Hope

Today I have come to the conclusion that in any and every circumstance, there is always hope. Sometimes I forget this. I forget that I am the child of an amazing God that can do anything. There is so much pain and suffering in this world around me that I don't see or take time to see as much as I should. Tonight at youth, a few students who are a part of Hope Fellowship's song writing "guild", as Pastor Aubrey calls it, put on a short concert for us premiering their new cd. It was absolutely incredible. These people have such unique talent in their songwriting, ability to play and sing, and in their undying faith for the Lord. I am so blessed to call each and every one of them my friend. They are all wonderful examples to the others around them and they stand up for their faith, even when things get rough. They have a hope and they want to make a difference. Speaking of these things, the cd they recorded was called "Hope for Haiti". Each person wrote a song about Haiti and how there is hope. Each cd was sold for a donation of at least $5 and all the proceeds will go to help those in Haiti. A guest speaker came and spoke for a few minutes about the conditions in Haiti right now. He spoke about his experiences when traveling there recently. He told us about how so many people were turning to Christ, they all had this incredible faith and hope for restoration. We were shown several pictures and short videos of people living under tents made of bed sheets, homeless people, buildings collapsed to the ground, yet they all seemed to have hope in their eyes. In our society today, so many people take their nice things for granted. It's as if nothing is ever good enough. I am guilty of doing this myself. We must remember though that we were put on this earth to do more than just have nice things, we were made to love, serve, and give. We were put here to make a difference with our time, talents, and many other things. We are here to be an offering and to have servant hearts. There is a song by Chris Tomlin titled "God of this City" and I think it perfectly sums up how God can do amazing things, and how if we have hope, greater things will be given to us in return. This is what the song says:

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

I'm not sure how obvious it is, but I have somewhat of a passion for music. I wish so badly that I had a beautiful singing voice or could play the guitar or piano or something. I may try to get my dad to teach me how to play guitar this summer! I love music though. I love how there is so much meaning behind it and how it can be interpreted in so many different ways. I think there is so much being said in this song that helps remind us that there is a hope and there is a light and a peace, and our God can and will do amazing things in our city, and in our world. Anyways though, back to what I was saying, I am going to try my best to always have hope. To constantly remind myself that I was put on this earth for a reason, and I am here to make a difference. I want to love passionately, I want to serve cheerfully, and I want to give generously.

Praying for hope and restoration!