Finding Hope in Times of Darkness

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DuckieLady

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I kind of feel like God has put something on my heart, so I'm just going to go with it. I'd like to ask if we could expand on the concept of finding hope in times of darkness.

Psalm 91:2

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."


Followed by Psalm 91:9

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

I would really hear to see some of the men here take the lead on this, but obviously, I'd to hear from everyone.
 

farouk

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I kind of feel like God has put something on my heart, so I'm just going to go with it. I'd like to ask if we could expand on the concept of finding hope in times of darkness.

Psalm 91:2

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."

Followed by Psalm 91:9

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

I would really hear to see some of the men here take the lead on this, but obviously, I'd to hear from everyone.
@FluffyYellowDuck The verses come to mind from Lamentations 3 (before the famous faithfulness section):

"Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." (Lamentations 3.19-21)
 

DuckieLady

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@FluffyYellowDuck The verses come to mind from Lamentations 3 (before the famous faithfulness section):

"Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." (Lamentations 3.19-21)

I like this one very much. I love the story of Habakkuk, and I think it applies to our times right now. I don't have much time to expand it personally but I'll leave this up...
For those that don't have time to watch, basically, I'll try to sum it up as quickly as I can.

Habakkuk was disappointed in God because it seemed like he wasn't doing anything in times of trouble and then decides he'll wait for God's response. He says, "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?" Habakkuk 1:2-7 (Again cutting this short, best for everyone to read it themselves to see the whole picture.)

God gives his response, and the answer isn't exactly what Habakkuk wanted, but Habakkuk rejoices in the Lord anyway. He ends with my favorite verse in the entire Bible, which serves as a reminder that it's our rejoicing in the Lord that gives us our strength in hope, regardless of circumstance.


Hebrew 3:17-19

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights."


Really rushing this in between chores but hope that helps to anyone that can't give it a listen.
 

farouk

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I like this one very much. I love the story of Habakkuk, and I think it applies to our times right now. I don't have much time to expand it personally but I'll leave this up...
For those that don't have time to watch, basically, I'll try to sum it up as quickly as I can.

Habakkuk was disappointed in God because it seemed like he wasn't doing anything in times of trouble and then decides he'll wait for God's response. He says, "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?" Habakkuk 1:2-7 (Again cutting this short, best for everyone to read it themselves to see the whole picture.)

God gives his response, and the answer isn't exactly what Habakkuk wanted, but Habakkuk rejoices in the Lord anyway. He ends with my favorite verse in the entire Bible, which serves as a reminder that it's our rejoicing in the Lord that gives us our strength in hope, regardless of circumstance.


Hebrew 3:17-19

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights."


Really rushing this in between chores but hope that helps to anyone that can't give it a listen.
@FluffyYellowDuck That's a lovely passage in Habakkuk! :)
 
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DuckieLady

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This is a great thread you started, @FluffyYellowDuck ! There is a lot of wisdom in the Minor Prophets. :)

Thanks! I hope others can contribute. I am willing to bet there are people who have better things to contribute than I do. I think it's necessary for these times. Especially since Trump declared a state of emergency in DC a couple of hours ago. It's good to find hope in the Lord.
 

farouk

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Thanks! I hope others can contribute. I am willing to bet there are people who have better things to contribute than I do. I think it's necessary for these times. Especially since Trump declared a state of emergency in DC a couple of hours ago. It's good to find hope in the Lord.
@FluffyYellowDuck Do you know that hymn, In Christ Alone My Hope is Found? :)
 
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Alvertsky

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I kind of feel like God has put something on my heart, so I'm just going to go with it. I'd like to ask if we could expand on the concept of finding hope in times of darkness.

Psalm 91:2

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."

Followed by Psalm 91:9

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

I would really hear to see some of the men here take the lead on this, but obviously, I'd to hear from everyone.
Have you ever tried to be positive or are you going to look for doom and gloom forever?
One way to find hope in the dark is to have healthy serotonin levels, have you ever had yours checked?
 

Alvertsky

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You are telling people that God has put something on your heart.

God does not hurt people, or weigh them down, or put things on them so if you believe that God is putting things on you I would try to find out what.

God only loves thru his wisdom, compassion and grace

god_loves_you.jpg
 
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DuckieLady

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You are telling people that God has put something on your heart.

God does not hurt people, or weigh them down, or put things on them so if you believe that God is putting things on you I would try to find out what.

God only loves thru his wisdom, compassion and grace

god_loves_you.jpg

Aw thank you. I probably wasn't clear. I was more speaking in regards to the focusing on the hope than the darkness.
 
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quietthinker

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Thanks! I hope others can contribute. I am willing to bet there are people who have better things to contribute than I do. I think it's necessary for these times. Especially since Trump declared a state of emergency in DC a couple of hours ago. It's good to find hope in the Lord.
there is more going on than each of us know of....a good reason to keep ones radar scanning.....a good reason to say less and listen more.
 

Hidden In Him

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Habakkuk was disappointed in God because it seemed like he wasn't doing anything in times of trouble and then decides he'll wait for God's response. He says, "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?" Habakkuk 1:2-7

Let me give you a little advice in light of this passage, sister. Job went through similar (actually worse) circumstances, yet never lost his hope in God despite everything he was going through, even when he knew he hadn't sinned before God to cause it all.

Do you know why? Because he was a righteous man. Numerous things stated in the Book reveal that he lived a righteous life, and walked uprightly before God. I know it almost sounds like heresy these days, but it was actually the strength behind his faith. He KNEW he could trust the Lord because A. Job knew He was a just God, and B. He knew he had been living a righteous life, giving to the poor, giving offerings and thanksgivings to God, and keeping himself from sin. Doesn't mean he was sinless, but in general he was living a righteous life before God and walking in obedience to Him. THAT is why there was great hope in him, when even his wife had no hope and told him to just curse God and die.

I had some experiences fairly recently where EVERYTHING seemed to be going wrong, I mean like everything. I started to wonder if maybe I was under some kind of judgment, because my life is never like that. Usually everything I touch is blessed, and my life runs incredibly smoothly. But suddenly everything seemed like it was going wrong. But there was a faith that rose up in me that refused to believe I was under any supposed judgment and it just overpowered everything that seemed to say I wasn't blessed after all. It's like I couldn't be beaten.

As a result, every single thing that looked like it was going wrong turned around completely, all of it, and I fully recovered back to normal.

The message is, the more closely you walk with the Lord in increasing obedience, the more a faith and hope that absolutely nothing can overcome will rise up in you. If you are a new believer then don't run a guilt trip on yourself if you don't do everything right, but keep doing your best to keep drawing ever closer to the Lord, and if you can try and find your calling and/or some good ministries to operate in, do so. The more you do that, the stronger you will be when dark times come, because you will be able to tell the Devil where to get off, and maintain your faith and trust in God.

Like your avatar. I like the fluffy duck, too, but it's nice to see the face behind the person.

God bless,
Hidden In Him
 

DuckieLady

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Let me give you a little advice in light of this passage, sister. Job went through similar (actually worse) circumstances, yet never lost his hope in God despite everything he was going through, even when he knew he hadn't sinned before God to cause it all.

Do you know why? Because he was a righteous man. Numerous things stated in the Book reveal that he lived a righteous life, and walked uprightly before God. I know it almost sounds like heresy these days, but it was actually the strength behind his faith. He KNEW he could trust the Lord because A. Job knew He was a just God, and B. He knew he had been living a righteous life, giving to the poor, giving offerings and thanksgivings to God, and keeping himself from sin. Doesn't mean he was sinless, but in general he was living a righteous life before God and walking in obedience to Him. THAT is why there was great hope in him, when even his wife had no hope and told him to just curse God and die.

Great words of wisdom. I always thought about Job in the same way, too. It was on my mind a lot during really, REALLY difficult times, it was really easy to blame God, but every time something happens it tells us in Job, "In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." It took me a long time to learn to accept that it wasn't God punishing me even though there are things I don't understand.

THAT is something that I struggle with the most because I am a person who cannot handle going through life not understanding something significant. I hate not knowing and having something unresolved or open ended just drives me nuts.

As a result, every single thing that looked like it was going wrong turned around completely, all of it, and I fully recovered back to normal.

I love so much that you said this because there are certain times in my life where I'm sitting there and thinking, "God, have you noticed that we're sinking? Did you notice how bad everything is?" I am often the disciples on the boat having a fit because of the storm while Jesus is sleeping. I am pretty sure that I know a little bit of how they felt.

But also trying to keep in mind, that even if your ship does wreck, you can still get make it back to shore on broken pieces.

PS Thank you. I miss the duck but I haven't decided which to keep yet. ;)