Thursday, May 01, 2014

My Hope Endures

I'm recycling something I wrote on March 13, 2012. It was published on my Facebook page as a Note. I think it has a good message, and I doubt everyone who reads this blog has seen it, so I think it is worthy of recycling. Enjoy!



My Hope Endures
 
I've been going through a couple of valleys lately, and it seems like just when I think I'm climbing back up the mountain, it turns out to be just a small ridge into the next valley. The Lord has been speaking to me about not giving up, and having hope. I want to share with you what God's been showing me.
 
Yesterday, God showed me this verse: "'For 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.'" ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Wow! I've heard this verse throughout my life, and I know that God has a plan for my life and that He only wants good for me, but in God's miraculous way, He used this verse I've had memorized since childhood to shake me and make me listen to what He is saying at this moment. God has plans for me. God has plans for ME! And not only that, His plans are GREAT plans, wonderful plans that will make me SUCCESSFUL! So, while the devil tries to make me think that I am a failure as a parent, as a wife, and as a daughter, I am NOT. I am NOT a failure, because GOD'S PLAN is to make me a successful parent, wife, and daughter. Take THAT, devil!

God also showed me this verse yesterday: "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."  ~ Ephesians 1:18-19

Wow again! God wants me to know the hope to which He has called me... including His incomparably great power.  Boy, do I need God's incomparably great power in my life at this moment! The issues that I'm facing seem impossible and there seems to be no hope. I'm worn out and worn down and can't see a solution. However, my Father has the POWER to move mountains! How easily I forget how powerful my God is! Not only does God have the POWER, He also has the PLAN! Hallelujah!!!

Today, God sent me a little more encouragement: "Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed." ~ Psalm 119:116

Did you hear that? "...do not let my hopes be dashed." Don't give up on your dreams, your hopes, your heart's desires! Give them to Jesus. Jesus will make you successful! Whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP!

This song just played on my iPod, and it was like God was using Natalie Grant's voice to sing it to me right at that moment.  

"Our Hope Endures"

You would think only so much can go wrong
Calamity only strikes once
And you assume that this one has suffered her share
Life will be kinder from here 

Oh, but sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear?

But our hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake, our hope is unchanged

How do we comprehend peace within pain
Or joy at a good man's wake? 
Walk a mile with a woman whose body is torn
With illness, but she marches on

Oh, 'cause sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear?

But our hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake, our hope is unchanged

Emmanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient
Emmanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient

Emmanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient
We never walk alone
And this is our hope

Our hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake, let the earth quake
Let the earth quake, our hope is unchanged.

~as written by Natalie Grant and Christa Wells

My hope does endure... because I have Jesus! I have a Friend like no other, Someone wtih power and a plan to make me successful AGAINST ALL ODDS! And, like the icing on the cake, He is ALWAYS WITH ME! I will NEVER EVER walk alone! Do you realize how absolutely WONDERFUL this is? To someone who is standing at the edge of yet another valley, these words are an oasis. These words are refreshing! These words quench the doubt and despair of the soul! And the best part? God's hope is FREE!

(c) 2012 K. LaVera Hill. All rights reserved.

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