Day 3 Devotional (Week 3)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
We were in our mid 30s when we got married and very excited about joining our lives together. God was so faithful to us, and we knew he would get us through whatever came our way. Unfortunately we also married each other's debts, and we had
to overcome some very different ideas as to how we could pay off our debts and start a family, too. We prayed for God's help and trusted him through those first four years of marriage and the birth of our children. There were times when
we didn't know how we would be able to manage, but God continued to fill us with the joy, peace and hope that can only come from him.
After those four years God allowed us an opportunity to purchase our first home. We were so thrilled to move to Austin and to leave the long distance commutes and the country behind us. We were doing so much better financially and had
joined HBC and started singing with the praise team and adult choir. It is so easy to praise God when things are going great and you feel God has you just where he wants you to be.
In April 2010 Julie was laid off from her job and since it took seven months to find work, once again we found ourselves back in financial trouble. This time we came close to losing our home, but God provided a way for us to keep it.
Although we are still struggling financially, we are able to praise God because he has filled us with his joy and his peace.
It will be "A Beautiful Thing" to see our worship center transformed! As we seek God's guidance about how much we should pledge, we also look forward to his help with our personal finances as well! God is so faithful, and we trust him in
all areas of our lives, the good times and the bad times; and because of that we overflow with the hope that comes by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our God of hope, we know you are in control of every aspect of our lives. As we trust you with all the things you have blessed us with, please continue to fill us with your joy and peace. Help us to praise you out of thankful hearts overflowing with the hope by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen
Prepared by Mark and Julie Chambers
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