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Tidal Waves of Hope
from January 2021
Gò0dNews for Everyone
Tidal Waves of Hope
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by Beth Penny
I’m not a Star Wars groupie. I’m also not passing judgment for those who are. But,George Lucas, who actually wrote the script himself for the Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, made an impression on me with a single line. With his one liner, he offers what all of us need today...HOPE. Not only does the line offer hope, but actually what could be a tidal wave of hope. Think about what a tidal wave is. A tidal wave engulfs everything in its path. It saturates anything it touches. It pushes everything out of its way to flow and continue its movement forward. Right now in our world that can seem hopeless, we all need that tidal wave of hope to wash over us. What is the line that offers so much? “Your focus determines your reality.” Your focus DOES determine your reality. It’s a glass half full kind of situation. We are living in trying and desperate times. Times that we never thought we’d see in our lifetimes. We long for the way things used to be, and we kick ourselves for not appreciating life as it was. But out of what could be seen as desperation blooms that glimmer of a light at the end of the tunnel. In a word, we have hope. Hope that God has promised us.
Life happens and situations out of our control cause us to forget the promises that God made us. As our pastor recently said in his sermon, “Hope is more than an emotion; it is a discipline. Believe in the beauty and power of hope.” In a nutshell, we have to remember to put our faith and hope in what is greater than ourselves. Quoted often, Jeremiah 29:11-12, gives us the certainty that we need. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and listen to me, and I will listen to you.” Those verses have led some of us through the darkest times of our lives and reminded us that God is in control while we are not.
No matter what the world throws at us: politics, sickness, pandemics, riots; God is still in control. When things seem hopeless and out of our control, remember the mantra from George Lucas, “Your focus determines your reality.” Hope looks beyond the moment and tells us we can
not only face, but overcome, these “momentary” adversities. Psalm 130:5 reminds us, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.” All of our peace, strength, joy, and HOPE come from God. Let “your focus determine your reality” when you remember. Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
About The Author Beth Penny has taught English at Model High School since 1997. There she is also the Yearbook adviser and the Special Education Department Chair. She and her husband, Chad, have four children.
