Where there is Hope~ in His Word 11-2-2024
They had no idea that my little tree had gifts from my
students at a preschool that I taught at. Or that I could really use company
this year because I was not able to go to my family in Canada’s because I had not enough money to even put gas
in my car and was waking to work each day until pay day. I had food in my tiny
pantry and had saved the bit of gas in the car so that I could go see my dad,
who lived nearby, at some point during
the Christmas Weekend, but he was choosing not to celebrate Jesus’ birth at
that time. My friends had no idea my joy was on low just like my gas.
I was not worried, but I was feeling lonely, so I joined
them going from house house until we came
to a mutual friend’s house, and we were invited in for some coffee or cocoa.
Standing near their wood stove to warm up and sipping on
some Seafood Chowder I enjoyed the beauty of friendship and families gathered
together singing and laughing and praising God too! It helped that it was a
house full of the pastors’ families who also lived nearby, but I felt hope for
a family of my own someday, one that would sit around sipping chowder and hot
cocoas and singing with joy to the Lord!
By the way, God honored that hope! He brought me a husband
the very next Christmas season., but that is another story.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of
God
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing
that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because
God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been
given to us. Romans 5:1-5
When we Caroled for others to hear, it brought joy to our
hearts and helped us to give joy to others. It helped me to find hope for
tomorrow to be a better day and even though I was feeling as if it would never happened,
I felt hope of that someday husband.
Fast forward a few years and my father, and then mother
would pass away. I felt such emptiness in my heart because they were the
connection to my family. My siblings had lives of their own and we lived miles apart,
but we got together a couple of times of year for the two of them mostly. We got
alone, we loved one another but still without mom there it was just too much.
On the weekend after she passed I had such despair. My husband
asked me at one time if I was going to be okay, I told him I would not be okay
for a long time.
I was wrong! God had
a plan!
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my
voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O
Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord,
who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared. I
wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in
His Word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he
will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Psalm 130 ESV
Just as this Psalm 130 reads in my depths of despair I cried
out to God. I sat on the floor of a hotel bathroom and bawled my eyes out, as
they say. In reality I felt as if I was emptying my soul of all the anguish and
pain of loosing both parents in 6 months’ time. Fortunately for me I had a
commitment to assist at a woman’s gathering and so I was there when I cried out
to God. I emptied my sorrow and frustration on the bathroom floor in the form
of tears. At one point I felt peace. I felt hope to continue serving and knew I
was no longer angry at God for taking my parents. I felt nothing but peace for
today and hope for tomorrow as I walked out to the group as the Session had
begun. During that day I would learn what intercessory prayer was all about,
that God speaks to people of our needs and really allows people to see our
hearts and minds. It was real! I had never heard someone elses needs so clearly
before the preacher was sharing their need in form of prayers.
I was allowed that because I had run into that bathroom and
made myself right with God. I was in that place that we all need to be in this season
as well as every day.
Yes, there is a lot more to that story too, but for today I
want us to focus on the hope for tomorrow.
The people were waiting for the Messiah to come when Jesus
was born right then. They had hoped for Messiah to come for so many years and
then right in plain sight Jesus was given to us all. The Yakhal, or hope, came in the form of a little infant
wrapped up in swaddling blankets and laying in a manger because they had no
place to stay, and He had to be born right then. It was in God’s perfect
timing.
Just as with my encounter with God at the women’s gathering was
the perfect timing of God to help me through the time of despair and give me
hope that He would be there for me even if I did not have my parents to lean on
anymore for encouragement and hope. He wants you to find hope for tomorrow and
joy for today.
He wants you to find that encounter connection that gives
you release of the sorrows and pains, frustrations and anger. He wants to take
it from you and not allow you to get caught in them but to allow Him to move in
your life and make it better not just for you but for others!
He wants to grow us through our times of sorrow, struggles,
and pain. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a
righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified
by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are
reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans
5:6-11
Your story may not be the same as mine, your sorrow may be bigger, suffering
harder, and struggles worse than I know, but what I do know is that our God is
bigger than all of that! He can and will give you hope when you find your way
to trust Him to do so. You may have to suffer a little while as the Word says,
and as Jesus did for us, but I want you to know that He is there at the place
He knows you will throw the stuff at him, drop it at His feet, or gently
transfer it from your heart to His hands.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart today. (Proverbs 3) Put
your hope in the hands of Jesus.
He will find a way to show you the way when you do.
In the meantime, try to find something to be grateful for,
to hope for just for today!
I hope you will find peace, hope, and joy in His love. (that is mine!)
