Go Beyond

Today is Day 30 of Kingsland’s 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting emphasis. The focus of these final 10 days of prayer and fasting is the Future Hope of our church.

Our staff gathers for corporate prayer every morning at 8:10 AM. On Wednesdays, we meet in our worship center for a brief devotional and prayer time. This morning, Jill Bucskowski, our Student Ministry Assistant, led our devotional time. She spoke to our team about the importance of hope and making Christ the object of our hope. I asked Jill for permission to share her encouraging devotional thoughts — a great reminder to hope in Christ.

The Object of Our Hope
by Jill Buczkowski

How do you define hope? The dictionary defines hope as wishful thinking, a desire, goal or plan. I had always “hoped for” things, events, plans — until my life changed a few years ago after I had experienced a life-changing event that left me with little hope. We all have or will go through trials or storms in life and until we understand what biblical hope is, we remain in darkness.

Biblical hope is a confident expectation in Christ. It is a firm assurance regarding things that are unknown and unclear. Through the trial I am in I have had to learn that it is better to “hope in” rather than “hope for.” My hope is in Christ and Him alone. He will provide and guide according to His plan, not my own.

As I think about the season that our church is in, I encourage all to reflect on this simple thought: Where are we placing our hope in regard to our interim period without a senior pastor? Are we hoping “for” a senior pastor or hoping “in” the One who will provide?

I like to use acronyms when remembering thoughts and what I came up with for hope is this:

H – Healing
O – Obedience
P – Prayer
E – Expectations

Please join me in prayer for the continued healing and health of our church, obedience of the church body, prayer without ceasing, and great expectations to come. Let’s continue to place our hope in Christ alone.