Tag: hope

New Hope

My garden isn’t looking so green these days. The dead of winter has left it a mere remnant of its former self. The frigid temperatures experienced here last month, the lowest in twenty years, didn’t help either. Even my typically hardy pansies succumbed to the frigid temperatures.

Just when I thought I needed to dump out one of my pots to plant anew, I saw the tiniest buds of life. I didn’t think much of it a week ago. Today those new buds are now larger and offer a bit of hope for the future. Apparently the weather wasn’t enough to kill this plant after all. The funny thing is, I don’t even know what is growing. I’ll simply have to wait and see. Most people would count it a minor victory considering all that was lost, but I appreciate these random surprises.

That’s one of the joys of the garden as it is in life. There is always something new budding if we take time to be still and take notice. God readily uses what is existing and from it brings forth something new. New ideas often stem from previous failures. The wisdom gained from what doesn’t work is often a springboard toward something that will.

The New Year provides opportunities for new things. The dead zone that is currently my garden offers hope for new blooms not based on what I see but rather what I have learned through the years. The garden is faithful–its perennial blooms will emerge once more. I know the potential is there. I only have to nurture what already exists and wait patiently.

Though far too early to plant right now, it is never too early to dream about what can be. I’m ever searching the garden for signs of new life. Yet, unlike the garden, God’s potential in us and through us is limitless.

What signs of hope do you see for the New Year?

Devotional Prompt: Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 NKJV

Hopeful?

As I read this morning the word hope jumped out at me. It has haunted me lately in the words I hear and things I read.

I consider myself a rather positive person, trying to see the best in people and situations. I’ve learned to trust and realize that God often uses the worst situations to bring out the best in people.

I have had faith. But hope…I’m not so sure.

I’ve been faith filled that God will resolve my problems, predicaments or whatever I’m dealing with yet it I think I’ve managed to do so without being hopeful.

Merriam Webster defines hope as to “cherish a desire with anticipation.” Cherish is defined “to feel or show great love.”

Faith on the other hand is “belief and trust in God.”

I have believed and trusted God but I haven’t always “cherished with desire” and certainly not in a loving manner in regards to some of the changes I would like to see.”

Sadly, frustration with various circumstances can leave me far from loving.

It is easy for me to believe God can do whatever needs to be done, but today I realize I have not anticipated His deliverance with “great love.”

Desperation?

Maybe.

Love?

Not so much.

I wonder if some of the changes I’d like to see would come about if I not only believed God can change them but I acknowledged with hope that He loves me enough to change them?

I have had ample trust enough to survive varied circumstances, yet I’ve failed sometimes to be hopeful with the expectation to thrive beyond them!

What an eye opener for me this morning when Jennifer over at I Give God all the Glory  passed along Psalms 33 for me to read. In particular, Psalm 33:20-22 set off an alarm in my head.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You. 

Trust and hope.   WHITE ROSE PETALS 2015

I always thought faith was enough. But now…

I love my kids. I know I am pleased when one of my boys trusts me and expects something good is going to happen. I like it when they trust me and know I’ve moved beyond whatever mistakes they made and they can anticipate a gift I wrapped for them is going to be something they have “hoped” for.

Wouldn’t our Father be just as pleased?

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 1:13 NKJV

Abide these three.

Maybe hope is what I’ve been missing all along…

 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 1 Thessalonians 2:16-17 NIV

Need Hope?

Click here  Devotions by Chris  to receive today’s dose of encouragement. Devotions by Chris is one of the very first blogs I read and followed when I began my blog last year.

Chris is on vacation this week so he asked a few us us to help him out.

Chris has an awesome testimony and a heart for missions in Haiti. I encourage you to check out Chris’ blog and his testimony. I’m pretty sure you’ll find yourself blessed by it!

Enjoy your day! 🙂

Storm Watch!

“And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:37 KJV  

Trials and tribulations come with life, that’s just part of living.  Various circumstances, disappointments and downright disasters can move in on us when we least expect it. Like a weather front that quickly blows in, life’s surprises can knock us off-balance.

We find the strength to get up and get through when we have faith in Who lies beyond our grey skies.

Our Son can dry up the rains. Our Son can displace the fog. He breaks through our clouds and illuminates the dark.

When it looks like our trials are never-ending, our Son is ever-present!

And just as our God is always there, our storms won’t always remain. Storm systems move. They can not last for very long. Even those that loom on the horizon aren’t always what they seem.

Predicted rain may fail to fall. Potential storms become false alarms. Inclement weather may fizzle without warning.

When we trust in Him, dark clouds don’t steal our peace and joy. 

With God, we can not only weather our storms but grow because of them.

 

 

Look for Your Cloud!

Like many people, I’ve a few areas in my life that are a bit…dry. One in particular is quite crispy. Crisss-pee!

My “situation” soured and then died years ago, yet for one reason or another the last nail was never placed in its coffin.

I was illegally “wronged,” tried to muddle through, then eventually gave “it” to God. This set me back financially and took years (yes, years) before I could finally forgive and move on.

The last thing I prayed concerning the matter was that “it would bless me.” This was over three years ago. And it was hardly a sweet declaration of optimism.

I stood in my bathroom crying. I screamed that “it” would no longer hold me (and my sanity) hostage. I figured I learned a hard lesson and at the least I would be wiser. This was only one thing in a season of drought that appeared endless.

Sometimes we do what is right and are still wronged. We wonder where is God? I believed God’s view was “I didn’t tell you to do that,” so I suffered the consequences.

Today, I was at an appointment and learned my desert may not be so dry after all. What I finally buried and put behind me, God may resurrect for my good!

God may be the reason that final nail never went into the coffin. My loss may have been a “strategic delay.” The most prominent cactus in my years long drought may actually bloom!

I’d given up on this “cactus.” It had drawn enough blood out of me. I didn’t want to touch it! However, when all was silent, could it be God allowed matters to fall as they would and bless me?  

This blessing may or may not manifest but its potential has stirred my faith and expectancy. Sometimes when we wander in the desert, we forget that cooling rains can come. God will answer. Just in His time.

As my husband and I ate lunch outdoors, out of nowhere the skies opened up with a tremendous downpour. We had to scurry for cover. Less than an hour after I caught a glimpse of my “cloud.”

I realized today that in this particular area, I’d stopped looking for my cloud. I’d sadly let the heat of my drought sap me of spiritual strength and expectancy. God has been so faithful, why did I doubt Him in this one area?

Keep your eyes open for your cloud. Elijah sent his servant out seven times looking for a sign of rain. Finally, the servant came back with a report. It wasn’t rain but it was the potential for rain.

Don’t lose your hope in what God can do. Dare to look beyond the obvious and have faith for the miraculous.

I think I can finally smell the rain.  DSC_9386 (2)

“Be patient then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.” James 5:7 NIV

  “Go and look toward the sea.” He told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there.” He said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” I Kings 18: 43-44 NIV

 

Pruning!

“I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit,” John 15:1-2 NKJV

Jesus’ teaching about the vine and the branches is one of the most readily quoted. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15: 5 NKJV

Without Him we can do nothing. However, the scripture prior to that, John 15:2 is often skimmed over. It is easy to realize how dependent we are on Christ, yet most of us are remiss and become ill at the notion that to become fruitful we must be pruned.

Without pruning, even the best specimens in any garden will eventually lose the ability to bear fruit. At the very least, the output will greatly diminish. The limbs will become weak and unable to support what little fruit that is produced. Comparatively, the same tree that has been pruned will be shorter but stronger. 

Trees and shrubs that have been freshly pruned usually look awful. Where I live Crepe Myrtles trees are blooming now. However, for them to bloom to the fullest, dead limbs are cut away in winter. The trees look so bad after their winter pruning the process is jokingly called “Crepe Murder.”

We often look bad and feel bad when our Father takes to pruning us as well. Sometimes it may be a stray branch here or there that is removed. But then there are times in our lives when we may feel like we’ve been taken all the way down to the roots!

Pruning is painful.

We may even feel like we’re dying all the while God is preparing us to produce more! We don’t often see it at the time or understand. We can feel bad and look worse.  Yet, Jesus promises that every branch that does bear fruit God prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 

Sometimes the removal of things in our lives, though devastating at the moment, eventually make us stronger. Sometimes there is a reason so-called “friends” leave. It may be a job. Or even a relationship.

God cuts off what is not good for us. God often removes those things or people we would in no way leave on our own.

We can have faith knowing that He is our life source and through Him we will be fine no matter how deep the cut. Our progression in life requires some pruning.  Thankfully, the potential fruit is well worth the temporary pain.

The next time you experience a hardship, disappointment or painful experience; don’t assume it is an attack from the enemy. It might be time for God’s hand on you.

It may just be time for you to produce more fruit than you thought possible!

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7-8 NKJV

Due Season

“The LORD upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.

You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

Psalm 145:14-16 NKJV

 

“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Galatians 6: 8-9 NKJV

 

New Every Morning!

This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.  “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.  Lamentations 3:21-25 NKJV

God is forever making things new. New seasons. New revelation. New possibilities.

We should follow our Father’s example and move into the new things He would do with us. It is possible to free yourself from the grasp of your past without losing those lessons learned. Our past actually supports us when we gain knowledge from our experiences without allowing ourselves to become trapped by them. 

Like the hydrangea, our past makes our future possible. We don’t gain wisdom and experience without going through some “stuff.”  Those blooms wouldn’t be possible if I’d cut the old ugly wood off in the winter. The barren and ugly stems that survived the harsh cold are necessary for the plant to bloom.  DSC_0638 (2)

We would miss out on some of the beauty in our lives if God readily cut away those things (situations, experiences, trials) about ourselves that are sometimes “ugly and unattractive.”  Because our God is merciful and His faithfulness endures, He doesn’t allow our “ugly” to consume us. Instead, He allows it to build us into better people. Usable people who eventually fulfill our purpose and bloom.

Our transitions from old into new require that we seek and serve the God who can make us new. Many of us  propose to seek God. But are we really willing to serve Him? Turn ourselves over to Him?

God can renew our minds, hearts, spirit or whatever we have that is in need of fresh blooms. We must seek Him and often wait on Him, but to those who hope and wait on the Lord faith is rewarded.

If yesterday has you looking back and you find yourself feeling stuck or trapped, look UP instead.  Allow God to transform you into something new.

“A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the hills–From whence comes my help? My help comes form the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1-2 NKJV

 

 

Everything Has a Purpose!

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose,” Romans 8:28 NKJV

I was walking toward the front of my house this morning when this visitor caught me by surprise. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt there are snakes around my house. They are pretty common here in Georgia. However, I don’t usually see one lying about so casually in the middle of the day all out in the open. Where is a hawk when you need one!

My oldest son came downstairs as I was going to get a can of hornet spray (crazy, I know) and try to kill it shoo it away. Cam wants to become a vet so his first response was “let me see it!” So we stepped outside the front door and sure enough the snake is still there. It had not moved. One inch.

As I’m clinging to the can of Raid, Cam looks at me and says, “You shouldn’t kill it. They eat rats. Don’t kill it just to kill it.”

I’m proud of him yet annoyed that of all the things I’ve taught him, he chooses to remember that one tidbit as I’m thinking to myself where is that shovel?

We look a bit closer and the snake apparently has just swallowed something.

This black racer or king snake or whatever it is reminded me that the things we often like the least in life serve a valuable purpose. Some of the very hardships we would choose to do without teach us the most. It is often the painful, ugly and difficult experiences that make us better people.

For some of us it takes an illness to find out how strong we really are. Disappointment teaches us humility. Compassion is often a byproduct of pain. God often allows the “ugly” people and circumstances in our lives to bring about a better outcome. We just have to look and think beyond what we see to how God can use it.  DSC_9534 (2)

Some people now working in their “dream jobs” never would if they hadn’t  first gotten fired elsewhere. Our enemies can often push us toward our Savior and His blessings when nothing else will do it! Sometimes the very things in life that seem to push us down actually propel us forward.

Then there are other times when a frustrating inconvenience later turns out to be life-saver. The flat tire you discover before work spares you from a fatal accident. Running late because of your kids keeps you out of harm’s way. The car that was sold out from under you later turns out to be a “lemon.”

We don’t always have to understand how or why? Trusting God is enough.

Sometimes the best route is not the most direct route. Our God knows what we need and when to get us where He wants us to go. His provision in Biblical times was often unconventional and miraculous. It is no less so, today.

So, if you are plagued with doubts or a situation looks hopeless, turn to God and trust Him. God can do the impossible!

He’s just going to do it His way.