There's a difference between hope and expectation. It's the expectation that does us in. We are to expect God to do things, yes. But we expect all the bells and whistles. Sometimes those extras aren't for us. Sometimes it's just not the will of God.
As for being led somewhere and not getting what you thought. I absolutely get that! However, there is one thing I know for sure. As God guides me down the path he's set out for me, the point is to become more Christ like. And personally, the only way I seem to conform to his image is via pain and reshaping. I wish I could tell you it's sunshine and roses, but it's not always. Most of the time it's blood, sweat, and tears. Lots of tears. But I've willing told the Potter that I want to be broken and remade. The shape I've made myself into is awful, and honestly, I need to be broken, stomped on, turned into dust, and made back into clay kind of a lot. My favorite scripture in the New Testament is Romans 5:1-5. It says...
I don't think we should expect things from God, but, I get it, duchessaim, you, milady are saying honest words here, that stress man to the fabric of its soul, I think, because we need to hope in Him and not in the things of this world. I expect things from God, too, but, racheedge said things well , too, tempering your honest words, duchessaim, which hit all too close to home really. WE need to be expect tough things in life, that we don't like doing, places that we don't want to be being, from God, but, keeping in mind that He is our hope in life for salvation after we die but, also, He is our hope for things we see happening in our lives in the here and now of our lives' happening.
ok, I posted this in the "streams" thread, but in order to avoid the wrath of that particular OP by getting her thread off track, I'm just making a new thread to get some insight.
So...I've seen a lot of posts regarding hope recently and how vital it is to our lives, here's my question, what good is hope if there's nothing to fulfill it? I don't want the cheesy "Jesus died for you blah blah blah" christiany answer. If you're hoping for better, and God shows you where to go, and it's not delivered, what good has that hope done for you?
I'm going to be honest with you guys. I hate being here.
Please, don't just start spewing bible verses without actually praying either, you're just making this whole thing look like a joke.
Yes, the Lord leads. Pray all the time, Scripture says, 1 Thessalonians 5. I marvel at the inspired words of Paul in writing those words, "Pray without ceasing." I think, in so doing things in that prayerful way, it helps us in understand how our hope in God's plans for our live materialize in our lives. God answers prayer, gives us hope.
If life is tough for you, zaoofmen, and, I hope and pray this does not sound cheesy, but, I'm sure you've heard it said, but God is really at work us when we are thinking 'I hate it here,' and we are STILL doing things for Him, like, when we are doing threads that really resonate with others' mindsets and get them to thinking about what 'hope' really is in their life, like, I think, this thread's done for so many, bro .
Keep serving Him, playing for Him, you are part of His band, bro, NEVER let anyone stop His music from playing in your life
I still have hope. I have hope that God will bring good from my mistakes. I have hope that my disappointments are not for nothing. I have hope that I'm making a difference somehow. I have hope that I'm serving as I've been called. I have hope that the patience He is teaching me is not for nothing.
Ecclesiastes 3
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
[SUP]2 [/SUP] a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
[SUP]3 [/SUP] a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
[SUP]4 [/SUP] a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
[SUP]5 [/SUP] a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
[SUP]6 [/SUP] a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
[SUP]7 [/SUP] a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
[SUP]8 [/SUP] a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Every season I've gone through in my life has been preparation for the next. I hope I'm learning as quickly as I can. I hope I'm changing as willingly as I should. I hope I'm living the life I need to live in order to bring about the things I'd like to see in it. I have hope for big changes. Soon. Very, very soon.
Time is His gift given us, among many gifts, which, truly do happen at different times in our lives. There are these very words in Scripture somewhere, forget where, but they are there, 'His due time,' and, this refers to His timing for things to happen in the 'seasons' of our lives.
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I also liked what littleC said, 'You can't seperate God and hope. Because He is hope.
amen, milady. If you don't do something of leading dorm devotions or bible study, or, even, considering bible classes in college and see where God takes you with them--in addition to your music theory study--I think, you may be missing His 'boat' for you. Not that I'm calling you 'Jonah' or anything if you don't follow this advice from uncle green
The Lord leads .