Hope Follows Praise

Hope Follows Praise
March 31, 2011

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. ~Ephesians 1:6 KJV~

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
- Emily Dickinson, an untitled poem

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer in need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.
~Philippians 4: 12-13 KJV~

This morning my tug from God came quite early. I thought about what I wrote yesterday and before I even read today’s comments from others’ or read email, I knew I had to write this. Yesterday I wanted to send an e-card to someone on another site I frequent. The card I picked had the verse from Emily Dickinson on it. That poem came to mind this morning and I realized that if I praise the Lord when I nothing, it opens a door for hope. If I praise God in abundance, that doesn’t show genuine faith. I’m just praising the material things I have or have acquired. The Lord wants me “through thick and thin,” so the verse from Philippians came to mind, but I didn’t know where it was, so I had to search for it. YAY! I dove into the Bible for an answer. Right now I’m a mixture of excitement, serenity, just feeling so good I feel as if I’m going to explode. Understand? I certainly do at this moment. Now I can eat lunch and read my other email.

Blessings upon you.
Michelle Rose