This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Lamentations 3:21, 24
Have you ever had to keep hoping in the midst of hopeless circumstances?
Moses, Jeremiah, Elijah, Joseph, David, the list in the Bible is long and distinguished of men who walked close to God and yet struggled through dark days.
I sometimes wonder how Moses could keep going dealing with so many cantankerous people, not to mention Pharaoh.
Surely, as Moses encountered Pharaoh’s hardened rejection time after time, his hope for a breakthrough must have been getting a little thin?
Can you imagine his discouraged heart as he looked into the angry face of that guy?
Hardened hearts can really crush hope can’t they?
In the Midnight Hour
I know what it is to look into the angry face of a loved one who suffers from a stony heart.
Yes, suffers!
And, I know too, how their suffering can keep you up at night, walking the floor, praying with tears flooding down your face, looking for that first-aid your heart’s hope knows, can only come from God.
Sometimes God seems so silent doesn’t He?
(Yes, I know.)
Fraying Hopes
Lately, my hope has again been getting a little frayed around the edges.
My loved ones I have been praying for seemed increasingly stubborn and wayward.
It seemed the only prayer I had left was, “LORD, I don’t know what to pray for!”
Have you ever been there?
Threadbare Prayers
My exhausted searching and waiting for answers needed some fresh oxygen.
I needed something to bring me a little fresh courage.
In those long dark hours in the middle of the night?
When your prayers seem to be holding together by mere threads.
And, the tears won’t stop?
Where can you turn?
A Fresh Word From God
Promises from God are like a fire lighting up the night; driving back all the darkness.
In my desperation, I knew, I needed something that was eternal; something that would overcome all my dark forebodings, fear, and hopelessness.
I knew I needed God’s words to bring me fresh hope and dry my tears.
So, off to God’s Word I went.
Below are just of a few promises that God has given me to hold onto in the past few days:
- For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God as ours, who works for those who wait for him! Isaiah 64:4 TLB
- But God’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything. Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones. Isaiah 30:18 MSG
- O my people in Jerusalem, you shall weep no more, for he will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. He will answer you. Isaiah 30:19 TLB
- And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21 KJV
- Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: Isaiah 40:4
These promises have brought me new strength as I have waited for God to move my mountains.
My favorite promise
I have a favorite promise in my Bible.
When the LORD directs my feet there, no matter what else is going on in my life, my hope soars when I read these words:
proverbs 23:18 KJV
For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
The word used there for EXPECTATION is the Hebrew word, TIQVAH.
One of it’s meanings is, joyful hope, but my favorite is this one: The thing I long for.
God sees into our aching hearts and He knows exactly what and who we are longing for.
Even in the rain, “His eye is on the sparrow…
And, I know He watches me.“
I love those words, don’t you?
I have sung them to myself, in many a dark night, when my hope was getting more than a little threadbare.
His eye is on you, too.
He knows what you are longing for.
His promises to you will be fulfilled at just the right time.
Hold on.
He sees you. He loves you.
He knows how your heart aches.
He’s coming.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
lamentations 3:21-25 kjv
Women With Destiny 