My hope is in You all day long

Janice Cruce and her beloved husband, Billy Cruce, were my youth pastors in the 1960’s at First Baptist Lakeland. Then, in 1988-89, Billy was our pastor at Thomasville Road Baptist in Tallahassee. They both have had such a powerful, God-ordained influence on me and our family. 

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One day in January 1999, Janice sent me an email in which she quoted Psalm 25:5–“You are God my Savior and my hope is in You all day long.”

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I was so moved by that exact translation, that I went to the local Christian bookstore that day and bought myself and each member of my family the NIV Life Application Bible, and had our names engraved on the covers, all because of that powerful scripture translation which Janice had shared with me.

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I also remembered Janice telling me of a very rough and bumpy plane flight she was on when she thought, “In just a minute, I’m going to see my sweet Jesus!” Such peace! Such assurance of our precious salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has been there all along, guiding and directing every detail of our lives, even the places where we will live and worship Him. It gives me such peace to even remember these sweet things and our hope of heaven.

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You are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:5 

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Have you ever been on an airplane as it flew through a thunderstorm? All around you, you see and hear the storm’s beating rain and the wind whipping against the cabin wall. Looks of worry and panic cloud passengers’ faces, and they wonder, When will we ever get to the other side of this storm? They long to see the sun, and even before the plane has landed, a few of them may have begun forming a line to get off. On such a turbulent flight we can dramatically experience the light and peace after a storm almost instantly. Peace replaces anxiety in just a moment as we break through a cloud and see the sun and its radiance just on the other side of the storm. As God’s children we do not need to wait until our personal storms have passed in order to see and experience the light and peace of the Son. The Word of God, his truth, not only sustains us in the storms of life but also opens our eyes to see the Son, the radiance of God’s glory, while we are soaring through them. 

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DEAR LORD, I want to know your will. I’m willing to do your will, and I’ll wait, in hope, for your truth to lead me in it. No matter what storms of life I may face, I will keep my eyes on the brightness of your Son—the radiance of your glory! 

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Look Up—meditate on Psalm 25:5, pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on Psalm 25:5, pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on Psalm 25:5, pray to see how you might apply it to your relationship with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

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Janice Cruce, shared this comment about this post: “What a blessing you are, Beth! And now, at 83, I feel just the same!” This was my heartfelt response to Janice: “You have been such an encourager in my life, both when I was a teenager at FBC Lakeland and when we lived in Tallahassee. It was such a divine appointment when I learned that you and Billy were serving at Thomasville Road Baptist Church. A full-circle gift from the Lord. I'll never forget being in the waiting room at the hospital in 1989 while my dear Daddy was having surgery, and having the phone ring on the table beside me. I picked it up, and it was Billy, asking if he could pray with me. I'll never forget the words he began his prayer with, because now, when I pray with people, I hear his voice in the words I pray also..."Lord Jesus, we ask that You wrap Your Loving Arms around Beth right now..." You were both God's gift to me in so many ways. I love you!”