Crossroads: My Hope Is in the Lord

This week’s Crossroads is taken from Jessica Asbell’s newest book, Where Faith & Family Meet: A Book of Weekly Devotions.

Psalm 121

Your Story

Talk about a tough time you went through and how you received help from God. Maybe God sent someone at just the right time or something happened to help you recognize that God was at work in your life.

My Story and the Bible Story

I am a worrier by nature. When things go wrong, I get anxious. Even when things have the possibility of going wrong, I get anxious. So it is comforting to know that the Lord who watches over us doesn’t sleep. God doesn’t get tired. God doesn’t get anxious. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and Earth. The Lord can calm me down. The Lord is the one I can always turn to no matter what. The best part is that God already knows what I need, and God knows what you need as well.

God is for us. God wants what is best for us. But we don’t always want what’s best for us. It’s a good thing that our help comes from God, who knows what we need before we ever say the words. Not only does our help come from God, but our hope comes from God as well. During Vacation Bible School, we sang a song by Sanctus Real called “My Hope Is in the Lord.” Here are some of the lyrics:

I can’t help but feel a little down.
A little worried when I look around.
That’s why my hope is in,
My hope is in the Lord.
I fix my eyes upon the God who gives,
’Cause all I need is what I have in him.
That’s why my hope is in,
My hope is in the Lord.
My hope is in the Lord.
I belong to him.
He will never let me go-oh-oh-oh.
My hope is in the Lord.
I can count on him.
My hope is in the Lord.

Read Psalm 121.

We can trust that our help comes from the Lord. We can hope in the Lord, who will never let us down. The Lord watches over us and is our help, our hope, and our salvation. When you are having a hard time, remember that God is there. God is not sleeping or playing video games. God is there with you no matter what happens. God loves and cares for you. Our hope is in the Lord!

Discussion and Prayer

1. Ask your children to talk about times when they have trusted God. What was the situation? What happened?

2. Talk about ways to practice trusting in God during this season of Lent. Maybe for you that means praying every time you feel anxious or worried. Every time you feel scared, you pray. Every time something happens, you pray.

3. Pray, thanking God for never leaving us. Ask for help in remembering that God watches over us. Praise God for being our help and our hope.

Rev. Jessica Asbell is the Minister to Children and Families at First Baptist Roswell, where she has been serving since 2012. She has written the children’s curriculum for Smyth & Helwys’s Annual Bible Study for the books of Daniel; Ezekiel; Luke; Jonah; 1 Corinthians; 1, 2, 3 John and Jude; Colossians; The Story of Israel’s Ancestors: Living toward a Promise; and Where Faith & Family Meet: A Book of Weekly Devotions. She has also written for CBF’s Spark and Form and for Affect in CBF’s fellowship! magazine. Married to Jonathan Oravec, Jessica reads every chance she gets.