One of the great things about my week – Thursday mornings, when I meet with dozens of Jesus lovin’ gals for Bible Study. Yes, and have been for the past twenty-eight years. Kay Arthur, co-founder of Precept Inductive Studies, may never know just how the Lord has used her to teach and mentor me through all twenty-eight.
At the moment, we’re in Isaiah – a book on loss and hope.
I’ve got journals filled with hopeless stories. Good to know the original meaning of the word hope is to wait with confident expectation. I know it’s not always easy to implement into our right-at-the-moment mess.
So then I page through sheaves of recorded messes and see just how many were filled with confident expectation. Volumes. And I remember and have hope.
Maybe hope really means, it’s what gets us up in the morning and allows us to sleep in the night. It gives assurance that we can stand when life caves in.
Then what it isn’t must be the shallow places we look for it . . . beauty, health, relationships, money and even government – it’s all going to fail and pass away.
Our lasting hope is found only in Jesus.
And we’ll never hope with our Bible closed. It’s all in there, where “it is written.”
A dear friend sent me a text-comfort message the other day – that’s a cyber Word of truth to collide with our very horrible, not-good, very bad day(s) . . .
I will go before you and make rough places smooth. I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through iron bars and I will give you the treasures of darkness, a hidden wealth of secret places in order that you may know that it is I, the Lord God of Israel that calls you by your name. Isaiah 45:2,3
And it was enough to stop me right there in my broken tracks and look up, and look down, for the jewels along my path that have fallen from the storehouse of heaven above . . . and they’re all in my journals.
Although we’ll all face obstacles we can trust Him to clear the way, when we follow close by. Even in the darkest times we will find riches because He’s there . . . and knows us by name.
Verna
What a beautiful message and promise from Isaiah!
Thank you Sue – and yes, Isaiah is overflowing with messages of comfort throughout . . .
Beautiful, Verna. Thanks for the precious reminder of hope.
Joanie, where are you? I’m so glad to hear from you! Hope – what we need to cling to with each Spirit-filled day . . .
O sky, rain down from above! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow, and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, the LORD, create it. Isaiah 45:8 (NET)
I love you! So beautifully written and encouraging.
A beautiful reinforcement in the same powerful chapter – love the scriptures – and you, dear friend! (Can’t wait to read your encouraging book on Friendship!)
“And we pray that you be “energized and strengthened” from “God’s boundless resources” and find yourselves able to pass through “any” experience and “endure” it with courage!”…………..Col.1:11 (Paraphrased)
Energized, strengthened and endure – these are the boundless resources of our God – thank you, Nelda!
One of my favorite passages. I just finished reading your book and have been richly blessed, encouraged and inspired.
Thank you for your transparency, and for sharing your story. You are in my thoughts and prayers.?
How nice to know you have my book, thank you Judy for the kind words of encouragement. May the amazing encounters we have had within our Father’s story richly bless you!