“For those of you trusting a promise God has whispered to you recently: Be careful not to misplace your hope. The hope is not in the promise, but in the one who made the promise. Expect a breakthrough; but ask for strength to endure the present. If all you receive is your solution, what have you gained? Surely a new crisis will emerge; a new fear will haunt you. But when you learn to put your hope in God, He will empower you to endure all that life brings you. And at that point you will rise above the pain of this life and move in ways unimaginable before because your desire is His will more than your relief. Letting go of control starts with letting go of the fear and worry and moving forward when He calls” (Anonymous).

A friend of mine wrote these words 6 years ago, but the words are as relevant and true today as they were then.

Your hope isn’t primarily in the promise but in the God who made the promise. After all, what each of us really desires and needs ultimately isn’t the gift so much as the Giver. I’m after God’s heart more than His hand.

I think about Christmases past. Most years I got what I asked for, but after a few days or a few weeks, the luster of the gift wore off and the thrill went with it. I probably couldn’t remember more than a handful of them.

But the memories I carry with me are the people who gave me the gifts. They were worth more to me than anything they could give me. I’d give up all the gifts I ever received from them to have them back even for only a moment.

God is infinitely worth more than even the best of His gifts, so why do I so often hunger after what God can give me and not after God Himself?

True peace comes when you trust that God’s best promise is the forever guarantee of His presence. It’s when you understand that peace isn’t a feeling or a state of mind but the very person of Jesus.