Hope is an Attitude

DAY THIRTY FOUR: Monday, November 17,2008

Read Psalms 42:1-11

"Why am I so sad? Why am I so upset? I should put my hope in God and keep praising Him, my Savior and my God." Psalms 42:5 (NCV)

A hospital teacher assigned to help children stay caught up with their assignments was surprised to discover that her newest pupil was a horribly burned young boy in great pain. As she hesitatingly stumbled through the lesson on nouns and pronouns the boy was in so much discomfort that he barely responded. She felt ashamed for putting him through such a senseless exercise.

The next morning a nurse in the burn unit asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" Before the teacher could finish her outburst of apologies, the nurse interupted her: "You don't understand. We've been very worried about him. But ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back; he's responding to treatment. It's as if he's decided to live."

The boy later explained that he had completely given up hope until he met with the teacher. It all changed with a simple realization. With joyful tears, the boy said, "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and pronouns with a boy who was dying would they?"

"God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure He will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again." Philippians 1:6 (NCV)

Action step for today: Ask God to help you reprogram your attitude about your problems from despair to hope!