Maturing as Christians

We read, “But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more” (Psalm 71:14). The psalmist also says, He will increase in praise! This catches our attention. He does not say he will try to hold on. He does not say he will manage to survive. He uses the language of someone who has learned to offer back to God appreciation for His mighty works on his behalf. Praise is not dependent on the situation being resolved. Praise is not something we offer only

We read, “But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more” (Psalm 71:14). Hope, in Scripture, is not wishful thinking. It is not optimism that ignores reality. Hope is confidence in God’s character even when circumstances have not yet changed. It is the belief that God is still good, still present, still at work, even when we cannot see evidence of it yet. It is the quiet choice to keep your heart turned toward God even when your emotions are tel

We read, “But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more” (Psalm 71:14). Sometimes hope can feel elusive when a difficult season extends further than we expected. In the beginning, we wait with anticipation. But when weeks linger into months, and months begin to feel like years, hope can start to feel like something we are supposed to perform rather than something we actually possess. This is someone who has been waiting, enduring, trusting, and

We read, “But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more” (Psalm 71:14). Notice that the psalmist is speaking from a place of endurance. This is the hope of someone who has walked through difficulty and chosen to keep believing. The word “continually” is a quiet commitment made in the midst of uncertainty, spoken by someone who understands that hope is not a feeling that arrives fully formed, but a decision we make again and again. And then he a