A couple of weeks ago, on the last Saturday morning of September, 14 lovely women gathered together at church. It was the first in person Common Ground women's gathering we've had in a really, really long time. We sat in a large circle in the shade under the trees, wearing our masks and keeping our distance, but coming near to each other and to God with our hearts. It was a precious time.
Helen and I both shared some thoughts with the group about HOPE and God's promises and I want to share them here to refresh our memories if we were there and to encourage those who weren't, as well. I don't think we can ever be reminded too often to hold on to hope.
Before going any further, I want to ask you the question Helen asked us that Saturday.
What do you hope for? Right now. What are you hoping for?
Many of us that day said we were hoping for the pandemic to end soon so students and teachers can return to in-class instruction. (And praise God! At least some younger kids and their teachers ARE heading back to school part time!) Others are hoping for a peaceful, successful Nov. 3 election (with or without a particular candidate in mind!) Some of us are hoping and praying for a loved one to be healed from a disease or an addiction. Many are hoping for community violence to cease. While honestly, in some circumstances, maybe we've even given up hope.
Like Helen shared with us, the truth is there were many people in the Bible who had lost their hope. Moses and the Israelite slaves, Esther upon hearing of Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews, the adulterous woman brought before Jesus in John chapter 8. Even Jesus' followers lost their hope after Jesus was crucified. All of these people had no hope in their circumstances, but when they hoped and trusted in the Living Hope, our faithful God, He answered their pleas for help. Captives were freed, evil was defeated, sinners were forgiven, and disciples were found by a risen Jesus. What glory!
So what about us? Can we have hope for victory in these days? Yes, because our hope is in our Faithful God, not in the situations we face or our abilities to face them. Ps 62:5 "Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my Hope is in Him ." We have hope for a blessed life because God keeps his promises!
But what about when it looks otherwise?
Sometimes we are sure we have put our hope in the Lord and we are sure God is going to answer our prayers. And then the unthinkable happens. A dream is crushed, a job is lost, a child goes astray, an illness is diagnosed, or a life is lost. Where did God go? What good did it do to hope?
The longer we walk with the Lord, the more we will find God is not a genie in a bottle we can command to grant our wishes. While God delights in answering our prayers with a resounding YES when a YES is what's best for us, throughout the Bible and throughout our lives there were and will be times when God doesn't answer in the way we or others hoped.
Does this mean we give up hope? NOT AT ALL. Instead, it's a reminder to be sure we are hoping IN THE LORD rather than in a particular outcome or answer to prayer. There are plenty of blessings we can hope for, but what is sure and solid enough to stand on in every trial is God's Word and his promises.
In the Bible God promises us so much.
His presence.
His strength.
His peace.
His grace.
His power.
Truth that will set us free.
Love that will never let us go.
That he is good all the time.
That he will never change.
That he knows the good plans he has for us.
That we are loved more than we will ever know.
Sure, we can still pray for specific outcomes and we may even get what we ask for! But if our hope is rooted in God's promises, we will be okay even when we don't get everything we ask for. And if we ask for God to give us what He knows is best, we can rest knowing he holds our future and our hope and his promises never fail.
Be encouraged today, Sisters. Cling to God's promises. Listen to this song and print out these verses. Tape them up where you can see them daily and be encouraged.
"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep his promise."
~Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)
Seedling photo by Sushobhan Badhai on Unsplash
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