Faith, Hope, and Love

February 20

Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of

these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Looking across the room, his gaze fell upon the two candleholders sitting on

the table. They’d been a gift to him and his wife on their twenty-fifth anniver-

sary. Four inches square, the relief cuts on the sides held significance to faith

and love. A lighthouse illuminating the world was the symbol of faith while

a large, flourishing heart, surrounded by stars defined love. It struck him that

there wasn’t one for hope. And right now hope was what he needed because

hopelessness was threatening to beat him into submission. He knew God was

at work. He just wasn’t sure how or where.

Having just been turned down for full-time employment in a job he’d been

doing part-time and way behind on the bills, he wondered what God was up to.

There seemed to be no resolution. Yet his faith in God’s abiding love, and that

of his wife of thirty years, gave him hope. These two constants could never be

taken away. God was not taken unawares. He would work things out.

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When things don’t go our way, we can become disillusioned, perhaps even bro-

ken. Unless we have a solid foundation built on the knowledge that our lives

are anchored in God’s love, we can lose hope. 

Paul told the Romans at the end of chapter eight there was nowhere they could go that God’s love could not find them. Nothing they could do would separate them from the depth of that love. “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus” (verse 39).

The events in our lives can bring us low. Whether we stay there is up to

us. God wants to encourage us in our trials. We do well to remember we have

the greatest love of all at our disposal. That love builds faith and hope. God’s

embrace is two moves away—just turn and reach up.

Prayer

“Thank You for the hope we have in You, Abba.

Draw me close to You as I reach up and give you

my heart for mending. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Out of the Blinding Darkness

February 19

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar

paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light.

Isaiah 42:16

Craig had been lost for hours when he saw the light in the distance. “Finally!”

he uttered in relief. A wildlife photographer, he had set out that snowy morn-

ing following fresh elk tracks, hoping to get some good photos. The animal had

entered the dark timber where the snow wasn’t as deep.

In dark timber, things are a lot closer, trees are only feet apart, and land-

marks appear the same in every direction. Taking a new compass reading, he set

out. As he continued trailing the bull, he encountered other tracks. It became

harder to distinguish the original trail. He decided to take another compass

reading before continuing on. That’s when he realized his compass was gone!

Somewhere in the heavy brush, it had been torn from his pack!

With fading daylight, the elk was forgotten; finding his way out took pre-

cedence. He walked for forty minutes as his anxiety mounted. Then he saw

a light in the distance. Heading toward it, he found a hunting cabin. After

a short explanation, the cabin owner said he knew exactly where Craig was

parked. Thirty minutes later, he deposited a weary and grateful Craig at his

vehicle.

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Craig had been four miles off course. Had the man in the cabin not lighted

the lantern, Craig would have had to rely on his wilderness skills for survival.

During daylight, he might have been able to backtrack. But in the dark, with

failing light, he would have been forced to spend the night where he was, so he

didn’t stray even further off course.

We can lose our way spiritually and get caught up in things that appear

innocent and harmless. In the midst of our hunt, we can become lost. It’s only

a step or two farther into the dark timber. Without a spiritual compass, we

can die. Thankfully, God gave us the Holy Spirit as our compass. But it’s our

responsibility to take frequent readings to assure ourselves we are on the right

path.

Prayer

“Help me see Your guiding light when I stray,

Lord. Please point me in the right direction when

I get off track. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Perfectly Unique Imperfections

February 18

But when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

1 Corinthians 3:10

As the master glassblower puffed gently, a small bulb appeared at the end of

the forging tube. Working with quick, decisive motions, she rolled the six-foot

tube along a lintel while her apprentice held thick, wet newspaper under the

glass, creating a more slender tube. A more forceful puff of air and a larger bulb

was created at the end of the tube. 

The apprentice now used a cup-shaped, cast-steel ladle to shape the vase as the forging tube continued to spin.

Working in unison—one blowing and spinning the tube, the other handling the glass with different tools—they achieved the desired effect. Frequently, the entire work of art was placed back into the furnace for reheating.

When asked why the glass was continually placed in the furnace, she

answered, “The glass has many imperfections. As we re-fire the glass, we

remove many, but not all, of them. The remaining imperfections are what make

each creation unique; it gives the piece more value.”

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Until the day Jesus comes back for the church, we will be imperfect. This does

not translate into useless. In the same way the vase has great value even though

it is flawed, we too are of great value to God.

The trials of life refine us. God uses the Holy Spirit to influence our lives

in one way while He reveals truth to us in another. He places us into the forg-

ing fires to remove our imperfections. What is left is a less-flawed vessel.

As we walk through the fire, we become a purer version of the person God

means us to be. The Holy Spirit urges us while God directs us. Our refining

yields the desired effect. As the forgings cool, we reflect a clearer image of the

One Who is perfect in every way.

Prayer

“Please use me, Lord. I need to feel valuable. I want to make

a difference in this life. Guide me through the refining

fires so I reflect a better representation of Your image to

those I meet along life’s path. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 The Wind and the Waves

February 17

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then

he … rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

Matthew 8:26

The sky was pregnant with rain. In the next instant, it pounded on the metal

roof of the ground floor room of the lighthouse. He was uneasy. Watching as

the waves buffeted the side of the building, he sensed this was going to be a

bad storm.

The salt spray beat against the windows as the wind whipped the waves

into whitecaps. Though he was on dry land in a lighthouse that had stood the

test of time, he was afraid.

It was then he noticed the smallish captain of a sixty-foot fishing vessel

preparing to leave port. He ventured, “Aren’t those waves too big for your ship?

I mean, isn’t it too dangerous to leave just now?!”

The captain took a sip of his coffee and said in the calmest of voices, “Son,

those swells aren’t much. By the time we pass the break wall, they’ll be thirty

footers.” There was a gleam in his eyes that made the man wonder if he’d taken

leave of his senses. “I’ve faced much rougher weather at sea; we’ll be just fine.”

The perfect picture of peace with a calmness about him, the captain finished his

coffee, nodded at the man, and headed for his ship.

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Jesus was sleeping right up until the disciples, in fear for their lives, awakened

him. He rebuked the winds and the waves, and then he rebuked them. “Why

are you so afraid?” Can you hear them? “What? Are you crazy? Look at the

situation we’re in!” Seasoned fishermen are used to rough weather. So this was

one bad storm.

In an instant, the storm subsides. Awestruck, they asked, “Who is this man

that even the wind and waves obey him?” They were to discover that peace is

not dependant upon circumstances, but upon Whom our faith rests. Like the

captain in today’s story, they knew the One who calms the storm in each of us

and tells the wind and the waves, “Be still.”

Prayer

“Please still the storm in my soul, Lord. Help me weather

this battle; help me trust that You will never allow me to

drown under the burdens of life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Honesty or Salary?

February 16

Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or

quantity. Use honest scales, and honest weights.

Leviticus 19:35, 36

Three months on the job and he’d just had his salary doubled! It was the most

exciting position Mike had ever had. But he was in a quandary because he felt

the company was using questionable business practices known as job shopping.

Though widely accepted in the industry, Mike considered the practice dis-

honest. 

Once the company was awarded the bid on a job Mike had submit-

ted, they would ask him to call all the suppliers they had used to compile the

bid and ask them to give him a lower price on the materials or they would

find someone else to provide the product they needed at a lower price, hence,

maximizing the company’s profit. 

Mike, in an act many viewed as bordering on lunacy, told his boss that unless the company stopped the practice, he would no longer be able to work for them.

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God set a standard to live by. He expects us to act accordingly. When we

compromise principals or ethics in any way, we sacrifice part of our integrity.

Done frequently enough, we become desensitized to what we are doing. “It’s

not really so bad,” we tell ourselves to alleviate guilt and conviction. If left

unchecked, it spills over into every part of our lives.

Mike knew he would someday stand before God and give an account of

his actions. He knew there was no answer that could excuse being dishonest to

justify a large salary. We want others to treat us fairly. We teach others about

who we are by our adherence to our integrity. In Mike’s case, the company

refused to change business practices, and so he chose to leave. We may never

be faced with a decision as big as Mike’s, but when we are faced with unethical

issues, we must make a choice. Honesty or deceit? Which will it be?

Prayer

“I am tempted to look the other way sometimes,

Lord. Help me witness truth when I am confronted

with unethical issues. Help others to see the affect

You have on my life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 The Call

February 15

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am. Send me!”

Isaiah 6:8

He was fourteen when God called him the first time. It was through a won-

derful woman he’d known for years. Although deaf, she served God faithfully.

She asked if she could share something she felt God wanted him to know. “I

guess so,” the boy tentatively answered. Holding his face in her hands, looking

directly into his eyes, she said, “God told me that you would be a great minister

for Him some day!” Not really understanding, he answered, “Okay.” And that,

as they say, was the end of that.

Over the years, the call was replaced by other desires, yet a sense of longing

plagued him. Still, he continued to resist. He knew what the call was—God’s

invitation to be in relationship with Him in a way that would make him whole-

hearted. He couldn’t tell you why, but he was afraid of the call. But as a patient

Father does, God waited. The man finally answered the call and in that answer

found a joy and contentment that fulfilled the longing in his heart.

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Isaiah’s relationship with God was so close that he overheard God asking for

someone to go. In those close relationships, we are conscious of God’s voice.

We overhear Him speaking in our presence, asking us to go for Him. We

can be so uncertain and fearful that we want God to call us by name, saying,

“John, please do this for me.” God rarely calls us that way. His hope is that we

would be in a close enough relationship with Him that when we hear Him say,

“Whom shall I send?” we answer, “Here I am, send me.”

Everyone’s call is different; for one it’s a helping hand to someone in need,

to another it’s giving someone a ride to the store. It is not to be feared, but

embraced. All are called. Sadly, few answer.

Prayer

“I get afraid when I hear You speak, Lord. I don’t know why;

I just do. Help me walk through the fear. Help me understand

that by serving others I serve You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”