Strengthened, Refreshed, and Revived!

Never forget Your promises to me...for they are my only hope. They give me strength in all my troubles; how they refresh and revive me! PSALM 119:49-50 TLB 

There are a lot of worldly solutions coming at us every day when we hope to lose weight, be successful, live longer, look younger, and the list goes on and on. I’m so thankful God is our only source of hope for all the things we truly need and all the goals that matter most. Love others. Show kindness. Be compassionate. Be patient. Stay joyful. Give selflessly. Be thankful. Be a light. Trust fully. Be courageous and don’t give up. God’s list of reasons to be hopeful and ways we should hope to become goes on and on too, but it’s a list of things that will have an eternal impact, not a temporal one. 

Our bodies are temples and should be respected and cared for, but the things that affect us spiritually are far more important. When we learn to depend on God to keep His promises and give us strength in all our troubles, we become a spiritual force to be reckoned with. Earthly goals are shadowed by eternal gains. Both are valuable. One is priceless. 

When we lean into the promises of God our lives are filled “with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (PSALM 103:5 NIV). We’re refreshed and revived! We’re the light leading the world to the One who gives all the hope any of us will ever need. And God will start bringing people into our lives that need real hope, because we’ve strengthened our spirit by trusting Him. We’ve grown confident in being still and knowing He’s God. We’ve become less shaken by what’s going on around us and more certain of Who’s in us. We exude hope and joy, and we’ve gotten better at loving others the way He loves us, with mercy, with compassion, and without condition. 

Father, You are my hope. Your faithfulness has given me strength I didn’t know I had. Give me more of You so there’s less of me in every area of my life. 

This is an excerpt from The Beach is Calling: 90 Devotions for Rest & Relaxation – a devotional now available on DaySpring.com. Shop all books, journals, and devotions from DaySpring here.