“He’s the Hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence.”
–Psalm 91:2 (TPT)
Exactly a year ago, I wrote for the bulletin following the preaching on HOPE. I shared how our future is already secured in God’s hands. His promise in Jeremiah 29:11 of “plans to prosper us, not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future” stands true even today for us.
But what if difficult trials come our way? What if God gives a different answer from what we were expecting? Does that make any difference? NO.
In the book of Job, there was a righteous man named Job who lost everyone he loved and everything he owned. Even his friends deserted him. Then he was also struck with a disease. Yet despite his situation, Job remained in faith and God kept his hope alive. In Job 13:15 he said, “Even if God kills me, I’ll still hope in Him.”
Sometimes God will allow painful circumstances in our lives that are hard to understand. Sometimes God will call us out of our comfort zones and things may seem illogical from worldly perspectives. Sometimes God will strip us from all we have until all we have left is Him. Sometimes it feels like He’s not doing anything when in fact He’s actually been working every detail all along. Sometimes it seems like He’s not answering our prayers. But just because we didn’t get the answer we’re hoping for doesn’t mean that God will not answer. It simply means He has a BETTER answer. In fact, He has the BEST answer to our prayers!
We may experience suffering but Paul said in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us!” Greater glory awaits for those who put their trust in the Lord and that glory belongs to Him. Take heart in believing that God has a perfect plan for each and every one of us. We only need to be still and know that He is God and remain faithful in our waiting season. He is our miracle-working God, our God of comfort, our ever-Provider, our great Healer, our all-knowing God, our Prince of Peace, our Hope of Glory, our Deliverer and our Savior. He will never leave us nor forsake. He is good all the time. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
What the enemy meant to bring Job down, God meant it to bring him up from glory to glory. When everything seemed hopeless from worldly standards, God kept his hope alive. So, be empowered, world changers!
In Christ,
Justine Anne
Live | Love 