Hope in the Hurts - The Rescue Series Sample

Praise God

In 1987, an 18-month-old baby named Jessica went out to the backyard and accidentally fell 22 feet down into a well. For 58 hours, the entire nation watched as a rescue team dug a hole next to the well to pull her out. Ronald Reagan said that in those hours, America became the godparents of baby Jessica. This story captured the hearts of Americans, and thankfully she was rescued. 

We need to be rescued as well. We have fallen down a hole of sin. There is a rescue that needs to happen in our lives, and God is our rescuer. One of the greatest rescues we could ever know is written about in the Bible. Heaven rescues earth, person by person, through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  

Peter wrote a wonderful passage during a crucial time period of the Christian church. It was a time of persecution and fear and a lot of hurt. It was a difficult decade. Peter writes words of hope to the hurting. Did you know that there is hope in the hurts?

In the first chapter of 1st Peter, he begins by praising God. It is possible to praise God during difficult times. Peter wanted us to understand that God, who is rich in mercy and fills us with hope, is worthy of praise. When I have failed, I have found such great strength in my life when I choose to praise God. In the failure, we learn something that can make us more like Him.

Our praise of God affects our path of life. We should praise God when life is great and awesome, but to praise Him through our trials, teaches us something. We learn more from our trials than from our successes. Praising God during difficult times comes from a deeper place in our soul. It is easy to praise when everything is going great, but it is more difficult when things are not going so well. 

Our view of Jesus determines our praise to God. A small view of Jesus brings small praise to Him. Have your view of Christ be big. Understand that He is bigger than the river rising. He is bigger than your failures. He is the Son of God, great and mighty. 

Your praise of God affects your path of life. The more you praise, the more your path of life will lead to God, and the more you will know Him.