Hope!

[Jere209]

I have and I was thinking that I would post some more about how I have been feeling after the game ends tonight.

The posts and verses and stories shared here have all been so wonderful and just knowing that caring people such as yourself have been praying for me and are concerned about me as encouraged me immensely.

I'll share more later tonight or tomorrow

 

[Redheadedstepchild]

I have and I was thinking that I would post some more about how I have been feeling after the game ends tonight.

The posts and verses and stories shared here have all been so wonderful and just knowing that caring people such as yourself have been praying for me and are concerned about me has encouraged me immensely.

I'll share more later tonight or tomorrow

This is great news!

 

[Ariella]

Why do you have hope in the Lord?

The hope I have is because I believe that God and His word are true. That God is all He says He is; and therefore, I can trust Him. This doesn’t mean that my life will be without problems – in fact we are told several times that we WILL face trials and sufferings; it does mean though that God will be with me through all of them.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers,they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire,you will not be burned;the flames will not set you ablaze

I chose the verse above, as a reminder that through everything God is with us – and we can have hope in Him because we know as well as being with us the rivers will not sweep over us even though we pass through them; and the fire will not burn us even while we walk through it. What assurance of His loving kindness and care.

He will give me the help I need; He will sustain me; He will provide for me; He will comfort me; He will be with me always. Even in those moments and times when I’m within those trials, and may question what is going on or start to have doubts – I know that underneath all that the truth doesn’t change. God IS God – He is the King of Kings and He is faithful even when I am not.

There are many forces that will try to attack our hope in God; especially when we are facing extreme difficulties. Our feelings will try to lead us, and want us to put them before the truth of God. The enemy will try to attack us and provide reason to reinforce doubt and destroy hope. We will be tempted to look at other people – how much help they can provide, how little help they can provide, who is giving the help. Even possible to blame God for the lack of help or encouragement other people give us – especially when they are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yet none of these things – feelings, enemy attacks and other people, or any other distractions from our hope – remain true. They are simple that – distractions that somehow through God we need to choose not to listen to. Definitely easier “said than done”; yet in doing that we hang on to the hope we can have in God and will get through trials with Him as our constant companion and hope. I may sometimes fall back into wondering if God loves me; or why such terrible things are happening; and in asking these questions others open up and can lead me away from God in my thinking. Yet again, the truth of God remains constant – “I am the Lord, I change NOT!” (Malachi 3:6)

At first the verse I wanted to share with you and that automatically came to mind was one found in Hebrews. If they’d had an anchor in the armoury I would have dressed for that! but since they didn’t, I still want to share this verse and hope that it will encourage and bless you.

Hebrews 6:16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an ANCHOR for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.
​

Ok, actually that is several verses! But what it made me think about just then is that … perhaps there are two different kinds of hope? The hope that is a feeling torn apart by what is going on in our lives and circumstances; and the hope the remains steadfast and remains present even while our minds can be struggling to “find hope”. When I read about hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure – it seems to remind me that we have something that is steady, something permanent, something that will not move – both in our hope and always with God. Our hope is there because Christ made the way for it to be so. In going through that curtain; in going before us and taking our place on the cross – that we might have life instead of death; the hope we have was secured. So that in knowing God, we have this hope! True, precious hope forever – it’s just at times we need to be reminded of such hope and to know again that it is real – and not let anything try to tell us otherwise (as it tries so frequently).

Why should I have hope in the Lord?

From what you’ve shared, and in the verse you posted and even in asking these questions and seeking encouragement – I think you already do have hope in the Lord. But at the moment its been under some serious fire; with different things trying to tear you away from this hope that you have. *Hugs*

Why? because He is God
Why? because He is faithful
Why? because He loves you – so very much
Why? because you are His precious child and beloved
Why? because He never leaves you, and never allows the water to sweep over you or the fire to burn you – no matter how much it can seem this way to us
Why? because He is there to help, to comfort, to heal, to strengthen, to give peace – when everything around us seems to be falling apart
Why? because He never leavesWhy? because He is trustworthy – and the only one to be so
Why? Because of the hundreds and hundreds of examples we see illustrated in scripture, in the lives of others and even in our own lives – of His glorious work and love in our lives
Why? because of the sacrifice of Christ which was made for you
Why? because He gives guidance and teaches us His truth
Why? because he will rescue you from your troubles
Why? because He will answer your cries of distress
Why? because our hope in the Lord is the most precious thing there is – and the truest
Why? because He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords
Why? Because He is God

Why should I continue to pray when my prayers go unanswered?

​

God loves you, so much. He is inviting you to come before him .. to share your concerns, your heartache, to hand over your weary burden. To cry out to him, with all you have – and know that He is God. Our prayers may not be answered in the way we want; they may not be answered in the way we are expecting; we may not understand what is going on – yet we can still hope in God, because he has promised us only to give good gifts – including to give the gifts of strength, encouragement and hope. The help we receive may not look like help to us; we may think it isn’t there – and yet it is. Keep praying because you have a God who loves you and who has promised to provide for you – one who is faithful and will never leave you –

I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from???
My help comes from the LORD!!!

Nobody else can help us, nothing else can help us --- only the Lord – and He does and will …. even though it may not “look” like this in our eyes – He does and will. And this is why you should continue to pray – because it is where your help will be found and it is to the one who loves you so very, very much. In praying, you are sharing your needs and concerns with the one who can do something within them – in praying you are taking shelter under God’s mighty wings.
I know none of this is easy …. and I pray that God will comfort you, minister to you and encourage you and that He will reveal his hand and presence in your life *hugs*

I also think that ..... while anything we may share will hopefully encourage you in some way - it is God himself who will reach over and restore your hope - as He is already doing

bless you!

 

[dluvs2trvl]

All I can say Ariella is wow!!! Thank you so very, very, very, very much!

 

[Ariella]

the other thing that hit me ..... just as i was thinking i'd done for the moment lol ............... is ...... when we pray - where are we in response to that prayer?

for example ......... if i pray asking God's strength to help me lose weight - and asking for His support and guidance --- if i then go and deliberately eat a block of chocoalate and gain weight - can i then say "God didn't answer my prayer". Or was I turning away from the help he gave and going my own way instead ..... then blaming God for the result and the lack of "his" response. If instead I am placing myself within the strength and guidance He gives, and walking out in that - then I will actually know and experience His help. This example works in some instances ....... and may not fit others -- but i know i've definitely experienced where I've prayed asking for help --- then run from the help and wondered why it wasn't there

 

[Ariella]

this is an old joke .................. which may already have been shared? but i was reminded of it again as well

It was flooding in California. As the flood waters were rising, a man was on the stoop of his house and another man in a row boat came by. The man in the row boat told the man on the stoop to get in and he'd save him. The man on the stoop said, no, he had faith in God and would wait for God to save him. The flood waters kept rising and the man had to go to the second floor of his house. A man in a motor boat came by and told the man in the house to get in because he had come to rescue him. The man in the house said no thank you. He had perfect faith in God and would wait for God to save him. The flood waters kept rising. Pretty soon they were up to the man's roof and he got out on the roof. A helicopter then came by, lowered a rope and the pilot shouted down in the man in the house to climb up the rope because the helicopeter had come to rescue him. The man in the house wouldn't get in. He told the pilot that he had faith in God and would wait for God to rescue him. The flood waters kept rising and the man in the house drowned. When he got to heaven, he asked God where he went wrong. He told God that he had perfect faith in God, but God had let him drown.
"What more do you want from me?" asked God. "I sent you two boats and a helicopter."



bless you

 

[Ariella]

right back to you!

 

[dluvs2trvl]

Contest closed....​

Thank you so much to everyone who played and posted verses and such encouraging words... ​

It has truly, truly touched my heart!!!​

This one may take me a bit to reach a decision...so please be patient. ​

You are truly wonderful people and I am very blessed to have made such wonderful online friends​

​

 

[NorwayUnn]

Thanks for such an encouraging thread.

 

[dluvs2trvl]

I'm sorry everyone...I've had a pretty emotional couple of days with some things going on in my life off line.

I haven't forgotten about this game or all the wonderful things you all have said to me and I think God knew that I would need them this weekend even more than I have needed them before.

I promise I haven't forgotten about you and I will post a winner I just need some time today to sort through some emtions and events...

 

[ido]

I'm praying for you, D. I'm traveling tomorrow, so I will have a lot of time in the car if you need to talk.

 

[Ariella]

.................. you feeling better and receiving encouragement and help both from God and others is many many times more important than worrying about "contests" ....... look after yourself! and know we are praying for you

 

[Redheadedstepchild]

Take your time. Meanwhile, I think I'm going to reread the thread. We all need to be reminded about hope at times.

 

[dluvs2trvl]

HOPE!​

What an interesting word and what a frustrating word all at the same time!​

I looked up the definition of hope and this is what I found:​

hope (hōp)
v., hoped, hop·ing, hopes. ​

v.intr. ​

1. To wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment.
2. Archaic. To have confidence; trust.

v.tr.​

1. To look forward to with confidence or expectation: We hope that our children will be successful.
2. To expect and desire. See synonyms at expect.

n.

1. A wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.
2. Something that is hoped for or desired: Success is our hope.
3. One that is a source of or reason for hope: the team's only hope for victory.
4. often Hope Christianity. The theological virtue defined as the desire and search for a future good, difficult but not impossible to attain with God's help.
5. Archaic. Trust; confidence.

The definitions in red are the ones that I find particularly interesting....it's the part about expecting fulfillment...it isn't just about hoping for something - we hope for it with confident expectation that it will be fulfilled.

That's what I've been struggling with - maintaining that expectation of fulfillment and also accepting that MY expectation of how my hope will be fulfilled may not be the same as the Lord's plan for fulfillment of my hope.

So how do I reconcile that in my mind? How do I still hope - and expect fulfillment - but accept that the Lord's fulfillment may be different than my own?

I don't know. Just this past weekend I had a very frustrating time of reconciling my hope of a romantic relationship with the reality of what it really is...am I willing to let this man go and trust that the Lord will either restore him back to me because that is His will or He will not because He has a better relationship in store for me - I don't know. I'm still struggling with that because in order to say good-bye to this man, I will be saying good-bye to my best friend.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do in regards to this relationship.

I'm still not sure how to hope with confidence.

I'm still not sure that the Lord hears my prayers.

BUT

I am sure that the Lord loves me. He has shown me that through all of you. Through your words of encouragement and through your prayers.

Jere209 posted about waiting. I HATE waiting for something that I want...but I've come to realize that the choice isn't about waiting or not waiting because I have no other choice but to wait...the choice is in HOW I wait.

Do I wait as a frustrated, angry at God, mad at the world person? Or do I wait as one who is hoping in the Lord - hoping with a confident expectation that it will be fulfilled?

As many of you know my favorite verse is Zechariah 9:12 - Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

Recently I have become a prisoner - not a prisoner of hope though - I have become a prisoner of the unfulfilled part of my hope. I want to be a Prisoner of Hope again...I want that strong reassurance in my soul that I can hope with confident expectation and that no matter how the Lord fulfills that expectation - it will be what is best for me.

I'm still working on it - I'm still re-reading everything that has been posted in this thread...and I have created a hope journal and I wrote down everything that you all posted here in my journal.

I am still a work in progress when it comes to this thing called hope...I realize that maybe I'm being to hard on myself - that it's ok to question and it's ok to get frustrated and most of all, it's ok to reach out when I need help and encouragement...that there are wonderful people like all of you who care and will share their own experiences and words of encouragement.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this contest...it truly was more than a contest for me - you encouraged me and lifted me up with your prayers when I needed them most.

I wish that I could give everyone first place but I can't....however, I have decided that I will be giving everyone who participated some blessings just as a way to say thank you to each and every one of you...

So, there is a glimpse into where my heart is...and what your encouragement has done for me...

​

 

[dluvs2trvl]

1st place - Ariella
2nd place - Nilla
3rd place - JoyShirley
honorable mention - flnativegrl

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!!!

​

 

[nanajojothatsme]

great winners congrats and God bless

 

[NUgameFund]

congrats to all the winners!

 

[mizangelwolf]

Ok, you ready for this? I'm also going to blog it. Think I'll start that. Listening to Travis Cottrell on TBN, and I'm just blown away by that man's voice, and his song right now. I have to get that cd..He kinda reminds me of Dennis Jernigan..lol, Dee, you're probably wondering why I'm mentioning him. Praise and Worship is why. God uses music to minister to me, and I cannot sing like someone that is truly gifted, but I can sing unto Him, and there are certain songs that express what I cannot.That reach right down into the depths of my soul and pulls something out that I had no idea that was there.This song "On Christ I stand" is one of those songs. I found David Phelps this way as well (TBN). Oh my goodness..tears.. He is ministering with Beth Moore too. Now that's a power house combination! I'm excited! I watch her too every Wednesday.. Wish I could afford her cd's. and studies..(lol, I talk like her, accent wise. wish I looked like that!)

anyway, without further ado, here's the devotion I gave that night that I believe may minister to you:God bless, love ya Dee.

Wait

All my life it seems like I’ve been waiting. J Have you ever felt like that? Like you’ve just been waiting for something big to happen, and you just know it’s going to happen, and then, WHOMP! Nothing happens! Lol. Well, like I said, all my life I’ve waited. Sometimes its like I just know something is going to happen, and I wait with expectancy, other times it’s just knowing that I have to wait. Other times I wait because He said so. Those are the hardest. Knowing God wants me to wait, but not understanding His logic. But, then it’s not for me to understand His logic. I say oh come on God just a little bit of understanding will do..Nah! Wrong!
So tonight I want to talk about waiting upon the Lord.

I love trees. I love branches, anything tied or twisted together. I have a picture of the oldest tree there is supposed to be on the earth today, named Methusela, and I think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. All those twists and turns, and crooks and crannies. The knotholes, all of it is so beautiful to me. And it’s hundreds of years old. I love old twisted vines as well. And I love Psalms. Especially Psalms 27:14 “Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say wait, wait upon the Lord”. The word kept jumping out at me. Wait. I wanted to scream,God, no! I don’t want to wait! I’m always waiting! Waiting on this! Waiting on that! I wanted to just fall on the floor in a heap and say no, not again.

I’ve walked around with a dreaded feeling in the pit of my stomach for weeks now, no, months, and it’s not gone away, and yesterday I found out why. I had been waiting for something yet again, and it has been delayed yet again. I don’t honestly know if it is the Lord’ s will that it waits, but all I can do is wait, and abide in Him. Grit my teeth and press on, and press through, smiling all the while, yet screaming.
I thought I’d look up the word “wait” since it was jumping out at me like that. You know, like your kids when they jump up and down and say “look at me look at me”,

lol, you can’t help but look. So, off I go to the Key study bible to look up the word. I thought I’d found the wrong reference when I found it. I mean, after all, hey, I know what “wait” means! I am an expert at it!!! God did not need to tell me what it was! I could tell him a thing or two about it..Well, the Basic Hebrew meaning is “bound, twisted up, to bind together by twisting, TO BE JOINED”…I about fell over, right off that chair I

was sitting on. John 15:5 says “I am the vine, you are the branches”…whoah,,there is something to this, I began to think. So I thought about a grapevine how it was bound and twisted up together, and I thought about the vines I so love to see grow in the summer and blossom. Yet, when the branch of the vine is cut off, it pretty much is dead. So it is with our lives. If we do not stay bound, and joined to Him, we are dead in the water. Picture God standing here, and here you are, sticking out like a vine. J that’s the picture we always have. Well, when you look at a grapevine, it actually hugs the “parent” portion of the vine and wraps around it.

I took it further and began to think of scriptures that contained the word wait. It all took on a new meaning because I substituted that definition in place of the word wait. Listen to Isaiah 40:31:
Those that are bound up and twisted together in Him shall renew their strength…” Isn’t that good! Let’s look at Psalm 27:14 again, “Be bound and twisted together on the Lord; be of good courage..”
God wants to bind us together to Him with His mercy, His love, His grace, all of His promises. He fills me with courage, and in turn my heart is girded with strength.

Knowing this it really helps me to face the battles that daily come my way. I’ve been through a lot over the past few years, and a lot of health issues that have left me pretty scared for awhile. But, I remained twisted together to Him, and I got through it. When the enemy comes after and against me, He will be there to support me, quietly and strongly bound to Him. Isaiah 30:15 says “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength”…that leaning and resting on Him continues to bind me closer to the Parent vine..

When I encounter yet another bout with the enemy of my soul, the closeness I have just experienced with the Lord from my last trial, enables me to wait (be bound together). I quietly wait (am bound to Him) leaning heavily , now filled with hope. Lamentations 3:26 says “It is good that one should hope and wait (be bound and twisted together) quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Think of it like this..Through each trial and test we go through, we are getting more and more bound and twisted in Him. And we can say like it does in Isaiah 25:9 “Behold this is our God; we have waited (Been bound and twisted together) for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited (been bound and twisted together ) for Him/ we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation).

The next time you are going through a trial or just have to wait, remember this, and know you are not just “waiting”. But you are being bound and twisted together with our Father in Heaven.





http://smiley.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZSzeb113_ZS&utm_id=7921

This has really ministered to me Jere, thank you very much, hugs, Lynn

 

[mizangelwolf]

Bless your sweet heart D. I have just re-read this entire thread again and have saved Jere's and Ariella's and your words. Sometimes the hurts are too deep to voice and then someone will come along and say what is inside our head, just as you 3 have done. I did not realize that I needed more hope myself. You have all blessed me and I love you all for that, Lynn

 

[LovesToRead]

I had wanted to post here, not to enter the contest, but to offer words of hope. I was already in a couple of other contests and knew I wouldn't have time to add another one, as we were going away for the weekend. I'm so sorry I didn't get to post before we went away.

Many of you may have seen my post in the Bible character game about Joseph. I write about him again here, as his life has been such an encouragement to me.

He was away in a foreign land...away from family and everything familiar. Yet he still trusted and hoped in God, even when thrown into slavery. I just can't imagine how hard that must have been for him. He was betrayed repeatedly, and yet, God was still faithful to him and he was faithful to God. But some of the results took years for him to see. In the end, he was able to see God used all these horrible circumstances for good.

I was also thinking of Daniel, who I was reading about just last week. When it became against the law to prayer to anyone except the king, Daniel kept right on praying to God, risking his life. He hoped in God's faithfulness to him. God brought him safely out of the lion's den. Again, I cannot imagine what it must be like to be in such a situation and still trust God.

These are just 2 examples that have recently encouraged me. I faced some hard times in the Spring and was very discouraged. Yet, I felt God's message to me was for me to obey Him. I felt my obedience would be only that....dry obedience. I have found however, that God wants me to find joy and happiness in obeying Him. And I have found just that, not because I was looking for it, but because that was part of the results of obeying him. I bring this up in this context because sometimes we don't see the results in a way that we think we will or when we want to, and yet we can still hope in God because of what we know about His nature and His faithfulness. He loves us the same way as He loves these other people whose stories are in the bible to encourage and inspire us, and to give us hope.

Thank you for starting this thread and thanks to everyone for your words of hope. God bless you all.