Tag: hope

The “O” Path to Hope

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

This may be the most challenging path on the journey to restoring hope. More than a change of focus and attitude, the “O” path calls for forward movement: Open your Heart to God’s Opportunities. It asks us to trust God’s plans.

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

We love these words from Jeremiah 29:11… until we are asked to step into the unknown. But what’s the alternative for broken people? Remain where we are, weeping and regretting? Prosperity, hope, and a future are plans we cannot afford to ignore. Let’s trust God.

God never changes, but His methods are fluid, and His timelines are His secret. Will we be open enough, flexible enough, daring enough to follow Him into uncharted territory?… 

When God entrusts us with visions and dreams, they are not ours to mold according to our understanding. They are His to unfold in His time, according to His wisdom. He often inspires dreams for reasons we don’t understand, and when He brings us down an unexpected path, we have a choice. We can yield to our fears and seal the door of our hearts, or in faith, we can throw the door open and invite the Spirit to accomplish purposes known only to Him. Every twist, diversion, or detour leads to a future He alone sees. Hiding behind the safety of closed doors will rob us of the joy of obedience…

The good plans God prepared for us need space and freedom to grow. He doesn’t impose them on us—we need to accommodate them and rid ourselves of emotional chaos. If former hopes and dreams have changed, it’s time to clean house and make room for the new…

My testimony is this:

An open heart became an open door for God’s opportunity, and hope persevered through the darkness.

I hope this encourages you to trust God in the unknown and step into your future.

Excerpts from I Was Broken, Too, chapters five and six.
Image by Cara Shelton from Pixabay

Now available on Amazon:
I Was Broken, Too: Four Paths to Restore Hope
Finding Hope: 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart

The “H” Path to Hope

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

Maybe your own brokenness will help you relate to the Israelites of old. Like you, they were in a place they didn’t want to be, held captive by adverse circumstances, enslaved in a strange land, and overwhelmed with dismay. When you were wrested from your safe environment, you may have reacted as they did, weeping over bittersweet memories: 

“Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem.”
Psalm 137:1

They wept with longing—for home, for a normal life, for a way out. And they complained.

Perhaps your questions and complaints are similar to theirs. Didn’t God see their plight? Didn’t He care about their pain?… Where was He now?

Isaiah asked the Israelites a series of questions that would lead them to the answer. “Do you not know?… Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He [God] sits enthroned above the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22).

In effect, he was saying, “You’re looking for God’s presence—apparently you’ve forgotten that He is here and has been since the earth came into being.” God has not forgotten you. He is not unaware of your suffering. He has not abandoned you…

Isaiah offered them the H of hope: Lift up your eyes…

In chapter I reflected on daughter Stacey’s death:

I was shattered. My prayers were moans… And yet, in that trupor of grief, God’s grace pulled my eyes upward, compelling me to hold them higher.

Tenaciously, without cooperative emotions or enlightened understanding, I forced my eyes to look to the heavens, to the One who created and ruled my personal world. It was there that the threat of despair was beaten back…

Hold your eyes higher than your earthbound problems and look at the One who is above it all—you will find hope. It worked for me, and it will work for you.*

Next week, we will step onto the “O” Path.

*Excerpted from I Was Broken, Too, chapters three and four.

Now available on Amazon: I Was Broken, Too: Four Paths to Restore Hope and Finding Hope: 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

I Always Have a Problem with the Donkey

~ Barbara ~ 3 Comments

They anticipated a Messiah. They wondered, Is Jesus the one? He preached with unprecedented wisdom, He healed with a word, He commanded demons, He ruled nature. Anticipation was building. Jesus came to Jerusalem for the Passover, and again they wondered, Would He take His position as King now?

“He’s coming!” Can you hear the excitement, sense the tension, feel the hope?

And then He appeared. On a donkey! No white stallion, no trumpeters, no fanfare. So they created their own. They took off their cloaks, spreading them on the road. They spontaneously cut branches to line the way and waved fronds in the air. Apparently, they weren’t put off by the donkey. All they saw was Jesus. And they worshiped Him.

Personally, Jesus’ humble entry saddens me. I admit, it aligned with His birth in a stable and His bed in a manger. It reflected His lifestyle with no place to lay His head. It must have resonated with the sick and sinners He had healed and forgiven. And, it was a harbinger of the excruciatingly humble death that awaited Him.

Yes, the donkey discomforts me, but this is not Jesus’ only “Triumphal Entry.” He is coming again, and I eagerly anticipate His return. It will be amazingly glorious!

“There will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars.
And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil,
perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides….Then everyone will see the Son of Man 
coming on a cloud with power and great glory.”
Luke 21:25, 27

It’s Coming, Part 3

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

Despite the official start of spring tomorrow, warmer temperatures are hiding. We do not doubt that sunny days, brighter skies, and green leaves are coming—these longed-for signs of spring are just playing shy as the cold, gray weather continues.

The news headlines also seem cold and gray, offering dour reports and disputed solutions. How nice to know the media doesn’t have the last word! As sure as a new season is coming in nature, a bright future awaits us in eternity, one filled with promise and hope—where there will never, ever be reports of war.

We have a lot of never-evers to look forward to. We will never ever be deceived; everything we hear (and say) will be true. We will never doubt anyone or be suspicious. There will be no lies or innuendos. We will never misspeak; all our words will be wise and edifying.

Our understanding will not be dim or limited. We will comprehend wonders and appreciate scientific complexities and artistic beauty. Those wonders God confided to us on earth (see Psalm 25:14) will be expanded and expounded on in heaven—and we will have no problem grasping their intricacies! 

We will never ever feel self-conscious, embarrassed, or uncomfortable (pause and think about that)! We will never be deterred by physical or mental inadequacies. We will not mistrust others or second-guess ourselves. Our emotions will not be unruly, our feelings will not mislead, and there will be no fear to bully us. Our curiosity will be piqued and satisfied. Our interests will be sharpened and broadened. Our creativity will find uninhibited expression and produce unflawed beauty.

We will never ever be depressed, angry, or frustrated. We will not feel inferior, or superior. We will not hide from or shun anyone. We will not wrestle with pride, harbor unforgiveness, or hold bitterness. Every word we hear will be enlightening and beneficial. We will love and smile and encourage.

God will occupy our thoughts and speech. Our worship will flow as freely as we breathe. For eternity, we will realize fresh aspects of His nature and discover the beauty of His new creation. We will reunite with family and friends and meet servants and heroes we heard about. We will eat and dance and laugh together, and tell of God’s goodness.

These thoughts about Heaven could expand from three blogs to three books—there is no limit to imagining its glory. After Paul wrote, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him,” he added, “But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (1 Cor. 2:9-10). We can only imagine the blessings that await us.

Heaven is a treasured assurance for all who believe in Jesus. Eternal spring is coming!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, 
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Want to read more about Heaven? Check out this site:
davidjeremiah.blog/what-does-the-bible-say-about-heaven-65-passages-to-get-you-started/