Am I the only one who thinks 2016
is flying by? Seems like we just celebrated New Year’s, and now we’re headed
into summer.
At the beginning of each new
year, many folks pick a “word” to motivate them or define what they believe the
year will be about. Or perhaps it’s a word they believe God gave them as a
promise for their future.
This year a phrase came to me
that seemed to fit my vision of the future.
Hope Restored.
As the concept behind those two
little words sunk in, I realized it wasn’t just for me. God wanted me to share
it with those visiting this blog. After all, you’re here because you want
encouragement. Some of you are walking through a valley. And perhaps, some of
you have even lost hope or had your faith shaken by a trial—maybe even
recently.
I’ve not blogged much over the
last year and a half. To be honest, I’ve been overwhelmed by the number of
commitments and stressors in my life and something had to give. After prayer
and consideration, the blog was one of those areas.
To be even more transparent with
you, my faithful readers, I spent much of this time in a valley. I’ll spare you
the details, but family issues dragged me through some tough patches. At times,
I felt like I merely treaded water. I'm amazed when I look back that I managed to write anything. By the grace of God, I released two books on Amazon (one of which I'd already written), and then write proposals
for two other manuscripts now under consideration at publishers.
If you’ve followed my blog and
writing for any length of time, you know my mantra has always been hope,
not despair. In fact, that’s the theme of my devotional, While I'm Waiting: Going from despair to hope while praising God and choosing contentment during trials. And perhaps
that philosophy is why the enemy attacked me as he did.
God’s strength is the stalwart I’ve
always leaned upon. This past year even more so. In addition, He provided
friends who raised my arms on tough days, much like Aaron and Hur did for Moses
when he grew weary (Exodus 17:12). And when the temptation to despair crept in,
I remembered God’s faithfulness in my life—and in the lives of the ancient
saints.
For
in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in
the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock…I remain confident
of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait
for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:5, 13-14
We
are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not
in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not
destroyed… Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are
wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our
light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is
unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18
Because
of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
Though I never lost hope in the
One True God, my human fortitude waned at times. I’m so thankful for the
strength He gave me when mine faltered.
Therefore, since
we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in
which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only
so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured
out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
What a beautiful assurance of
resting in the peace and hope of God through Jesus! God’s hope alone
saw me through some days.
Though some of my personal
situation has improved, other aspects became even more challenging. Yet, I’m
emerging from the valley and standing at the foot of the mountain again. As I
stand here and survey the landscape, I see the sun shining through, and I’m
reminded that only God can truly restore hope and give us the promise of a future
when all else looks hopeless (Jeremiah 29:11-13). Most of the time that means coming
to the end of ourselves and totally trusting Him for everything.
I’d love to hear how you’d been
doing since we interacted last. How has your year been so far?
If you have a prayer request, I’d
love to pray for you. Please leave a comment or email me confidential requests.
May God richly bless you,
Laura
© Laura Hodges Poole
“Canyon Of The Colca River In
Southern Peru” image courtesy of xura/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
“Hope Despair Post-it Papers” image courtesy
of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
“Faith and Believe” image courtesy of
thepathtraveler/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
“Sunset On The Mighty Chimborazo
Volcano” image courtesy of xura/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
laura it is good to hear from you. pray things continue to be better in your life. God bless!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Betty. Thanks for stopping by today, also. God bless you.
DeleteGood post about so many things we all deal with,loss of hope, accepting His compassion, failing but getting back up, hoping when hope seems too far away to reach. Praise God you chose to share your struggles with those who stop by your site. It's helps to know one is not alone in all that life brings our way. When we feel alone, hope leaves pretty quickly. Glad I stopped by.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Betty. Your words are a great encouragement. I'm glad you stopped by, too. God bless you.
DeleteEncouraging post, Laura.
ReplyDeleteComing to the end of myself us never fun. It's full of pain. Yet when I exit the valley and survey where I've been I'm always amazed by how close God was to me, even when He felt fa . Reminds me of that poem about the footprints in the sand.
Praying for you my friend. You've always been such an encouragement to me. Thank you.
And I agree, this year is going too quickly.
I. Love. This! I can relate in so many ways. 2013, and 2015 were my challenging years when I needed to let go of the blogging. I especially liked the reference to Aaron and Hur. I felt the love of friends and family holding my arms up during cancer, and again during some frustrating health and trials. Thanks so much Laura! Prayers for you!
ReplyDelete