Today, we are going to take a posture of peace
by setting our hope, not on a specific outcome,
but on God himself.
Posture is a short, audible fist bump
to remind you God is with you in everything.
Together, we're going to be emboldened
to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
In Psalm 42, verse five, it says,
why are you cast down, oh my soul?
Why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God, for I shall praise him again, my salvation.
You know, I realized if I'm not aware,
so much of my hope gets set on outcomes.
In hard situations, it sounds something like this.
Gosh, I hope we can get through this.
I hope this doesn't get any worse.
I hope this all ends soon.
And in good situations, it sounds a little bit like this.
I hope this lasts.
I hope I can maintain this.
Gosh, I hope they don't change their minds.
You know, in crisis, I'm hoping for change,
and in good times, I'm hoping things never change.
But when scripture talks about hope,
it specifically speaks to the freedom
and the wholeness that comes
when we set our hope on God himself,
no matter what is changing or what is not changing.
Hope is expectation,
and so much of the world's expectations right now
are absorbed in the next news report,
the next guideline change, the next policy.
The very best that the world can hope for
is for a different outcome, a more positive spin,
and they're being disappointed.
They're being put to shame.
They're being depleted.
But we, the people of God, have a different expectation.
Romans 5 says that our hope does not put us to shame.
So what are you hoping for today?
What have you set your hope on?
What has consumed your thoughts lately?
What has dictated your prayers?
Don't let it be an outcome.
Let it be the very nature of God.
When you do that, let me tell you what's going to happen.
Isaiah tells us about this.
Isaiah 40, verse 31 says,
"'But they who wait or expect for the Lord
"'shall renew their strength.
"'They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
"'They shall run and not be weary.
"'They shall walk and not faint.'"
The promise of perfect peace is found in Isaiah 26.3.
In Hebrew, it is shalom, shalom,
meaning complete wholeness,
nothing missing, nothing broken.
This is who you are in Jesus because of Jesus.
You are a living testimony of Jesus's ultimate win.
With every step you take today,
you're putting Jesus's victory on display
and Satan's defeat on replay.
Let it be the very nature of God.
What has dictated your prayers?
Don't let it be an outcome.
Let it be the very nature of God.
In Hebrew, it is shalom, shalom,
meaning complete wholeness,
nothing missing, nothing broken.
This is who you are in Jesus's ultimate win.
With every step you take today,
you're putting Jesus's victory on display
and Satan's defeat on replay.