Stir Crazy with Hope!

I hope you enjoy Part 1 of the upcoming 3-part series by Renee!  She is always full of encouragement and has practical steps to help navigate through our current season…

by Renee Christensen

Feeling a little stir crazy? Uncertain? Isolated? You aren’t alone!  Uncertain times leave us feeling well, uncertain!  I know during the first week of the “Stay Home-Stay Healthy” order, I was feeling a lot of emotions.  You know them too I’m sure… fear, confusion, vulnerability to name a few. No one likes those feelings!

My faith is being tested and I will have a choice, like every person on earth, what I choose to believe. I have lived my Christian life quoting things like, “God is good all the time”, “He works all things together for good”, “Faith is evidence of things not seen”, “Do not be afraid for He is with you”.  These truths from Scripture come out of my mouth second nature really. They are in the Bible and I believe them, yet they mean something different to me today. To be honest, I’ve never had an opportunity like the present, to press into my faith from this angle before. What is God doing? What do I believe? Do I truly believe what I say I believe?

As I began to wade through the feelings I was experiencing, I landed on a few facts. Our hope is not in our world leaders. Our hope is not in our economy. Our hope is not even in our doctors.  Please hear my heart. Although people and systems are important, our HOPE is only in the Lord!  He is our Rock and our firm foundation that will not be shaken by the Coronavirus or the world’s reactions.

God is not surprised; He has a plan and a purpose! He is a good God and I have a choice in this matter.  I choose to be thankful, because without this deeply moving time, I wouldn’t have been pressed into this place. I choose to worship, because God inhabits the praises of His people and I love spending time with Him. This is where He is waiting. Waiting to bring you peace, speak to you, encourage you, fill you with hope, love and joy.  When you least expect it, your mind is renewed!  Your heart is overflowing and spills into a world in need of the very One who created it!