged

I never walk alone. My hope, because it is in Christ, remains unchanged.