Power of Hope and Gratitude

 Hope opens the door to God's help. Gratitude releases God's spirit.

God is sovereign, isn't he? But in the Bible, I see that our attitude can influence God's actions.

God saved the Hebrews from brutal slavery in Egypt. He also rescued them from Pharaoh's army and led them across the Red Sea.

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and caused supernatural food to appear in the wilderness.
Despite all this, many Hebrews were ungrateful.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshipped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ ” Ex 32:7–8 NASB95

But Moses stood up in the gap. He begged God not to kill all the Hebrews, not to condemn them. And God answered.

At the end of the war, there was a miraculous revival in Germany. God also worked miraculous healings. There were huge crowds at the church services. But who remembers that today?

In Nuremberg, the Allies organised trials for Nazi war criminals. The Nazis had acted like devils, but many were still nominal Christians.

The Americans sent a Catholic priest and a Protestant pastor to help the prominent prisoners with pastoral care.

Some of the worst criminals in the Nazi leadership genuinely repented. When Hitler's arrogant ex-foreign minister went to the gallows, he begged his wife to raise their daughters as Christians.

But how many remember that? We humans tend to think negatively and ungratefully.

Since the war, God has blessed Germany amazingly. The Americans and British helped a lot in the beginning and the Germans themselves worked very diligently with wise leaders.

The economic miracle was a real miracle, but the basis of the miracle was the grace of God, the God of the Jews, the God who forgives.

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. Rom 5:20 NLT

God spared the Hebrews when Moses pleaded for their lives. Who prayed for Germany during the war? Who prayed for mercy before and after the war?

We know a few names, some British intercessors and also some faithful German Christians. We think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, of course. God answers our prayers when we pray for our nation, for our world and for our enemies.

Hope opens the door to God's help. Gratitude releases God's spirit.

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NIV