Category: Hope

Posted on

What Will I Choose?

Happy New Month! 

What was your June like? 

My month was hard, but it ended well.  

It was hard because the situation—the one that’s got me on an emotional rollercoaster—continues to be a source of many tears. However, the final week of the month brought a valuable lesson.

You see, before June, I had said every prayer and confessed every sin I could think of. Yet not a thing changed. There was no materialisation of the word I received from God. (If you’re wondering what this “situation” is, check out a few of the previous posts)

So I came to the conclusion that there must be a mega sin in my life that I’m unaware of, and this sin is “blocking” my prayers, and keeping God from listening to me.

It was around this time that I distinctly heard the Lord say to me, “My ear is attentive to your cry.” 

This word brought me comfort for a day or so, but when nothing changed (again!) I began to question why God would say He is listening, but still do nothing. 

Then, through a friend, the Lord sent me this verse: 

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 
James 1:4 NIV

And it was then that I understood I was in training. The delay wasn’t about a mega sin, but about God maturing my faith. Now, you’d think that understanding what was happening would settle the matter for me, but nah! I was soon back to tears. 

But God, in His infinite goodness, has shown me that I am impatient. I do not want to persevere. I want to have Him give me instant relief . . . to resolve issues immediately.

Yet, just as physical growth takes time, spiritual growth doesn’t happen instantly either. It too, takes time. Plus, the only way to mature my faith is to patiently persevere through discomfort, because I have faith that God will end the discomfort. Then, when I face similar situations in the future, I can relax because I have experience in trusting God to bring me through the discomfort. The post Through, Not Around makes so much more sense for me now!  

As I write this, the Lord has brought to mind a verse which presents me with a choice:

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” 
Romas 12:12 NIV

The choice? Keep crying and feeling abandoned. Or, stay hopeful—actively trusting—because I know God will bring this season to an end. And, I suppose the longer it takes me to make the right choice, the longer I remain in this “bootcamp.”  

What is absolutely certain to me is that I cannot persevere, be joyful, or hopeful in my own strength. Even now as I write, I can feel impatience nudging me to ask for this to be over. 

“Lord Jesus, set me free from impatience! Help me to persevere, to be joyful, and fully trust You.“

Do you need to say this prayer with me?

Posted on

The Forgotten Day

We have officially got into our rainy season here, and the grey weather has crept into my life. These past couple of weeks have been turbulent for me. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say these past couple of months! Some days I feel like I’ve been tossed into a raging sea. Before I can come up for air and breathe, I find myself tossed about again. It’s been very uncomfortable! All this while trying my best not to re-join the waltz! 

I’ve observed and learnt a few things that I’d like to share . . .

The big lesson is that I must learn to watch my thoughts. Self-control doesn’t just apply to physical appetites or throwing about careless words. Self control also applies to the thoughts I allow to take up residence in my mind. I’m learning that no matter what’s going on with me, I must monitor my thoughts so that they don’t lead me down a dark rabbit hole. Some of the thoughts I must kick out include “Why me, Lord? Why is this happening to me?,” or “Why aren’t You answering my prayers, Lord?,” and any other thought that accuses God of being unkind. I’m (doing my best) to be like Job and remind myself that I should be ready to accept both good and bad from God. Hoping that somewhere down the line the turmoil will end, and I’ll see what God was working out. Like it says in Hebrews 12, God disciplines/trains those He loves through hardship, and

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” 
Hebrews 12:11 NIV

So now, when I chat with the Lord, I ask Him to show me what He is working in me and for me. I ask Him to teach me to persevere through, and not around the situation. 

This week I’ve also spent lots of time on one of my favourite ways to soothe my soul . . . listening to the great old-time hymns. I’ve found much comfort in singing along as I do my daily tasks. It has been so helpful! And led me to stumble upon an observation . . .

As I listen, I cannot help but think that we, believers in Jesus today, have lost part of the hope we have in Jesus. What do I mean? Well, a great majority of the hymns mention life with Jesus in eternity. And life with Jesus forever isn’t something that we hear taught or discussed much these days. It is almost becoming a forgotten day. Yet we are told that His return should be something we use to encourage one another . . . 

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." 
Hebrews 10:24—25 NIV

One of the graces that God has given us is the gift of knowing that our time on earth is brief, and therefore there will be an end to our suffering and troubles. We also have the promise that Jesus will come for us so we can be with Him forever. I suspect that if we reminded each other of this fact often, then we would be encouraged to persevere through seasons of discipline/hardship. We might also be discouraged from the endless pursuit and hoarding of wealth.

This has certainly been my experience this week as I listen to the hymns. The hope that I will receive a new nature that isn’t prone to sin, and be with God forever has been renewed in me. I’m hoping that as I continue to listen to the hymns, that I’ll get to the point where this hope is so alive in me that I can brush off things that would ordinarily annoy me or cause me to complain. Because I know that in comparison to eternity, these things are a meaningless “vapour.” I really would love for this to be true for me! 

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ," 
Titus 2: 11—13 NIV

Posted on

Wait Joyfully!

This morning, our kitten showed signs of a leg injury. My five-going-on-twelve niece caught me looking at the cat sympathetically as she limped across the floor. The little girl interpreted my sympathetic look as sadness on my part. Next, she asked me in a very matter-of-fact way why I was unhappy, yet I knew that the vet was on his way. She was adamant that me knowing the kitten would be attended to, was reason enough for me to be happy even before the vet arrived.  

I quietly smiled to myself in amazement at how the Lord had used a 5-year-old to demonstrate a lesson for me. See, I’m currently studying what the Bible says about hope and what it means for me practically. What I’ve learnt so far is that hope is a confident expectation that God will keep His promises. For this reason, hope involves waiting for the promise to come to pass. You know like Abraham and Sarah waited for a son . . .

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.

Romans 4:18 NIV

I’ve also learnt that hope is closely intertwined with faith. How, you ask? Well, faith is being convinced that God is almighty, trustworthy, good and full of love for us. When you and I are absolutely certain of His character (faith), then we can wait in confidence (hope).

Sometimes the wait is so long that your insides start to feel all knotted up. Yet even though you don’t know when, you know the promise will definitely come to pass. Hence you are able to keep a positive attitude while you wait. That is why faith is described as . . . 

. . . confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV

Are you, like me, waiting on God to fulfil a promise? Let us look back on our own lives, or to the Bible, and be reminded that God is faithful, and He keeps His promises. Therefore, we can wait joyfully, and like Israel, say: 

“Look, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he has saved us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him. Let’s rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Isaiah 25:9 CSB

By waiting joyfully, we can draw others to Jesus as they marvel at our attitude.