Wavering

We’ve all taken pictures that came out blurry. Maybe it was an action shot and we moved the camera too fast; maybe it was a dark candlelight scene and didn’t hold the camera steady enough; maybe it was a perfectly clear day but the shutter speed was too slow. Whatever the cause, the picture was fudged because of some failure on our part.

Often, life can be the same way. We make some mistake and the result isn’t as good as it could have been. I was baking cookies the other day and was forced to omit pecans because we didn’t have any. The cookies were good, but not quite as good as they could have been with the pecans. But the results don’t have to be tangible, or immediate, though. They can be emotional or spiritual, and have long-lasting effects. We waver that one split second and make a substandard decision.

But the story doesn’t end there. God has promised to “work all things for the good of those who love Him.” Even if you waver between doing right and wrong, and wind up doing wrong, there is still mercy and forgiveness. There is still restoration. There is still hope!

It’s amazing the difference hope can make. Hope can keep you holding on through hard times. It can give you the strength to take one more day because you know there’s something better at the end of the road. You cannot go wrong by holding on to hope—hope of better times coming, hope of strength to carry on, hope of all things working out in the end. In fact, the Bible urges us not to throw away this confidence! God Himself has promised that He will work whatever circumstances for our good. Rest in that hope!

“Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” ~ Hebrews 10:23, NLT