Hope Has a Name: His Name Is Jesus

Scriptures: Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 5:10, Psalms 130:5, Romans 8:24-25, Lamentations 3:24-25

Hope Floats

The other day, I was working in my garden, the July sun warming my face, and I was amazed at how much my flowers have grown since spring. It wasn’t that long ago that snow covered the ground in a blanket of white. And as time flies like the wind, blowing through the trees, rustling thick branches, and bending pointed leaves only to disappear as quickly as it arrived, the snow will soon cover the ground again. 

My perennials will be buried deep in the cold, hard ground in the winter months. The bulbs are there in the dormant season and are quietly laboring to grow even more extensive and deeper root systems—preparing themselves for the right time and season to break forth from their hidden home and bloom. 

Some of you feel like you have been praying for something, a need, healing, or a dream, but it hasn’t come to pass. The hope you felt the first time your knees touched the ground and your lips uttered your request waivers each day that prayers go unanswered, so you think it is dead. But I am here to tell you that it is not dead; it’s just sleeping. 

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes a heart sick.” Prayers for salvation for a family member that goes unanswered, the search for a new job that seems to go nowhere, the battle with cancer that lingers, the arms that ache for another baby lost in a miscarriage—all can make our hearts sick as we eagerly hope for something and it keeps getting postponed. 

You see, it’s easier to worship God in summer’s glory, with its vibrant colors, when the sun’s golden fingers caress your face. But can you learn to trust him in the cold and gray of winter when the sun hides for days, and the frigid wind stings your cheeks? 

Allow God to prepare for you what you have been praying for. Stay close to him, pray, read his Word, and allow him to work while you wait. God is doing miraculous things in the secret place so that you can continue to grow and expand your roots, anchoring them into the soil of his love and grace. 

His timing is perfect, and he is working all things together for your good. As it is written in Isaiah 60:22, “When the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen.” Be blessed in your winter season, my friend. Let God do what he needs to do in the invisible so that you will be fully prepared for what he has planned for you when your spring arrives. 

Our unfulfilled desires, unanswered prayers, and deferred hopes can lead us to a rich encounter with Christ Jesus. Like a balloon that escapes a child’s hand and drifts away, allow your hope to float to the Lord, who alone is the fulfillment of all that we pray and long for.

Scriptures: Ephesians 3:17, Psalms 139:1-6, Romans 4:18

Everything Must Go Except Hope 

I was driving the other day, and while sitting at a red light, I looked on the corner, and a young man was holding and spinning a yellow sign that read, “Everything Must Go.” I suspected this was one of those announcements from a store that is having a big sale or is going out of business. As the light turned green and I pulled away, those three words rattled around in my spirit like a nickel in a tin cup, and I asked myself, “What does the Lord want me to know about those three words?” 

As I continued driving, I started to think about some issues in my life, an inventory of things that are out of season, items no one else wants, and old objects that take up the space where new things are meant to be placed. Idols, thoughts, worries, doubts, and questions remain folded on shelves and hanging on racks that should have been removed long ago. I asked the Lord to search me and show me what needs to go, so I have room for everything that will allow him to fulfill his plan and purpose for my life. 

My dear friends, what if you looked at your bitterness and said, “No, you cannot stay because you’re taking up the place where forgiveness should be.” Or, to misery, say, “No, you have to go because this is where joy belongs. What if you spoke to despair and said, “You cannot remain here because hope must be put in your place?” 

God showed me through that yellow sign that anything that no longer has value or robs you of your hope must go. As we filter our experiences through the lens of the Word of God, we may realize that we have picked up some habits and patterns we shouldn’t have. Those things steal our joy and prevent us from advancing in our walk with Jesus. 

What are those things for you? 

I will be honest with you; the past year has been a difficult one for me. I could fill a jar with the salt from tears of worry and weeping. Perhaps you have also faced troubles and sadness this year, and it is hard to feel hope. I like how Max Lucado describes hope in his book God Came Near, “Hope is not what you’d expect; it is what you would never dream. 

It is a wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I’m-dreaming ending. Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on God, who loves to surprise us from our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction.” 

THAT is the kind of hope that God longs for you to have. But to possess that ridiculous kind of hope, some things must be removed. It is time to tell the enemy that you have had enough and that he can’t have you any longer. You can break free from what’s no longer helpful and run to the Father; for whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. 

God has given you too much power and authority to stay in hopelessness any longer. 

Let it go!

Scriptures: Revelation 12:11, John 1:29, Isaiah 40:31, Isaiah 40:31

The Blood of the Lamb Brings Hope 

They now use sheep’s blood to produce antivenom for various snake bites. You see, the lamb’s blood causes the poison that the snake injects into its victim to have no deadly power. Let’s say a farmer has a lamb bitten in the face by a snake. 

The lamb’s face will swell up, but he will experience no lethal consequences because its blood will begin to produce what is needed to overcome the snake’s bite. The blood of the lamb essentially makes the bite of the snake powerless. 

Satan injected sin into the world in the Garden of Eden. He attempted to steal all joy and hope from humanity through his lies of deception and his tactics of temptation. But remember what John the Baptist said as Jesus traversed the rugged pathway along the Jordan River, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” 

Soon after, Jesus was baptized, the hope of humanity sprung up from the waters of the Jordan and splashed into our world. Then, Jesus was taken into the wilderness, and the devil’s temptations tested that hope. Our lives can take similar paths from victory to defeat, and hopefulness to despair. It is part of the human condition to undulate like waves, up and down throughout our lives. 

But in the lowest of times, when we apply the blood of Jesus, the precious Lamb of God, to our circumstances, through grace and faith, we can overcome both sin and Satan, and our joy and hope are miraculously restored. 

What poison is coming against you? What sin has bitten you and won’t let go? What sickness is overtaking you? What pain is trying to take you down? What circumstance is trying to steal your hope? The devil, that Serpent of Old, will sneak into the safety of your garden and clasp his fangs into your skin, injecting you with his venom that seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. 

But oh, the blood of Jesus! What a beautiful flow that washes away all the consequences of our sin. In the name of Jesus, apply the blood of the Lamb into your wound and watch as it supernaturally begins to heal. We cannot save ourselves from sickness, pain, depression, confusion, or sin. Only the blood of Jesus saves us from it all! 

When you feel overwhelmed and reeled from an unexpected bite of the enemy, know that the Lamb can reverse and cancel all the enemy’s evil schemes. 

There is healing power in the blood!

Scriptures: Romans 8:28, John 16:33, Jeremiah 17:7, Job 1:20-22, James 5:11

In the World There is Trouble, In God There Is Hope 

If you are anything like me, you may wonder why God allows so much suffering in our world today. I was thinking about that as I was reading the book of Job in my quiet time with the Lord. Why did God make Job suffer? 

Job’s story is one of a spiritual battle. Satan approached God and told him that the only reason Job was a righteous man was because of all the blessings that God had given him. And, if those gifts were taken away, Job would turn away from God. 

So God gave Satan control over Job’s life as long as he did not take Job’s life. The story’s narrative then tells us how Satan carried out his destructive plan in the life of Job and how a man who once had it all suddenly found himself left with nothing but pain, despair, hopelessness, and heartbreak. 

Job did not know about the conversation between the devil and God and could not comprehend the mystery of his horrific suffering. Job’s friends did not understand why Job’s world had been turned upside down. How many times have you been in a trial and not know why it was happening or where God was in the middle? 

You see, my dear friends, God allowed Job to suffer to demonstrate that we can still worship God as God for his own sake, regardless of any secondary blessing that we might gain or lose. Against all hope, Job believed in hope because he trusted God. 

Hope is found in God’s promises – promises of a way to swing through the trial holding on to the rope of hope found in Christ Jesus. We can see so much hope in Scripture through the gift of eternal life made possible through His son, Jesus Christ. No matter what trials, temptations, or pain we may suffer, we can always hold onto the hope God extends to us. 

The next time you are in a time of testing and trial, I urge you not to lose heart. I know the world seems to be spinning off-kilter, but instead of turning your back on Christ and assuming there isn’t enough grace to cover your situation, quiet your soul and submit to the Lord’s leading. 

Trust God enough to know that whatever is going on in the world as a whole, or your world, he will fulfill his purpose for you and work all things together for your good. These times we are living in will require a different kind of faith. Living for God means that we follow him no matter where the path may lead because we know that our Father loves us and, as he did for Job, he will redeem and restore all that has been lost. 

Maintaining hope in the struggle is such a beautiful thing. Jesus warned us that we would have trouble in this life, but he also encouraged us by reminding us that HE has overcome the world.

Scriptures: Nahum 1:3, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Luke 8:24, Isaiah 54:11, Psalms 91:1-2

Hope in the Storm 

I went through a time when my life and soul were in the middle of a storm. Tears obscured my vision as I tried desperately to navigate the raging waters that encircled my heart. I wanted God to take the helm, direct my path, and take me safely into the harbor. 

I asked God to part the waters so I could walk through. I longed to step on dry land again where I could feel the security of the earth below me. But as hard as I prayed, I continued to face unending swells that threatened to capsize my life. During that season, I was giving up hope. 

Sometimes in those moments, there are no eloquent words to say. I was lucky to squeak out a weak whisper of “Help” between the tears falling as hard as the rainstorm. Every time I felt like I could catch my breath, I was pulled under the tempestuous waves with another problem, another situation, another failure. All of my strength was spent trying to get to the surface, to orient myself before being drug down again. 

That’s what the Enemy of our souls wants. He wants us to focus on the storm because if we are focused on the storm, or the problem, then we won’t be able to remember the promise and the provision. In my strength, I could keep kicking and fighting the waves, or I could reach out to the life preserver in front of me the whole time…His name is Jesus. 

When lightning flashes across the sky and thunder rumbles in the distance, stop and remember that this isn’t the first storm you have ever faced, and it probably won’t be the last. In the most challenging times, the Father’s love can often be felt, for his power is made perfect in our weakness. 

The disciples were confused when Jesus slept in the boat during a terrible storm. They all felt like they would drown and perish in the sea. Jesus slept because he knew who his Father was. He knew that he was safely held in God’s capable hands and that nothing could ever snatch him from the protection of that mighty hand. When he needed to, Jesus stood up, rebuked the winds and the waves, spoke peace to the storm, and it ceased. 

He will do the same for you. Take heart today, my friends; Jesus is with you in the rain and still reigns. May Christ Jesus sustain you through this challenging season, restore your hope, and be the Peace in your storm. 

I pray the Lord has spoken to you through these five days. I long for you to hold on to the greatest Hope of all…Christ Jesus. No matter what the world tells you, no matter what you see in the news, no matter what it looks like around you, never let go of the One who holds you in the palm of His hand. Hope has a name…His name is Jesus!