My Hope is in the Lord
This past Sunday, Pastor Pat Jones opened the sermon with this statement, "Bad things tend to bring dependence and good things
tend to bring deception. How we handle both will say a
lot about our love for the Lord."
Pastor Dick Bennett ("Young at Heart" Director and Caring Network Pastor) admits that he has given many sermons on trusting God through bad times. Today on the blog, he is sharing how recently he has been learning and living out faith and hope more deeply on his own walk with God. Read his story below:
Many of you have traveled with us on our journey over the past two years, since we learned that our youngest son’s wife, Christine, was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer at age 37. The volume of prayer support was overwhelming, and deeply appreciated. It carried us through.
There was so much more at play than just the cancer as far as points of stress were concerned. There was the unknown future for our son and the daily depression that set in, the anxiety of tension from her family, the daily care taking through months in Hospice, the loss of income, medical expenses, and on and on. Our faith had never been tried like that before. I have a file folder full of sermons on faith, but now it was different. I would learn new levels of empathy I had never known before.
As you know, I am a lover of Gospel music, and lines from hymns come to me almost quicker than scriptures. I was now going to learn the true meaning of “My Hope is in the Lord”. I love both the chorus and the hymn by that title. I am humming them as I write this:
The Chorus by Tommy Coombs:
I stand in awe within the presence of the Lord,
In whom the wisdom of the ages lie.
For whom the raging of the seas subside
The living sacrifice, the only source of life
My hope – is in the Lord
From this time on, forevermore
My hope, is in the Lord, forevermore.
His tender mercies come with every rising sun
To meet the sinner in his brokenness
To offer healing and forgiveness
And those who trust in him will find their hearts can mend.
And then there is the Hymn by Norman Clayton:
My hope is in the Lord
Who gave himself for me
And paid the price for all my sins at calvary.
For me, He died, for me He lives.
And everlasting life and light he freely gives.
His grace has planned it all (one of the greatest lines in all hymnody)
‘tis mine but to believe
And recognize His work of love and Christ receive.
Christine went to be with Jesus on January 18th, 2016. Our son is now in his 4th week of training in his new job after a tedious search. His stress level has gone from 10 to 2, and so has ours. Our profound thanks to all who prayed. I found that we are never too old to learn from God.
Pastor Dick Bennett ("Young at Heart" Director and Caring Network Pastor) admits that he has given many sermons on trusting God through bad times. Today on the blog, he is sharing how recently he has been learning and living out faith and hope more deeply on his own walk with God. Read his story below:
Many of you have traveled with us on our journey over the past two years, since we learned that our youngest son’s wife, Christine, was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer at age 37. The volume of prayer support was overwhelming, and deeply appreciated. It carried us through.
There was so much more at play than just the cancer as far as points of stress were concerned. There was the unknown future for our son and the daily depression that set in, the anxiety of tension from her family, the daily care taking through months in Hospice, the loss of income, medical expenses, and on and on. Our faith had never been tried like that before. I have a file folder full of sermons on faith, but now it was different. I would learn new levels of empathy I had never known before.
As you know, I am a lover of Gospel music, and lines from hymns come to me almost quicker than scriptures. I was now going to learn the true meaning of “My Hope is in the Lord”. I love both the chorus and the hymn by that title. I am humming them as I write this:
The Chorus by Tommy Coombs:
I stand in awe within the presence of the Lord,
In whom the wisdom of the ages lie.
For whom the raging of the seas subside
The living sacrifice, the only source of life
My hope – is in the Lord
From this time on, forevermore
My hope, is in the Lord, forevermore.
His tender mercies come with every rising sun
To meet the sinner in his brokenness
To offer healing and forgiveness
And those who trust in him will find their hearts can mend.
And then there is the Hymn by Norman Clayton:
My hope is in the Lord
Who gave himself for me
And paid the price for all my sins at calvary.
For me, He died, for me He lives.
And everlasting life and light he freely gives.
His grace has planned it all (one of the greatest lines in all hymnody)
‘tis mine but to believe
And recognize His work of love and Christ receive.
Christine went to be with Jesus on January 18th, 2016. Our son is now in his 4th week of training in his new job after a tedious search. His stress level has gone from 10 to 2, and so has ours. Our profound thanks to all who prayed. I found that we are never too old to learn from God.