Dare to Trust to Hope
“But do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands.” ~ J. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Eomer
Many today echo Eomer’s thoughts from The Lord of the Rings, thoughts from a man whose country was so upside down, its leadership behaving in ways foreign to its history, its core values, its code of honor. He didn’t trust to hope. He thought hope was lost. . . but it wasn’t.
If we are The Easter People, and Hallelujah is our song (Pope John Paul II), then trusting to hope isn’t just empty poetry. Trusting to Hope is a way of life in the right-side up everyday ordinary and the upside-down everyday ordinary. It’s a foundational stone in overcoming, in loving, in being a son or daughter of the King. It’s in our words, in our walk, in our decisions. . . in our song and our stories.
Some say they believe in Jesus and His Father, but they live fearful, unsure, like a Hermit crab unwilling to trust he will be o.k. if he steps outside his house to make upside-down things change, or that if he does step outside, nothing he can do will change his circumstances.
Maybe it is what we trust to hope in that makes the difference in the results of our hope – do we trust to hope in horses and chariots? Men and might? Laws and judges? Feelings and Comfortableness? Hope that not rocking the boat will calm the sea? Hope that someone else will come along and turn everything right-side up again?
Or do we trust to the hope of God’s promises? That relationship with Him is reliable? True? That He is interested in our everyday ordinary? That He hasn’t lost count of the hairs on our head? That we are as important as a beloved child? That our Father holds the All-is-Well Plan? Do we dare? Dare to Trust the Lord is Good?
Dare to trust the Lord is Good!
Reach to see
to know that He
is within your grasp
to have and to hold
and when your grip slips
trust to know
He doesn’t let you go.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
~ Isaiah 26: 3-4

Reach to Trust
the Lord is Good
Taste and See,
savor and soak
if you want He will help grow
your unbelief into belief
to grow it like a mustard seed
into a tree with roots that hold
deep and long
strong and true
that don’t and won’t let go.
“May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace as you
trust in him,
so that you may overflow
with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
~ Romans 15:13

Dare to reach
taste to see
trust to hope
He will take you where
you need to be.
“For in this hope we were saved.
But hope that is seen is no hope at all.
Who hopes for what they already have?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have,
we wait for it patiently.”
~ Romans 8: 24-25

On its back, needing to get all its feet on the ground, this Hermit Crab took a risk. He didn’t know what existed outside his shell – his place of comfort and security. He knew he needed help, that He couldn’t leverage himself to uprightness. Fear could have kept him inside. Fear could have stopped him from changing his circumstances. Little by little, he stretched out of his comfort zone. Little by little, he trusted that he would find what he needed. . . and he did. He stretched to find someone’s throw-away scrap- and there the little Hermit Crab found his salvation. He righted himself to continue the everyday ordinary that had been literally turned upside down.
This Hermit Crab montage could be about introverts extroverty – but it struck me, it was about courage not letting fear rule, not stopping the soul development process of getting where God has designed us to go because trust requires faith which can both be hard if we aren’t used to it, really believe it enough to go out on a limb for it. It takes courage to believe, to move out of our comfort zone to go where God calls us to go – like a Hermit Crab courageous enough to go out of his shell.
“Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.” ~Samuel Johnson
Without courage to believe, how can you trust to hope?

“If he see us seeking him, he will be found of us; if he cause us to hope in his word, he will establish his word to us. . . A believing obedient trust in God and his name is the surest way both to preferment and to establishment, to rise and to stand upright, and this will stand us in stead when creature-confidences fail those that depend upon them.” ~ Matthew Henry Commentary, Psalm 20:6
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” ~ Psalm 34:8
Dare to trust to hope! The Lord is good! Always!

Remember Me Monday: #73 & Link-up
“I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings,
all the things God has done that need praising,
All the generous bounties of God,
his great goodness to the family of Israel—
Compassion lavished,
. love extravagant.”
~ Isaiah 63:7, The Message
In the Old Testament, God repeatedly, quietly and loudly, tells his children, “You have forgotten me!” (Jeremiah 3:32, Ezekiel 22:12, to name a few). It’s a heart cry from a father to a child who has forgotten all the love, all the saving, helping, little and big blessings – and it leaves me stunned when I realize our Father, the creator of the universe, who knows things I cannot begin to fathom, who authors storylines that leave me amazed, delights in all of us so much, He cries out, “Remember Me.”
While every day is a Remember God Day, I am inviting you to join me on Monday mornings to come by and remember what God has done for you, for your family. Maybe God sent a cardinal darting out in front of you, as if to tell you, “I’m here,” or broke a child’s fever after you laid it all down at His feet in a 2 a.m. bedside vigil. Maybe He stood with you in the wait of a prayer sent out, or brought someone you loved to Christ. Maybe He healed your broken heart, gave your courage, or you gave Him your dreams as a love offering only to have Him give them back in an unimaginable way. Maybe God helped you survive to bedtime after a crazy Monday, or forgive yourself for missing it with your kiddos –– Whatever it is, let’s Remember Him. . . in a “Remember Me Monday” love letter.
“My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
Of your salvation all the day long,
Though I know not its measure.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord”
~ Psalm 71:15-16.
Let us delight in Him by telling the stories of what He’s done! If you wrote a blog post remembering what He’s done for you, join the linky. If you didn’t but still want to praise Him for what He’s done – write it in the comment section. Then visit a comment before or after yours! One of the beautiful things about the blogging community is the relationships it builds!
Rules? Write long or short, a list or a story, include photos or not. Just Remember Him and what He has done, and let the gratitude of your heart guide you. Let’s make Monday so Rejoice, that the goodness of God spills into the rest of the week!
If are having trouble linking, the linky service recommends to do the following: use [Photo] FROM FILE ” if it will not generate automatically.
Places I’m Linking at This Week:
Inspire Me Monday, Instaencouragements,
Legacy Link-Up, Recharge Wednesday
Faith on Fire, Tell His Story, Grace&Truth
Let’s Have Coffee Wednesday Celebrate Your Story
Scripture&Snapshot, Sunday Scripture Blessings
Great analogy!
I am glad I slowed down, got on my knees to not only take the photos but to absorb the story working its way into my heart as that Hermit Crab dealt with his challenge! Everything contains a God story designed to encourage!
Maryleigh, I know you wrote this JUST FOR ME!! Just this morning as I drove home from running errands, I spoke out loud to God that I needed to trust in Him and not people, things, ways. I apologized to Him for my self-neediness and being lost in this dark world. I asked Him…just this morning, a couple of hours ago, to take my hand and lead me in only His way. Thank you, God, for placing Maryleigh, her words, Your Word, in my path to show me afresh. Praising Him in all ways, including you, sweet friend. Thank you for praying for me as I lean into Him, the One Who knows the hairs on my head.
loving you, ~ linda
Oh, friend, I hear the light in your voice, the trust to hope! Praise God – He knows your beautiful love for Him. He heard your cry! Love you, my friend! ~ Maryleigh
Beautiful encouragement, Maryleigh! Our hope must be built on God Himself. He is the One who is faithful and true. He is the One who never lets His people go. His grip on us is firm and sure!
That He never lets go – it makes me feel so safe in an unsafe world!
Great story of the hermit crab. Hope can seem difficult, but when our hope is in Christ we can be sure of it. What a HOPEFUL and encouraging word this week!
When that crab started reaching out for a solution, he had no idea that piece of black plastic was there. He reached out knowing a way would be made. That impacted me – the faith of a Hermit Crab!
“Trust to hope” really zeros in on the vulnerability of hope. Thanks be to God that our hope has a solid object.
Dare to trust the Lord is good. That’s one dare I’m brave enough to take! 🙂 Thanks for the encouraging words, Maryleigh. You’re a wise woman.
So very beautiful Maryleigh. Your words fill my heart with that hope which can so easily slip away. Thank you!
So beautifully and well written, Maryleigh, and such encouragement that we all need for so many reason. I love this and it spoke to my heart this morning.
I loved this: “if you want He will help grow your unbelief into belief.” It reminds me of the scared father who made the request of Jesus to help his unbelief. This is often a prayer of my own. Wonderful thoughts today!
It does take courage to believe, to hope, to trust God. Thank you for these beautiful words of encouragement, Maryleigh!