CURRENT THEME: New hope for 2013 (If you want to read about specific themes in this series, send me an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

DAY 12: NEW HOPE ... BECAUSE HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR EVERY SITUATION

By Benescke Janse van Rensburg

Various readers responded to Friday’s testimony in which Corlia shared how God restored their marriage. One specific reader wrote: “I currently find myself in a very challenging situation. My husband drinks a lot. It worries me as he did not drink any alcohol when I met him years ago. We were in a terrible car accident a while ago when he drank too many pills. I have spoken to God about the problem, but it feels as if I do not receive an answer. I am desperate and tired of life itself. Please help me!”

Do you feel the same as this reader? Tired and overwhelmed by your current challenges in your life? To find yourself in a situation where you can only trust God, can simultaneously be the most frightening, but also the most liberating place in the world. Why? Because when we realize that only God can achieve a breakthrough, we stop making our own plans and allow Him to demonstrate His greatness to us.

Have you given control of your life and challenges over to God or are you still trying to fight with your own strength? The words in 2 Corinthians 12:9 testify of God’s ability to strengthen us in difficult times: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” And in Isaiah 40:31 God promises: “... those who wait on 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.” Also in Philippians 4:6-7, Paul writes: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Are you losing hope for a breakthrough in your life? Remind yourself that God is Almighty. He can save your lost friends and family; He can give you wisdom to sort out your financial situation; and He can take away your fear and replace it with absolute peace once you start to trust Him more to look after the challenges in your life. Don’t just ask the Holy Spirit to be a passenger in your car, ask Him to be the driver – it might just make the world’s difference. God bless.

Father God, thank you that no situation is ever too big or too hard for You to turn around. Help me to not put my hope in worldly things, but in You. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

** Benescke Janse van Rensburg is a freelance journalist and author of the books, Ontdek God in die stories van mense, Wysheid-oordenkings uit Spreuke and Hoop in tye van nood-oordenkings uit Psalms.