Dear Church Family,

I pray this devotion finds you well and is helpful.

"Hope is a golden cord connecting you to heaven.  This cord helps you hold your head up high, even when multiple trails are buffeting you... Hope lifts your perspective from your weary feet to the glorious view you can see from the high road.  You are reminded that the road we've traveling together is ultimately a highway to heaven."JESUS CALLING by Sarah Young.

As it is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."I Corinthians 2:9

Faith, like life, is often  described as a journey - a daily walk God. In Hebrews 12, Paul describes life as a race we run. Along the course there will be obstacles.  We are to preserver till we cross the finish line.  The final goal of our journey and crossing the finish line is God's goal of redemption and restoration of all creation and eternal life in his presence.

Our journeys can be easy.  The road can be smooth and steady. The journey can be an adventure full of fun, success, and new discoveries.  It can be a journey of love, laughter, celebration and dancing.

But sometimes our journeys are difficult.  The road is up hill, full of rocks, boulders, and potholes.  It can be a time of despair, heartaches and loneliness.  It can be filled with grief, broken relationships, betrayal and lost and broken dreams.  It is often a time of tears, weariness, hopelessness and defeat.

Mostly our journeys are a mixture of ups and downs, good times and bad times and success and defeat.  For the most part our journeys of faith are just ordinary life experiences.

When our journeys go through an extended period of many trails it is easy to begin to ask, "Is it ever going to be better?" or "O.Lord, how long?".  It can be easy to give up.  To walk away with our heads bent over with our feet stumbling along the road.

Sarah Young has written many devotional books including JESUS CALLING.  She writes as if Jesus is talking directly to you.  The quote needs to be understood in this light.  "Hope is a golden cord."  It helps us  hold our heads up high when we are buffeted or overwhelmed by the storms of life.  Hope lifts our eyes to Christ who walks with us.  The Psalmist tells us in the 23rd Psalm, that though we walk through the darkest valley, the valley of trails and disappointments, the valley of death and grief we are not alone.  The poem, "Footprints In The Sand," reminds us that in our darkest times Christ carries us.

Paul tells in I Corinthians that we cannot fathom, truly understand all the blessings God has prepared for us in love.  We cannot comprehend all the answers he has given us and will continue to give us out of love.  We will not always see him walking with us or hear his voice speaking to us.  But Jesus is always with us.

The reality of these words of inspiration is that they just do not speak to us in difficult times.  When we walk along the mountain tops and down the road of joy and success, Jesus is with us.  When we feel the wonder of the presence of God, we are not alone.

When we walk the the ups and downs of everyday life, we do not walk alone.  When we wake up and everything is wonderful and then suddenly goes down hill, Christ is with us.  When we wake up with a life of problems and suddenly discover the answers, Christ is with us.

The truth is that no matter what road we walk or where our journey takes us Christ is with us. God had given us hope!  Hope is the lifeline that allows us to walk our journeys of faith and life  with our heads held high with courage.  Hope allows us to walk in faith, love and trust with our heads held high, not bent over in despair and hopelessness.

My Friends, journey in faith and with hope with your eyes on Christ.  Stay strong in faith and love.

Let us pray,

Most gracious Lord, we give thanks for the golden cord of hope you have given us.  Help to feel your presence on our journeys of faith and life.  You are always with us, giving us strength and courage.  You are our guide and our coach.  Help us preserver through life till we reach your goal and cross the finish line to join the church triumphant.  In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.