CHRISTMAS IN HAITI!

Dear friends and family,

Some of you already know that I (Lara) recently went on a short-term IAM Builders mission trip to Haiti. It was both a challenging and a rewarding trip, and, by the end of the trip, I knew that God was not only using me to help others, but also, He was using the entire experience to teach me and to further my spiritual growth.

     Over the course of my first two days in Haiti, I was ready to conclude that I would never go back. I had no desire to return and, in fact, I hadn't even planned on going to Haiti in the first place! But God has a way of changing our hearts and minds. He shows us who we really are—who He made us to be! And the One who made us, and who sees all, knows what's best for us. So, by the end of my trip to Haiti, I knew that I wanted to return.

     Jesus said that if we ask, we will receive; if we seek, we will find; and if we knock, the door will be opened for us... So that's what I did! I asked God to allow my husband and I to go to Haiti together. For many reasons, the week around Christmas seemed like a good time for such a trip. So I “knocked on the doors” of the missionaries we had encountered while we were in Haiti to see if they would be willing to host us around this time. Many of the people had already made plans to come back to the states for Christmas... But one door was left open—the door to a children's home run by Al and Bev Carpenter—and they were eager to have us come.

     Therefore, between December 24 and January 1, Collin and I will be traveling to St. Marc, Haiti to help out at the children's home and do whatever we can to help the surrounding community. The details of our work have not been fully worked out yet, but we are hoping to raise some funds (or use our own) to do some kind of community project. Here are some of the others things we are planning to do while we're there: teaching, crafts and games with the children, a community prayer walk, help out with street church, cook the kids and staff an American dinner, paint the girl's home, general maintenance, additional construction work as needed. As you can see, we could definitely use some prayer for God's guidance as to what to do while we're there, but we're trusting that if we go, He will put us to good use.

     We know that there are many who are asking for prayer and financial support these days and that it is simply not possible to give to everyone who asks. However, if God places this trip on your heart, please know that we—and the people we encounter—will be blessed by whatever gifts or prayers you may have to give. Prayers are especially important because we know that nothing is possible without God, who “gives all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:25). The cost of the trip—not including special projects we might have the opportunity to do in country—is around $1800, most of which is airfare. The rest is room and board. If you are interested in making a donation, you have several options. You can give towards (1) the needs of the children's home, (2) the community project (if applicable), (3) our room and board (about $500 total), or (4) our travel costs. Checks made out to “Touch Ministries” are tax deductible and can be applied to the first three expenses. For tax purposes, please don't write any special notes on the check itself. Instead, include a separate note to indicate how you'd like the funds to be used. If you'd like to donate anonymously, send your donation to Touch Ministries, 417 Rebecca Street, New Martinsville, WV 26155. Otherwise, if you can get the checks to us, we'll make sure they get to the right place. Thanks for your consideration!

     Below are a few links with additional information about Touch Ministries, the children's home, and my (Lara's) previous trip to Haiti. If you have any more questions about this trip, feel free to contact me.

http://touchstmarchaiti.blogspot.com/ or http://www.haititouchministries.com/

http://www.haititouchministries.com/house-of-hope-orphanage/.

http://drawingneartogod.blogspot.com/2012/11/haiti-sept-oct-2012-trip-summary.html

Sincerely, Collin & Lara Hitchcock

HAITI 2012: THE BACK STORY

The following is an excerpt from the letter (written on June 27, 2012) that I distributed prior to going to Haiti. It will give you a taste of the back story of this trip and the one to come.

     In early May I began making plans to go on a short-term mission trip to South Sudan, and now it appears as though I will be going to Haiti instead. Over the past few months my journey has been like that of a sailboat, tossed by the wind of the Spirit (see John 3:8). “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps” (Proverbs16:9). I stepped out to do something that I believed God was calling me to do. I shifted my “car” out of park and began to drive... and God began steering me in a direction I had not expected. (As the saying goes, “God can't drive a parked car.”) Just as Paul and his companions tried to walk out paths that ended up being blocked by God (see Acts 16:6-10), so too I feel that God has been guiding me by means of opened and closed doors. Let me explain...

     When I heard about the people of South Sudan at the first mission trip meeting, I felt love well up inside of me. Believing that God was calling me to go there, I began preparing for the trip. The support of my parents and the ease with which I was able to get my shots taken care of was further evidence to me that God was calling me to go. But eventually I learned that the size of the group was shrinking and we no longer had enough people to go on the trip. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I had prayed that God would open and close doors according to His will, and it seemed that the door to Sudan was quickly closing. There was, however, another option—a mission trip to Haiti in the fall. Feeling more of a burden for Africa, I had never really considered going to Haiti. But with one door closing and another one opening, I considered the facts: My shots are done, money is coming in, and I have the time and desire to serve. As my feelings of disappointment subsided, excitement began to build, and I began to wonder if perhaps this was God's plan all along...

     Thinking back over these past few months, I realize now that, while I may not have taken the most direct path, I've undoubtedly learned something on this journey that God wanted me to learn. And I believe it is this: We may not always know exactly what to do, but sometimes we just need to get over our fear of making mistakes, do something that is consistent with God's character, and trust that He can lead us in spite of our uncertainty (Proverbs 3:5-6).  

HAITI (Sept-Oct 2012): TRIP SUMMARY

Dear friends and family,

As you know—with your help!—I was able to go on a short-term IAM Builders mission trip to St Marc, Haiti. The main purpose of this trip was to continue work on a new, larger school building for the children served by Touch Ministries. Here are two pictures of the soon-to-be new school building:

Images: from the back (our daily entrance) / from the front

The variety of jobs we did was fairly limited. The main thing we worked on was the electrical. Considering this, it may surprise you to learn that one of our main jobs was chiseling holes and channels into the cinder block walls (refer to the images below). 

Images: Power-drilling channels in order to be able to run electrical conduit in the floor / Holding up electrical components to illustrate how they fit into the channel I just carved / Cementing over an electrical conduit in the floor / Running pull-wire through one of the conduits.

Once chiseled, electrical boxes and pieces of conduit are fitted into these holes and are cemented over. After the cement is dried, relatively stiff pull-wires were run through the conduits and were later used to pull the electrical wire through the conduit between the adjacent switches, outlets, etc. I don't think the electrical had been started when we arrived, but it was nearly completed when we left.

     Besides working on the electrical, I moved sediment—big and small—from the dig site of the school's latrine to a more convenient location...

     

Images: Haitian nationals digging what will end up being the school's latrine / Showing off my strength as I carry a large rock from the dig site to the dump site. Hauling smaller sediments away from the large pile that has accumulated next to the pit as the Haitians dig deeper.

I also got to try something I had really wanted to try... MASONRY! I helped build a wall!

Images: The space under the stairs before we started the wall / Sliding some cement in between two placed cinder blocks as I had watched the nationals do / Marco and Joe pose next to the completed wall.

Some school kids visit the work site to hand out thank yous... And these thank yous are not only for us, but also, for you who enabled us to go! Thank YOU!

Images: School kids line up to hand us thank you cards / multiple thank yous / a close-up of one thank you: “We love you IAM Team”

In addition to the construction work we did at the school, we were also able to visit the House of Hope, an orphanage associated with Touch Ministries. The best part of the trip was spending time with the “orphans.” (Actually, strictly speaking, they aren't orphans. They each have at least one parent or grandparent living. But their families were unable to provide for them financially, and so—before they were taken in by House of Hope—they were in pretty rough shape physically.) We only spent two days with the orphans, but they were the best two days! One day we went with them to the beach. The other day we went on a walk with them to visit and pray for their families; we did a craft project with them (designed by yours truly); and we ate lunch with them. Here are a few pictures:

 

Images: Making new friends / having my hair brushed / finding crabs / crafting sun-catchers / playing catch / giving and receiving love...

Before, Haiti was barely on my mind... 

Now, it's forever on my heart.

Thank you for enabling me to go! God's blessings,

Lara Hitchcock

More pics at: 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4682886320997.180913.1559036692&type=1&l=b110ed68a3

 

SEEKING GOD: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

Introduction

Last time we concluded that the mandate to seek God with our whole heart means that we love Him with our whole heart... And, if our heart is also pure, everything we do in life should be done out of our love for God. Loving God, however, is not the only thing we should be doing with our whole heart. We are also instructed to wholeheartedly obey God and observe His commands (Dt 26:16, 30:2, 30:10).

Futile Fasters & Sham Seekers

At this point you may be wondering, “What does obedience have to do with seeking God?” I will answer with the words of Isaiah (58:1-2): “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.”

     What do you think this passage of Scripture is telling us about seeking God? It think it is saying that we can't truly seek God without also seeking to be obedient to His will. Jesus also speaks about this issue in John 14:21,23-24: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him... If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” Selah... (Pause and contemplate that!!)

     Therefore, in order to seek God with our whole heart—meaning that our motivation for seeking Him is that we love Him—we must also strive to follow His commands. If we “seek God,” but knowingly live a life contrary to His character, then we are really only seeking God in pretense (see Jer 3). We may seem eager to know God, but if, by our actions, we deny Him (see Titus 1:16), then we are not really seeking God for who He is, but rather for who we wish Him to be—and we are re-imagining Him in our own image instead of acknowledging that we were created to be like Him.

Pharisees & Sinners

When the Pharisees questioned why Jesus ate with tax collectors and “sinners,” He replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Mt 9:10-12). Was Jesus saying that these “tax collectors and sinners” were sick and the Jewish leaders were just fine? How did Jesus describe the Jewish leaders of His day? This is how he spoke to them: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Mt 23:27-28). From this statement, it's clear that Jesus was not suggesting that the Jewish leaders were spiritually healthy. We also know this from Romans 3:23, which tells us that all mankind has sinned and has, thus, fallen short of the glory of God. What Jesus meant, then, was that only those who recognize their sinful condition will see their need for the healing that He provides. The Pharisees were just as sick as the rest of the people, but their hypocrisy and pride prevented them from admitting it.

     So, what is the lesson for those who truly wish to seek God? Our seeking is faulty—and our “love” for God, fake—if we are not concerned with obedience. But, even if our heart's desire lines up with God's will, we are all still afflicted with the sinful human condition and are all in need of His forgiveness. Therefore, the precursor to seeking God is repentance (Mt 3:2)—an acknowledgment of our sins, and a turning or returning to God's ways (Dt 4:30, 30:10, Jer 18:11, Joel 2:12). And “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen! (From Psalm 139:23-24.)

SEEKING GOD: WITH All YOUR HEART

Introduction

Last time we talked about how God wants us to seek Him with our whole heart. But, in order to do that, our heart must be pure. A divided heart is filled with conflicting desires, which paralyze us into inaction. Therefore, we must learn to seek God with our whole heart.

“All Your Heart”

Actually, the phrase “all your heart” occurs repeatedly throughout the Bible. A study of these passages is quite enlightening. Among the most common things that the Bible instructs us to do with all our heart is to: seek God (Dt 4:29, Jer 29:13), love God (Dt 6:5, 13:3, 30:6, Mt 22:37, Mk 12:30-33, Lk 10:27), serve God (Dt 10:12, 11:13,Josh 22:5, 1 Sam 7:3, 12:20, 12:24, Col 3:23-24), observe God's commands / obey Him (Dt 26:16, 30:2, 30:10), and turn/return to God (Dt 30:2, 30:10, 1 Sam 7:3, Joel 2:12). We are also instructed to hold fast to Him (Josh 22:5), trust Him (Pr 3:5), and lay hold of His words (Pr 4:4). Most of these passages deal with our action towards God, suggesting that God is the only One who should have the affections of our entire heart. Not only that, but it shows us that our hearts should be set upon God rather than on what He can give us or do for us. We should, however, trust in the goodness of God and be thankful for what He has already done. And the remaining Scriptures deal with these subjects—reflecting on the wonderful things God has done for us. For example, Joshua 23:14 says, “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” And Zephaniah 3:14-17 says,

Sing, O Daughter of Zion;

shout aloud, O Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

O Daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;

never again will you fear any harm.

On that day they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, O Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.

The Lord your God is with you,

he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing.”

“Do everything in love”

But let's take a step back for a moment and consider this question: What is the primary function of the “heart”? Is it not to love? And if the primary function of the heart is to love, then to do something with our whole heart should certainly not exclude love! We should seek God because we love Him... not because we want something from Him... not because we want to look pious or holy or whatever... not because we want to impress others... And everything we do in life should be motivated by our love for God. I believe that is what it means to do something with “all your heart”... Do everything for God (1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:17,23). “Do everything in love” (1 Cor 16:14).

Prayer: Lord, help me to love You more and to do only that which can be done out of love for You. Amen!

SEEKING GOD: AWAKENING DESIRE

Introduction

Over the past several days I have felt that God has been wanting to teach me something—and has already begun to teach me something—about the principle of seeking Him. I share a portion of it now in the hopes that if it spoke to me, it may speak to you as well... and draw you closer to Him...

Personal Questions for Reflection: Do you seek... God's face... or His hand? His presence or His presents? His will or your own?

How to Seek God

We know we are to seek God... but how are we to seek God? In Jeremiah29:13, God says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” And in chapter 119:2, the psalmist confesses, “Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are they who keep His testimonies, and who seek, inquire for and of Him and crave Him with the whole heart” (Amplified). How are we to seek God? We are to seek God with our whole heart. What does that mean? To me it means that we must have an undivided or pure heart (See Ps 86:11, Eze 11:19; Ps 24:3-4, 51:10,Pr 20:9). You see, what we set our hearts upon, reveals what our treasures really are (Mt 6:21). Can we set our hearts both on our own sinful desires and on God? No—the two are fundamentally opposed. Either our sinful desires will crowd God out of our life, or our devotion to God will cleanse and purify our hearts, removing from them our sinful desires. Therefore, the most powerful seeker is the one who seeks with their whole heart, because they will devote all their energy toward one pursuit, instead of dividing their energy among many pursuits. Yes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mt 5:8).

What Does it Mean to Seek?

What does it mean to seek God? What does it mean to seek anything? Does it not mean that we have a desire for something that motivates us into action? To seek is to put forth effort in the pursuit of something that we deem worthy. Therefore, there is no such thing as passive seeking. How are we to seek? ...diligently, earnestly, with our whole heart! The more important something is to us, the more willing we will be to lay aside other, less worthy desires, as we press forward in pursuit of that one goal. Consider athletes, who train themselves for competition. They don't have the luxury of much leisure or of eating whatever they might desire. Their desire to succeed in their chosen field is greater than their desire for the momentary pleasures that could keep them from their goal. You may say that you are seeking God, but the question is this: How badly do you want to find Him? How much is God worth to you? Is He worth giving up all else in order to seek and to find Him?

        Consider Paul's thoughts on this matter (Php3:7-14): “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Prayer: Lord, please awaken in me a greater desire to know You. Amen!

STAYING FOCUSED IN TIMES OF TROUBLE

Introduction

In this devotion I want to talk about the problem of despair and the importance of focus. I'll admit that this is something I've been struggling with a lot lately. And, as such, I've found myself having to learn the same lessons over and over again. The main reason I mention this, is so that you will not consider my message to be prideful or preachy. The only reason I can write about this is because I myself have struggled with it. You may also find it interesting to know that some of the psalmists have struggled with despair as well. Psalm 116:3 says, “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.” Whatever our troubles may be, many of us, like the psalmist, become stuck in our despair.

What is Despair?

What is despair? I believe Job was despairing when he “cursed the day of his birth” (Job 3). His curse is a fairly long one, but here are some of the things he said: “May the day of my birth perish, ...for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes... Why did I not perish at birth, ...Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? ...Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, ...I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” Despair, then, is a sense of hopelessness. It is a weariness with life that makes us feel that there is no meaning or good in life, which takes away our will to live.

ccc Obviously, despair does not come out of nowhere. It is a byproduct of our situation or circumstances. But in our difficult circumstances we do not have to yield to despair. In times of trouble, we can choose to respond one of two ways: with hope or with despair. We cannot both hope and despair at the same time. But what gives us reason to hope rather than to despair? God! God is our source of hope. Despair, therefore, is what happens when we take God out of the equation. God is the cure for the weariness we often feel with life. As Isaiah 40:31 says, “...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Why Does God Allow Troubles?

Perhaps your troubles have caused you to conclude that God doesn't really love you. But if this is your conclusion, then you have lost faith and have ceased to trust in the promises God has given us in His Word. The Bible says that “...in all things God works for the good of those who love him...” (Romans 8:28). But if God is working for our good, why does He allow us to suffer like this? Hebrews 12 has the answer. If we truly love God and belong to Him, then we are His children. And this is the word of encouragement that is given to us in Hebrews 12:5-6: “...do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” And why does God discipline us? “...for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however”—this is the benefit of God's discipline—“it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10-11).

ccc My friends, too often—instead of being trained, strengthened, and sanctified by our troubles—we find ourselves stuck in our weakness and despair. We remain disabled and weak Christians instead of allowing ourselves to be transformed. This is why—with regard to God's discipline—we are each exhorted to “...strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 'Make level paths for your feet,' so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed” (Hebrews 12:12-13). Discipline and difficulties are not meant to disable us, but to enable us to move forward into the “harvest of righteousness and peace” that God longs to give us.

How do we strengthen our weak knees?

But the question remains: How do we strengthen our week knees? How do we make level path for our feet? How do we overcome our tendency towards despair? One answer to this question comes from looking back at our original psalm: “I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: 'O LORD, save me!'” (Psalm 116:3-4). When your troubles have you down, the first step is to call on the name of the Lord—to pray to Him, cry out to Him, ask Him for help and for the strength to endure the difficulties you are facing. In such times, our instinct is not to run to God with our troubles, but rather to recount them—to meditate upon them. I am as guilty of this as anyone and, as such, I have repeatedly learned and relearned that despair is an inevitable consequence of meditating on our troubles.

ccc I'm not saying that we should deny our troubles or not show concern for those who are experiencing troubles. What I am saying is this: When your gaze is focused in on something very near you—for example, your life and your troubles—you are not, at the same time, able to focus on the bigger picture. Consider a photograph or a movie scene in which an object in the foreground is in focus, but the background has become blurred. Such is the nature of our spiritual vision (see picture above). If I am constantly focused on myself, I will probably give in to despair, because God is a blur somewhere in the background. But if I focus on God, then all of my troubles become a blur instead. And this is what Hebrews 12:2-3 says about this issue: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” And, likewise, Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

ccc And how does the psalmist respond to God's faithfulness? With praise and thanksgiving: “The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living... How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? ...I will lift up the cup of salvation... I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people...” (Psalm 116:5-9,12-13,17-18). My friends, there is another important principle to be learned here regarding focus: You can focus on your troubles and despair, or you can focus on your blessings and give thanks. Though we are not likely to just forget all of our troubles, we should not let them negate our blessings. I challenge you—especially if you are currently struggling with depression and despair—to count your blessings. Make a list and meditate upon it, giving thanks to God for all He's done in your life...

ccc And just in case nothing comes to mind, consider these things: (1) Are you alive? (That means that God thought you up and chose to create you!); (2) Do you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep on, food to eat, clean water to drink? (Consider the many people throughout the world who don't have these things.) (3) Do you have a loving family? (4) How about a loving Savior? Even if we have nothing else, this alone should be enough. As the Apostle Paul says, we should “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4)!

ccc Like Paul, we must learn to consider all things loss “compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus...” (see Philippians 3:7-10). We should be like Paul, who said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13). And this same Paul also experienced the following difficulties: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28)... It is the same Paul who concluded that “for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). It is in our difficulties that we best learn to trust and rely on Christ.

ccc And if we have grievances or regrets from the past, we are not to focus on them either. Instead, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [we must] press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Furthermore, we are not to focus on the things that occupy the minds of most men. For “many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:18-20).

Conclusion

In conclusion, let us not be like the seed that fell among the thorns, so that “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke [us], making [us] unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). Instead, let us: (1) Focus on heavenly things, not on earthly things. (2) Focus on our (godly) future goals, not on our past regrets. (3) Focus on our blessings, not our troubles. (4) Focus on God, not on ourselves. (5) Focus on prayer, not on complaining. And finally, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me [Paul]—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).

ccc Here is one final thought. It is not enough to learn this lesson for today, but to retain it—to remember it and to put it into practice—for tomorrow. The victory against despair will not come easily—the enemy fights us at every turn—but we need to stand firm. And when we fall, we need to pick ourselves up, with God's help, and carry on. I hope you will reread this devotion whenever despair rears its ugly head in your life. After all, hope, joy, and peace are so much better than hopelessness and despair. May the God of hope and peace be with you all!