Tag: hope

There is a River

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
Psalm 46:4

I whisper to my soul, “There is a river,” and my heart stills. With those simple words, I am assured, satisfied, quieted. As an earthly resident of a heavenly city, I treasure the assurances I find in the following verses of Psalm 46.

  • “God is within her, she will not fall.” The kingdoms of this world are in tumult—wars erupt and evil devastates the land and its people. But there is a city of peace where God dwells and prepares for our arrival. I see hints of it in the rivers that flow out of it and reveal God’s grace.
  • “God will help her at break of day.” Every morning God is present to support us, to show us His lovingkindness, and to give us guidance and strength. He keeps us safe until the day we go home and see Him.
  • “Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts his voice, the earth melts.” Chaos seems to reign on earth—it is undeniably present, but it is not sovereign, God is. The warfare that rages is not against a nation’s armies or our “enlightened” political ideologies, but against evil forces that are not human. All these kingdoms will fall and then… God will lift His voice and, at His word, the world as we know it will melt.

There will be a new world. Our life will be one of peace, and joy, and remarkable revelations of truth. All will be made clear and beauty will abound. We will enter the city of God and drink from its streams because “There is a river,” and it will make us glad.

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 4:18

Happy New… Anticipation!

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

I am anticipating good things in 2025. I have no inside knowledge or prophetic insight. I am not relying on America’s political change or expecting world peace. I am not an irrepressible romantic or stubborn optimist. My expectation is solely based on the goodness of God.

I expect Him to be good and show me mercy.

I look forward to God’s faithfulness arriving new every morning.

I am eager for fresh discoveries of His nature and manifestations of His love.  

I believe He controls times and seasons, leaders and nations, relieving me of fear.

I hope in surprising revelations of His character, His care, and His love.

I anticipate God’s goodness will shine bright in 2025.

I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

Image by dana279 from Pixabay

Isaiah and Jesus, Hope

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

Good news brings light to dark places. It offers an exhale of relief. It relieves the heaviness of a burden.

Jesus was anointed to proclaim good news—to the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the sorrowing.

We all deal with poverty, possibly financial but perhaps emotional poverty. We also have been brokenhearted, for a variety of reasons, including loss and betrayal. We know how it feels to be held captive, whether our captors are haunting fears, debilitating habits, daunting guilt, abusiveness, obsession, or something else. We also know what it is to mourn and grieve, be it over the death of a loved one, of a marriage, our purpose, or cherished dreams.

This is why the first three verses of Isaiah 61 fall like water over our thirsty souls.

We read that Jesus offers us hope, binding up our broken hearts, freeing us from captivity, releasing us from darkness, comforting us in our mourning, and providing for us in our grief.

He replaces our ashes with a crown of beauty, gives us joy in place of sorrow, replaces our despair with praise.

Christmas is about so much more than the nativity scene we display on our lawn or fireplace mantle. The Messiah has come! He is our rescue and our salvation. He gives us hope and changes our weak selves into strong oaks of righteousness. He firmly plants us as displays of His splendor.

Merry Christmas, my Splendorous Friends!

Immanuel

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

This beloved Christmas verse evokes a sense of warmth with its familiarity and fulfillment. However, the comfort it offers is often not as deep as its context. It is far more than an oh, yay, another prophecy of the Messiah!

The words that follow verse 14 describe the devastation that will come upon God’s people—their city and the temple will be destroyed; the Jews will be captured and brought into exile. I find it interesting that Isaiah doesn’t prepare them for their captivity with a call to repentance or a speech about endurance. Instead he points them to an event in the far future, beyond their 70 years of bondage, beyond 400 years of silence from Heaven. What he gives them is hope for their ultimate deliverance.

Immanuel, God with us, will be born.

We are still a suffering people. Like the Jews Isaiah spoke to, we feel the pain of desolation, the loss of people we love, the anxiety of an insecure future, the disappointment of our frailty—all keen reminders that we are not “home.” That’s why Isaiah’s words are also for us.

At Christmas we will enjoy festive decorations, giving and receiving gifts, gathering with family and friends, and singing familiar carols. But they will soon be filed under “Christmas 2024” and we will continue to face the troubles and trials of life. The deep and lasting joy we find in Christmas is not only that the Messiah has come, but that He will come again. And He will bring us home, to the place we were created for.

When we say, “Merry Christmas” is not about a day dubbed “the most wonderful day of the year” but for the promised day when, not only will God be with us, but when we will be with Him.