“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I…” Psalm 61:26
Life often leads us to lower levels than we want. An accident, an illness, a bad choice, a great loss can take us down a road to harsh places of fear, anxiety, regret, even despair. What can we do? How can we respond when such troubles come? How can we get back on higher ground?
Some would say, “When tough things happen in life the tough get going”. Others think, “What’s the use, I quit…I’m just a failure.” Still others muse, “I can’t take it anymore…I’m getting out of here as fast as I can.”
We can feel like fighting, quitting, fleeing or giving up when hardship hits us. Those are our natural responses. Or we can ask for God’s help.
God always wants to lead us to a higher place than we presently inhabit. Jesus’ resurrection certainly lifts us to a higher place of hope than we ever knew before. Peter had it right when he wrote,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials…” (I Peter 1:3-6 NRSV)
Now we stand on the higher rock of hope where we see that we will enter eternal life with God when we die. We will know a glad reunion with family, friends and neighbors there. We will see God face to face. This hope changes how we live in the present. As we trust that God will always lead us to higher places now, we try to live by Christ’s higher values in the present. In heaven our Lord will rule with justice, mercy and love and wipe every tear from our eyes. In anticipation and hope of that day, we choose to live in ways that show God’s compassion, justice and mercy to others here.
Many of you give food and clothing to local food pantries and thrift stores. We visit the sick. We pray for the troubled. We worship together. We visit with neighbors to show God’s love by listening and caring. In these ways we point others to the Risen Lord who leads us to the Higher Rock of Himself.
Thank you God for sharing the hope of Christ’s Resurrection blessings with the world. (More about the Presbyterian Church visit: www.omropres.com)
Life often leads us to lower levels than we want. An accident, an illness, a bad choice, a great loss can take us down a road to harsh places of fear, anxiety, regret, even despair. What can we do? How can we respond when such troubles come? How can we get back on higher ground?
Some would say, “When tough things happen in life the tough get going”. Others think, “What’s the use, I quit…I’m just a failure.” Still others muse, “I can’t take it anymore…I’m getting out of here as fast as I can.”
We can feel like fighting, quitting, fleeing or giving up when hardship hits us. Those are our natural responses. Or we can ask for God’s help.
God always wants to lead us to a higher place than we presently inhabit. Jesus’ resurrection certainly lifts us to a higher place of hope than we ever knew before. Peter had it right when he wrote,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials…” (I Peter 1:3-6 NRSV)
Now we stand on the higher rock of hope where we see that we will enter eternal life with God when we die. We will know a glad reunion with family, friends and neighbors there. We will see God face to face. This hope changes how we live in the present. As we trust that God will always lead us to higher places now, we try to live by Christ’s higher values in the present. In heaven our Lord will rule with justice, mercy and love and wipe every tear from our eyes. In anticipation and hope of that day, we choose to live in ways that show God’s compassion, justice and mercy to others here.
Many of you give food and clothing to local food pantries and thrift stores. We visit the sick. We pray for the troubled. We worship together. We visit with neighbors to show God’s love by listening and caring. In these ways we point others to the Risen Lord who leads us to the Higher Rock of Himself.
Thank you God for sharing the hope of Christ’s Resurrection blessings with the world. (More about the Presbyterian Church visit: www.omropres.com)
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