“Sometimes we mistakenly think as believers in Jesus that putting our hope in other things is always something secular. . . . But sometimes our false beliefs about God can be idols as well . . . a view that ‘God owes me a good life and things will go my way.’ “- Chip Ingram
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”- Philippians 1:24 (ESV)
In Chapter 6 (“How to Experience Unshakable Hope”) of I Choose Joy, Chip Ingram notes that many people express disappointment with God. Because their hopes fail to work out as they thought. Above all, Chip notes, even when we know better than that, we still buy into some of the implicit assumptions about how life with God works.
Consequently, that’s why God asks us to put our hopes in Him. Rather than our circumstances. Because we’ll be shaken if we live with the expectation that God will make everything work out the way we want. But when we root and ground ourselves in our source of joy — God Himself — our anchor holds.
Most significantly, circumstances possess no power to rob our joy. If we ground our source of joy in an eternal, unchanging, unshakable hope. Therefore, Pastor Ingram underscores:
“Virtually every area of life has its ups and downs. You can live like a cork on the waves of circumstances, bobbing against wherever life takes you, or you can anchor yourself in eager expectation of the certain hope God has given you. As we’ve seen, joy doesn’t just happen to us. It’s a choice.”
While circumstances may get better or worse and storms come and go, we hold onto a joy unshakable in Christ. Just as the apostle Paul anchored his soul in heaven. He expressed confidence in the sustaining power of God’s promises and desired that Jesus be glorified in him.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help prevent you from hold onto false beliefs about God? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The answer to your problem”