"Unfiltered Hope"

"O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name." (Psalms 74:21) It is pretty obvious that God does have a sense of humor; having been walking with the Lord for over 34 years, I have come to realize that He really does like to make us laugh sometimes. When you think about the Scripture that says, "God loves a cheerful giver," the word "cheerful" is more in the way of hilarious, which is like uncontrollable laughter. That might not seem so important to some, but it speaks about an action that is not based upon analyzing the situation, but instead, just does what feels right to do. If that did not make any sense, I am sorry; but the point was meant to be about an action based upon faith, not based upon the way things might appear. We can really talk ourselves out of a whole lot of blessings, if we spend enough time analyzing every chance God gives us to serve Him or to move out in faith. I can't begin to tell you how many times over the years I have heard someone say, "God cares more about availability then He does about ability." In other words, it's more about just showing up, then it is about being able to perform a certain function. When we make ourselves available for God, it is God that shows up and does the work, not us; we are only a vessel that God works through; but this vessel must make itself available for God to work through. I can't think of many examples in the Bible of God using someone who was not willing to show up and be used. But if you want one, there is the example of Jonah. If you don't think that God has a sense of humor, then you have not considered the situation with Jonah and his refusing to do what God asked him to do; there is a really good example of God making someone show up, even if they refused to go. God really does have the ability to make us change our mind; it might not look pretty at times, but He has His ways to make us put our priorities in the right order, and to make us take stock in His ways instead of our own. If you really stop and think about Jonah and his moment of surrender, it was when he told the men aboard the ship what they needed to do to calm the seas, saying, "Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." Now, if I were a betting man, I would not have thought that was the definition of showing up; but then again, God can do all things with anything, it is our responsibility to just make ourselves available for God to work...
"Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish. He said, "I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and He answered me. I called out to you from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, 'O LORD, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.' I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O LORD my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God's mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all me vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone." Then the LORD ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach." (Jonah 2) NLT