Hope Restored

When we came home from our vacation this past August, I was feeling pretty bummed. In fact, as we got closer and closer to home, I was feeling more and more bummed.

And this is what I saw:

a rainbow.  The sign that God gave Noah and his family to restore hope. 

Now, I should have been jubilant, but I was bummed.  I felt more like, "Harrumph! God, I need more than a rainbow to give me hope right now."  (Ever feel like that, or am I the only one?)

After we got home, step by step, God has been restoring hope where I had lost it.  He has taken me by the hand and is showing me hope- specific things to hope for in my present circumstances.  He has used a bunch of little and not so little things really.  For instance, Dr. Pepper (my new nickname for my dear husband) and I have picked up a series of books that is really helping us adjust our thinking, behaviour, and subsequently our lives.  I've also been reexamining dreams that I had let go because of circumstances and self-imposed limitations. It's exhilarating to have old dreams and hopes resurrected.

I have the opportunity to share a little in church this morning as we take up the offering.  I'm going to share about hope.  Hebrews 11:1 says that, "Faith is the substance of things HOPED for..." (emphasis mine)

If we have lost hope, we have nothing to attach faith to.  Our faith then becomes null and void and unable to produce any good fruit in our lives.  There is an attack against our hope.  Proverbs 13:12 says that "Hope deferred makes the heart sick."  Deferred means postponed or yielded to the wishes or opinions of another.  If the enemy can just get us to give up hope, he knows he has disabled our faith and our ability to complete what God has created us to accomplish.  We also become miserable and completely devoid of all joy, which is a happy byproduct of the enemy's plan.  If we are without the joy of the Lord, we are without our source of strength... it's like cryptonite to our souls.

I invite you to join me in searching our own hearts and examining if there are any areas where we have lost hope.  Let's take those areas to our Father God and ask Him to heal them and renew the dreams and desires that He has given us.  Let's be sensitive to His guidance for specific steps that we can take to restore hope in ourselves and others.    

What do you say?