Tag Archives: Hope

Oct6

Cure for a Fearful Heart

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Say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, do not fear:

Your God will come,

…He will come to save you.”

Isaiah 35:4 (NIV)

 

What are you afraid of today?  Is it fear of the future, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of death, fear of enemies, fear of pain, fear of judgment, fear of financial ruin, fear of abandonment, or even fear of the unknown?”  Fear can be debilitating and paralyzing.  When you are fearful, you stand frozen in your tracks, afraid to make a move lest you cause your deepest, darkest fears to materialize before your eyes.  You feel that if ___________________ happens (fill in the blank), then you will certainly _____________________(fill in the blank).

In the face of uncertainty, a yearning for your most basic needs begins to bubble up to the surface:  security, peace, hope, love, and acceptance.  You spend your time and energy worrying about your circumstances ~ longing for peace of mind ~ and you never move forward in your life.  Ultimately, if you are fearful about something, you doubt that God is big enough to handle your unique situation.  God’s word tells us not to fear, but rather to trust in Him, and believe that all things are possible with Him.

 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41: 9 – 11

The divine neutralizer of fear is trust in God.  When you place all of your uncertainties, inadequacies, and apprehensions before Him, the heavy chains of fear begin to dissolve. Allow God to pierce through and deal with the insecurities of your fearful heart.  Tell Him about your most private fears and place them all in His capable hands.  With the assurances of God’s promises, you can have a heavenly peace of mind that transcends all understanding.  A fearful heart will no longer hold you captive, because God will replace your fear with courage and strength.  With God on your side, you can have courage in the midst of your crisis.

 “Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
 

“Nothing on earth is its equal – a creature without fear.”  Job 41:33

Sep15

Butterfly Wings

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“Yet God has made everything beautiful in its own time.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11a (NLT)

The wondrous transformation of a grubby caterpillar into a graceful butterfly is one of the most fascinating processes in nature.  The last important phase of the complete metamorphosis includes the newly formed butterfly’s struggle to emerge from its gauzy cocoon.  As the new creature works to free itself from the cocoon encasing, fluid is pumped into its delicate wings.  If someone from the outside tries to “help” the butterfly by ripping open the cocoon, the butterfly’s wings will never be fully developed, nor strong enough, for flight.  So the struggle to emerge from its protective covering is perhaps the most critical step in the butterfly’s preparation for its new life of flight.  Without the struggle, the butterfly will never be capable of flight.

Compare this process to your own life.  Are you struggling through some sort of difficulty right now?  At the moment it is impossible to envision any sort of “beauty” that could emerge from the ugliness of your circumstances.  Perhaps you long for an easy way out of your problems.  You wish that someone would come along and make everything “right” again.

But remind yourself that as you work though your challenges, you are becoming stronger.  Your “faith muscles” are being groomed and strengthened.  God will use this hardship to transform your development as a believer, and you will emerge from your trials with stronger faith than you ever would have experienced without the struggle.

Remember that you are not alone during this rough time.  God promises to be with you through every difficult circumstance.  Turn to Him and seek His guidance to help you solve your problems.  Ask Him to give you the strength to endure the trial.  Trust Him completely and know that you will come out on the other side of the challenge as a well-developed child of God, ready to face a new phase in life.

Most of all, remember that God makes everything beautiful in its own time.  Wait patiently to see the beauty that will emerge from your struggles.

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.
You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.
So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.
Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. “
James 1:2-4 MSG
Sep12

The Collector of Tears

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You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.

Psalm 56:8 (NLT)

Is anyone crying?  God is listening.

In fact He cherishes you so much that He catches each one of your tears with tender compassion and records them in His ledger.  Not one tiny tear goes unnoticed by God.  You are precious to Him, and He cares deeply about your pain.

“This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says:  I have heard your prayer and seen your tears;”

Isaiah 38:5b (NIV)

If you are overwhelmed with a heavy burden of sorrow, grief, regret or heartache, your loving Heavenly Father promises to be close to you.  He keeps a watchful eye on His children, and His ears hear your faintest cries.  He comforts those who are crushed in spirit.

“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.  The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. “

Psalm 34:  17-18 NIV

If you are brokenhearted, you are not alone in your agony; the Lord is right there beside you.  He knows your most private anguish.  So when you feel like no one cares or understands, remember that God sees your weeping and hears your cries.  He keeps an account of your sorrows and collects each precious tear.  God even promises that those tears, like tiny seeds, will one day reap a harvest of joy!

“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” Psalm 126:5

 “The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;” Isaiah 25:8b

Sep11

Peace that Never Ends

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The mountains may disappear,
and the hills may become dust,
but my faithful love will never leave you.
I will make peace with you,
and it will never end.”
The Lord who loves you said this.

Isaiah 54:10 (ERV)

No matter what…

   God’s faithful love will never leave you, and HIS peace will never end.  The shock of any catastrophic event in life does not shake God’s rock solid promises nor does it dilute His never-ending love for His children. Friends may disappoint us, health may fail us, enemies may come against us, relationships may break our hearts…mountains may disappear, and the hills [or even buildings] may become dust…but God will never leave us alone.  He is our Shelter, our Comforter, our Friend, our Protector, our Provider, and our Prince of Peace.

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you… ”  Deuteronomy 33:27

(This post in remembrance of 9/11, U.S.A.)

Sep2

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

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In His hands are the depths of the earth

and the mountain peaks belong to Him.

The sea is His for He made it,

and His hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:4 – 5

God is magnificent; there are no boundaries to His greatness.  No one can fathom the magnitude of His understanding, and He alone is worthy of our praise and worship.  He holds the deepest caverns and darkest valleys in His hands, as well as the highest mountain peaks.  He scooped out the great depths of the ocean floor and sculpted all the impressive land formations.

So if it seems like you are facing a mountain of insurmountable problems or trudging through a deep valley of difficulties, remember that you are being held in the capable hands of your Heavenly Father.  No difficulty you face is too big for Him, and no valley you walk is too low for Him to reach.  Hand everything over to the One who is big enough to handle anything.

“This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord…” 2 Kings 3:18a

“Ah, Sovereign Lord,you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. 

Nothing is too hard for you.”  Jeremiah 32:17

Aug28

Focus on the Finish Line

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RUNNING RACE

For our light and momentary troubles

are achieving for us an eternal glory

that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,

but on what is unseen,

since what is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17 – 18 (NIV)

Hard times in life may make you feel that you are at the end of your rope, but you are never at the end of your HOPE.  When you face troubling circumstances, it’s easy to focus on the pain you are experiencing, but this verse encourages us to refocus our thoughts from what is happening around us to the One who lives within us.

Our problems should not dilute our faith or cause us to believe the delusion that God has abandoned us.  When your trouble seems overwhelming, it’s easy to lose heart and want to quit.  In the same way that athletes focus on the finish line and ignore the discomfort they endure, we should fix our eyes on the eternal reward for our faith.

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”   2 Corinthians 4:16 – 17 (MSG)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus,the pioneer and perfecter of faith…, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  (Hebrews 12:1-2 ,3b NIV)

Aug27

Unseen Footprints

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Your path led through the sea,

Your way through the mighty waters

though Your footprints were not seen.

Psalm 77:19 (NIV)

Maybe you don’t have an army chasing you like the Israelites did after Moses led them out of Egypt, but you may find yourself ensnared by a situation in which you feel hopelessly trapped.  Perhaps you feel that your back is against the wall, and it is impossible to escape from your circumstances.

When the Israelites were cornered against the Red Sea, they were terrified and felt doomed.  Moses calmed their fears with these words, “Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today…The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.”  (Exodus 14:13a, 14)

If you feel doomed by your circumstances and see no possible means of escape, pray and ask God to intervene on your behalf.  The same powerful Hand that parted the sea for the Israelites can provide a pathway out of your trouble.  Don’t be afraid; don’t panic.  God can open up a way out for you.  Simply stand firm in your faith and watch the deliverance God will bring you.  Follow His unseen footprints…

“But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”  Exodus 14:29

Aug24

The Promise of His Presence

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IMG_9453“…for God [Himself] has said,

I will not in any way fail you,

Nor give you up

Nor leave you without support.

I will not,

I will not,

I will not

In any degree

Leave you helpless

Nor forsake you

Nor let you down.”

Hebrews 13:5b (AMP) 

Read the words above with this truth in mind:  God keeps His word.  He doesn’t break His promises.  If you are a child of God you can rest in the assurance that God will not leave you…ever!

In the book of Genesis we learn about the life of Joseph.  During one season of his life, Joseph’s jealous brothers stole his possessions and then threw him in a pit, then eventually sold him into slavery.  As a slave, he was falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned for over two years in a dark dungeon with vile conditions along side the worst of criminals.  Yet those who met Joseph along the way knew that no matter what God was with him.  Even in the midst of these terrible circumstances, God never left Joseph.  In fact, the Bible tells us that when Joseph was a slave, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered…The Lord was with him and gave him success in everything he did.”  (Genesis 39: 2a, 3b)  And while Joseph spent time in the grim conditions of the prison, we are told that “the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” (Genesis 40: 21)  Even though he was in the most terrible situation of his life as a prisoner, “the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” (Genesis 40:23b)

Perhaps you can identify with one or more of the hardships that Joseph faced:  betrayal, financial loss, abuse, abandonment, false accusations, or even dire living conditions.   If so, remind yourself of God’s promise to His children:

I will never leave you…

Forsake you…

Abandon you…

Fail you…

Leave you alone…

Desert you…

Run away from you…

Forget you…

Leave you without support…

Give you up…

Let you down.

I will not relax My hold on you…assuredly not!

Joseph’s responses to each circumstance in his life give us a good example to follow.  His positive attitude transformed each of his setbacks into a step forward.  His lowest point was like a launchpad for his successful future.  After two years, Joseph was released him from prison and Pharaoh put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.  He quickly went from a dingy, dark prison to Pharaoh’s palatial palace.  During his lowest points, he didn’t dwell on asking, “Why are these things happening to me?”  In each situation he trusted in God and held on to the personal knowledge that God was with him.  Instead of asking why, he chose to ask, “What can I do now…”  His life was a testimony to others of God’s presence, provision, protection and blessing in spite of hardships.  He thrived in situations where others would have simply given up.

If you are find yourself in a “pit” in life, remind yourself that God will not leave you…ever!  Perhaps He is molding you and preparing you for greater things through these difficulties.  Allow God to transform your setbacks into giant leaps forward.  Although you face difficulties, it doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you.  He is true to His word, and He will never, ever leave you alone or helpless.

 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,

for He who promised if faithful.”

   Hebrews 10:23

 

               

Aug23

Marvelously Made

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knit together

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.”

Psalm 139: 13 – 16 MSG

You are a special creation ~ marvelously made in body and soul by God!  No one else on Earth is quite like you.  God shaped you from nothing into something, and knit you together, bit by bit, into the extraordinary individual that you are. Like an open book, He watched you grow from conception to birth; He knows the rhythm of your heart, every bone in your body, and every hair on your head.

God created you with a unique purpose in mind, and each one of your days on Earth have been ordained by your Creator.   In fact, the days of your life were all prepared for you before you even lived one day.  God knows you intimately, inside and out.

He was there from your beginning, and He is with you right now.  No matter what you may be going through in life, God loves you and is watching over you every single moment.

You are His Masterpiece!

Aug22

Absolutely Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of Christ

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Can anything separate us from the love of Christ?

 

Can trouble

Suffering,

Hard times,

Hunger,

Nakedness,

Danger,

Or Death?

Roman 8:35 CEV

 

The life of a believer is not always perfect.  We face many of the same kinds of problems today that believers have endured throughout history such as hardship, trials, hunger, illness, suffering, heart break, abandonment, danger, and even death.   Difficult times could cause you to fear that Christ has abandoned you.  Yet His death on the cross is proof of His unconditional love for each one of us.

Romans 8: 38 – 39 gives us one of the most comforting promises in all of Scripture:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers,

neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” (NIV)

 

Absolutely Nothing can stop Christ’s constant presence with us, and ~ nothing ~ in all of creation can separate us from His never-ending, unchanging, limitless, unfathomable, and eternal love for us.  If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will never fear, no matter what circumstances we face.