Tag Archives: Hopeful

Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Hope Yestterday, Today, and the Future

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There has always been hope.

Hope is not a new idea to the Lord. From the first dark day on earth, the Lord knew his people would need hope, and he provided it.

Adam and Eve did not follow the rules for living in the Garden, so they were kicked out. Hope was then needed, and the Lord provided hope and a glimpse into his plan for the future.

Speaking of the coming Messiah, God says in Genesis 3:15, “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman. And between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heal.”

Many years later, Isaiah was stating some unsettling times were about to occur. Israel was going to fall into the hands of Assyria, but the Lord offered hope amid the anxiety.

Isaiah 7:14 says, “All right then. The Lord himself will give you a sign. Look the virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, which means God is with us.”

Many years later, John’s Gospel says hope came. John 1:14 says, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness, and we have seen his glory – the glory of the Father’s one and only son.”

The hope needed in the Garden in Isaiah’s day, and that came in John’s day is still with us today. Christ is that hope; his grace and mercy are still available today. If you are in need of hope today, give him a chance to offer it to you.

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Hope

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The one and only constant hope.

Hope is easy when we do not really need it, but when circumstances around us seem hopeless, we truly discover where our hope can be found.

Friends who say call if you need anything may or may not mean it. Politicians may promise hope, but they are not able to deliver a true hope. Hope in money can eventually run out. The Lord, however, can provide a true, constant hope in the most hopeless of situations.

The Lord can give hope to the hopeless. In the darkest of hours, he can be a ray of light that changes everything. Where is your hope placed today?

Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

The Whirlwind of Life

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She experienced a whirlwind of emotions.

She was a widow, with a son, in the middle of a famine. Provisions were almost expired; enough was left for one last meal. She was gathering the wood for the cooking fire when Elijah entered her life.

Elijah asked the widow to bring him a drink of water and a piece of bread. She responds in 1 Kings 17:12, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don’t have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it, and die.”

Can you imagine? The widow is in a desperate situation, and she may feel hopeless. But here comes hope.

Elijah encourages her to do as he has directed, and promises the Lord will continue her provisions until the end of the famine. 1 Kings 17:6 records the widow and her son having enough to survive until the famine ended. This storm ended, but another rain cloud was on the horizon.

Some time later her son died. Amid the storm, the widow went to Elijah so he could act on behalf of God. This would have been an emotionally draining whirlwind for the widow; hard times followed by okay times only to be replaced by hard times again. Sadness giving away to happiness only to be broken down by grief. The winds of life tossed and turned the widow.

Perhaps this sounds familiar to your experience. Don’t lose the big take-away of the widow’s story.

Her faith pushed her forward.

It was the widow’s faith which compelled her to feed Elijah and go to him upon the death of her son. Her faith steadied her as the winds swirled around her.

You and I have a friend in Jesus who sticks closer than a brother. His compassion wiped the tears of the widow and held the hand of the man with leprosy. His power was victorious over death. There’s nothing in life that is a match for him.

Allow the Lord to be a part of your storm today.

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Looking to the Future

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The future is coming.

Well, the future is coming. It may be unsettling, but we can not stop it from coming. The good news for Christians, the future will be glorious. At the end, the Lord will be victorious.

Isaiah had many unsettling things to say, but the Lord promised through Isaiah, a future of peace and rest.

Isaiah 4:5-6 says, “Then the Lord will create, over all of Mount Zion, and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night. Over everything, the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”

Israel did not fully experience this when they returned out of exile, nor have we fully experienced it today. But the Lord promises he will create for us an eternal dwelling of peace and rest. The toil of this life, for Christ’s followers, will give way to peace and rest in the future.

The future is coming. We can’t stop it, but we can rest assured it will be a time of peace and rest.

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Forever Hope

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A loving and patient God continues to offer hope.

A large city’s school system had a program to help students keep up with their homework while in the city’s hospitals. A teacher assigned to the program received a routine call to visit a student in the hospital. She obtained the child’s room number and name. She spoke to the boy’s teacher and found out the class was studying nouns and adverbs.

No one told the teacher the boy was in the hospital because he had been badly burned, and he was in a great deal of pain. When she saw the patient-student, it took all of her strength to continue. “I’m a teacher from your school,” she explained. “I’ve been sent here to help you with your nouns and adverbs.”

The two worked on an assignment, then the teacher left feeling defeated. She believed she had accomplished nothing, but the next day a nurse applauded her.

“I don’t know what you did yesterday, but the patient’s outlook has changed. He is fighting back and responding to treatment,” the nurse happily explained.

Two weeks later the boy explained the teacher’s visit gave him hope. “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on homework with a dying boy, would they?”

Hope is a powerful tool of the Lord, which he continues to offer.

Max Lucado explains, “Isaiah revealed Judah’s impending doom. God vowed not to listen to the prayers of his people because of their excessive sin, but God assured he would restore Israel after purging it of sin. A loving and patient God continued to offer hope to the Israelites. He offered forgiveness if they repented.”

Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” God promised he would purge the Israelites.

The Same is true for us. Whatever is causing you and I to feel hopeless, the Lord can remove from our lives. Past mistakes and difficulties are no match for his grace and mercy. He can turn our hopelessness into pure hope.

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