When hope is lost....
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12
I really do not have time to sit down and write. We are leaving to go out of town today and I have a million and one things to do. Maybe a million and two.
However, sometimes the Lord just draws you like a magnet to where you need to be at the moment. Sometimes He will just take you by the collar and gently place you where your little feet need to be. This is currently happening.
Surrounded by hot tea, a cider smelling candle, and a lamp to my left, I come to you with some words that will hopefully encourage you. These words do not come from me, they come from the Creator of Words, the Creator of all things that we see, feel, and do.
His Words are the only words that bring healing, life, and hope. My words fall flat, but His words spur, stir and awaken a weary soul.
Yesterday, I fell to my knees and begged God to revive me with Hope. Not the worldly kind of hope, but the Hope of Christ. The Hope that no matter the circumstance, I will feel His Presence, His Hope, His gentle touch picking me up and carrying me when my knees want to buckle.
Sometimes we can get in a place, a dark place. A place that light is nowhere to be found. So, we make ourselves a little cozy spot in the darkness and hope the lights will come on.
God's word says, "Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you." James 4:8
I have been clinging to this verse for the past couple of weeks. Just like my eyes crave open blinds, bright lamps, and lit candles, my soul craves the light of His Presence. I don't like the darkness, because my soul was not created to dwell there.
However, in those dark places, sometimes I can see Him the most if I open my eyes to see. The contrast of His light against a black and dark place, overwhelm my eyes at times. His Presence is so stark, so magnificent and so alluring against a sheet of pitch dark.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. James 1:5
Tears burn my eyes as I read this verse. Rolling down my cheeks, lump in my throat kind of tears.
Circumstances may change, people may change, but God never changes. When darkness seems to overwhelm or lives, our God is still there. He never left. He never will.
"I, the Lord, never change." Malachi 3:6
"I will never leave you or forsake you." Hebrews 13:5
It's up to us to choose to see Him. To choose to open our eyes and feel the warmth of His Presence and the glorious Light of His Face. He is there. Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Sometimes it takes me a few days, even a few weeks, sometimes a few months to open my eyes to Him. I can get lost in the darkness and so easily forget the Light is right beside me.
This week I prayed that God would reveal Himself to me in such a way that I would know without a shadow of a doubt that He hears me. That He sees me. That He hasn't forgotten me.
"Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath." Psalm 116:2
Just like the Perfect Father that He is, He listened to me. He answered my plea.
We may not understand what He is doing when things happen, but we can always ask Him to show Himself in the situation. I believe with all of my heart, this is one prayer that He will always answer. He longs for us to see Him. We just have to look for Him.
Just knowing He is there brings peace and calm to our souls. The turmoil seems to lessen because we know He is working it all out. He hasn't forgotten us. He is not capable of forgetting us.
Have you lost your Hope today? Are you just going through the motions to get by? Are you waiting for someone to turn on the lights as you sit alone in the darkness with your thoughts?
Fall to your knees today. Spill it all out to your Father. Tell it all to Him.
Tell Him you want the Hope of Him and nothing else. Ask Him to overwhelm your heart with so much hope that it spills out like water to all who are in your path.
As He fills you back up, refreshes you and revives you, get ready to help someone else to find their Hope. Hope spreads like wildfire. But, we have to be willing to light the first match.
Light the match. Draw near to God. Talk to God. Listen to God.
He is listening to you.
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16
Hope in restoration,
jill
Proverbs 13:12
I really do not have time to sit down and write. We are leaving to go out of town today and I have a million and one things to do. Maybe a million and two.
However, sometimes the Lord just draws you like a magnet to where you need to be at the moment. Sometimes He will just take you by the collar and gently place you where your little feet need to be. This is currently happening.
Surrounded by hot tea, a cider smelling candle, and a lamp to my left, I come to you with some words that will hopefully encourage you. These words do not come from me, they come from the Creator of Words, the Creator of all things that we see, feel, and do.
His Words are the only words that bring healing, life, and hope. My words fall flat, but His words spur, stir and awaken a weary soul.
Yesterday, I fell to my knees and begged God to revive me with Hope. Not the worldly kind of hope, but the Hope of Christ. The Hope that no matter the circumstance, I will feel His Presence, His Hope, His gentle touch picking me up and carrying me when my knees want to buckle.
Sometimes we can get in a place, a dark place. A place that light is nowhere to be found. So, we make ourselves a little cozy spot in the darkness and hope the lights will come on.
God's word says, "Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you." James 4:8
I have been clinging to this verse for the past couple of weeks. Just like my eyes crave open blinds, bright lamps, and lit candles, my soul craves the light of His Presence. I don't like the darkness, because my soul was not created to dwell there.
However, in those dark places, sometimes I can see Him the most if I open my eyes to see. The contrast of His light against a black and dark place, overwhelm my eyes at times. His Presence is so stark, so magnificent and so alluring against a sheet of pitch dark.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. James 1:5
Tears burn my eyes as I read this verse. Rolling down my cheeks, lump in my throat kind of tears.
Circumstances may change, people may change, but God never changes. When darkness seems to overwhelm or lives, our God is still there. He never left. He never will.
"I, the Lord, never change." Malachi 3:6
"I will never leave you or forsake you." Hebrews 13:5
It's up to us to choose to see Him. To choose to open our eyes and feel the warmth of His Presence and the glorious Light of His Face. He is there. Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Sometimes it takes me a few days, even a few weeks, sometimes a few months to open my eyes to Him. I can get lost in the darkness and so easily forget the Light is right beside me.
This week I prayed that God would reveal Himself to me in such a way that I would know without a shadow of a doubt that He hears me. That He sees me. That He hasn't forgotten me.
"Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath." Psalm 116:2
Just like the Perfect Father that He is, He listened to me. He answered my plea.
We may not understand what He is doing when things happen, but we can always ask Him to show Himself in the situation. I believe with all of my heart, this is one prayer that He will always answer. He longs for us to see Him. We just have to look for Him.
Just knowing He is there brings peace and calm to our souls. The turmoil seems to lessen because we know He is working it all out. He hasn't forgotten us. He is not capable of forgetting us.
Have you lost your Hope today? Are you just going through the motions to get by? Are you waiting for someone to turn on the lights as you sit alone in the darkness with your thoughts?
Fall to your knees today. Spill it all out to your Father. Tell it all to Him.
Tell Him you want the Hope of Him and nothing else. Ask Him to overwhelm your heart with so much hope that it spills out like water to all who are in your path.
As He fills you back up, refreshes you and revives you, get ready to help someone else to find their Hope. Hope spreads like wildfire. But, we have to be willing to light the first match.
Light the match. Draw near to God. Talk to God. Listen to God.
He is listening to you.
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16
Hope in restoration,
jill
