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Sunday 29 March 2015

Hope Eternal

I had a comment on my last blog post from  another blogger, Laurie Collett .  In it she mentioned, regarding the Lord,  'without Him we can do nothing, but with Him, all things are possible'.
Part of my response to Laurie's comment spoke of my opening my Bible to read that morning straight to Psalm 20, where I had previously underlined verse 7 which reads  'Some boast of chariots and some of horses; but we boast of the name of the Lord our God.'
 
I have to say that I realized some time after that this verse coincides with what the Lord spoke to me regarding my long trial which began many years ago, where He spoke to me personally through Isaiah ch. 31 vs.1-3 with the words
 ' Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord! Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and  not spirit.'
 
I know absolutely that the Lord is using this verse from Psalm 20 to remind and encourage me to continue to trust solely in Him to bring me through this trial, (spoken of in one of my previous posts http://www.lighthousevision.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/increase-my-faith-in-you-lord.html) regardless of the timing of it, and I have to say that I have total peace through His words enlightened to me by the Holy Spirit.  We are in a spiritual battle and the war is not with flesh and blood, and these scriptures to me have to be discerned spiritually. Egypt speaks spiritually of the world and the chariots and horses speak spiritually of worldly strength.
 
Because of all that is happening in my life at this moment I feel I would like to share in this post  something I wrote years ago regarding 'HOPE'.

Some years ago a relative of mine sent me a poem he had written.  It was about feelings and thoughts during an interview, which started off with the subject being hopeful of being accepted and which ended with these hopes being dashed. 


I noticed that each of the three verses of the poem had a specific letter at the beginning of each line.  These letters ran in the sequence of DSU.   As I looked at these letters a sentence formed in my mind:- 
'Don't Sink Under',
 
Then these words came into my mind:- 

Don't sink under when things do not go
according to your own plan
for each of your days is written in the book
of One far greater than man 

I thought about these words and how we can feel that things may be going wrong for us because something that we hoped for and expected to happen does not happen, or maybe does not happen at the time that we want or expect it to happen.  Yet, how do we know that maybe our own plans were meant to fail to allow God's plans to come to pass in our lives..... and maybe at His perfect timing
  
Jesus' plan for Peter to walk on water was not achieved through Peter's own efforts.  It was achieved through keeping his eyes on Jesus, not on the circumstance he found himself in.  Jesus says that in the world we have tribulation, in Him we have peace, ' These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.' John ch. 16 v.33  so we should not let tribulation worry us to the extent that we sink within the circumstance.   We must keep our eyes upon Jesus, and the word that has been spoken to us as we seek Him.
 
A few days ago I hurt my back through picking up a bag of top soil to take out into the garden  in order to plant some iris in tubs.  I was ticked off by my husband who said I should have come to ask him to carry it for me instead of trying to do it myself.  It spoke spiritually to me immediately.  How many times do we as Christians try to carry, and endeavour to tackle, our earthly burdens ourselves instead of going to the One of whom we are advised to 'cast our burdens upon' as in:-
 
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.  Psalm ch. 55 v.22,
 
'Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established Proverbs ch. 16 v.3
 
'casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter ch. 5 v. 7

This is a little poem that I wrote that spoke comfort to me regarding trusting the Lord instead of myself in these situations:-

Trust
Do not worry, do not fear
let your heart be still
For who on earth of mortal man
can always know God's will
But this we know, who worship Him
by faith shall live the just
For then we see the power of
The One in whom we trust

' You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon You, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.'    Isaiah ch.26 vs 3,4

The more we trust in the Lord the more our faith in Him will grow.  What is faith?  Is it not ' 'the substance of things hoped for'? Hebrews ch. 11 v.1

HOPE

CAUSE FOR HOPE
Psalm 142 says that when our spirit is faint the Lord knows our way, that when we cry to Him saying that He is our refuge, our portion in the land of the living, and ask for deliverance from an enemy ( remembering that our enemies are spiritual, not flesh and blood) too strong for us, He will deal bountifully with us.

STRENGTH OF HOPE
Hope does not cease to be because we are weak in faith, unable to believe or fail to hold on to what God has spoken. It is merely hidden from our view by shadows of our frail humanity.  Hope is eternal, as God is eternal.  Its fire cannot be quenched, though ashes of mortality be cast upon its coals when floods of fear and pain block our vision of God's power. Yet still its embers, burning bright, may be rekindled as breath of love divine once more fans flames of hope within the heart of man, when written word and Spirit mind recall the plan and purpose of creator God and His Son.  Then shadows sinister and cold recede and disappear, as soul of man unites with love of God, and conquers once again that which seeks to cause doubt.

SOURCE OF DOUBT
An 'enemy too strong for us' can be many things.  Sickness, loneliness, debt, jealousy, covetousness or guilt are just a few examples.

DEALING WITH DOUBT
If we are afraid of an enemy our fear will usually cause us to run from that enemy, and it will give chase until we tire of running, and it will overpower us.
When Jehoshaphat was told 'A great multitude is coming against you from Edom'  2 Chronicles ch. 20 v.2  we are told; 'He feared, and set himself to seek the Lord,' v.3 
So too, we who are spiritual Israelites, though we fear, may set ourselves to seek the Lord in the same way that Jehoshaphat did, and ask for help. 
The Lord's answer to Jehoshaphat through the prophet was 'Fear not and be not dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's'. 2 Chronicles ch. 20 v.15  Will the answer not be the same for us?

This is a prayer that I wrote for myself, I make it a prayer for any and all who choose it also to be a prayer for themselves.



 Hope Eternal
                                                                                                    

Oh hope eternal, flame of God,
disposer of all strife
with fuel of power, Spirit borne,
create in me new life
Bring change of mind in circumstance,
when all around is night
cause doubt in heart to be dispelled
 by brightness of Your light
Oh hope eternal, love divine
create in me new heart
that line of safety.... Spirit cord
might never break apart

20 comments:

Sandi said...

"Fear not and be not dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's'. 2 Chronicles ch. 20 v.15"


Amen!

Brenda, I am coughing a lot and a little sore and achy. (I think a combination of spring pollen allergies and overexercise.) Please pray for me! Thank you. :)

Brenda said...

Hi Sandi,
I will definitely pray for you, and I think we have the greatest answer to our prayers in the scripture you have said 'Amen' to eh? Praise God for our wonderful Mediator.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
I'm glad my comment was a confirmation to you! It's amazing how God uses Scripture, sermons, nature, circumstances, and even comments from other believers as a confirmation of what He is saying to us. Your poem and post are beautiful. May we keep our eyes fixed on Him and trust in Him alone, not in our own strength or that of others.
God bless,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
I too love the way that God uses many ways to confirm His word to us, and many people too. We need one another to work together just as the Bible says all the body parts work together. Thank you for your encouraging comment.
God bless.

Aritha said...

Thanks Brenda for this, eh ... it seems like a real Bible Study and I am so glad with it!




Brenda said...

Hi Ariella,
how lovely to see you. I have not been blogging as often as I used to due to trials and a lot happening, but I feel I really want to catch up with other bloggers now.
God bless you.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
So true, that each of us is a member of the body of Christ, designed for a specific purpose but for all to work together in unity.
Please pray for us, for a special unspoken request.
Love and prayers to you as well, and may you have a blessed Easter!
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
I will pray for you that the Lord will answer you regarding your unspoken request. As long as we fear the Lord I believe, as it says in Psalm 111 v.10, then wisdom will come in order to know what to do in a specific situation. Regarding anything else:- 'all the promises of God are 'Yes' in Jesus.'
May you too have a blessed Easter Laurie, and may the Lord guide you, strengthen you, and bless you richly in your situation. 'With Him all things are possible'.

Ceil said...

Hi Brenda! You are so good at writing prayers and expressing your hope in the Lord. Your faith just pops out of the lines of prose, thank you for sharing with all of us.

I hope your back is doing better? I really agree that there are many times I try to do 'heavy lifting' when really the Lord says he will fight my battles for me. Sigh. I need to renew my hope and trust in him every day.
Enjoy the Spring planting!
Ceil

Brenda said...

Hi Ceil,
lovely to hear from you. I think my faith (still in the process of growing) has to come from hearing the Lord. I love the way He can speak to each one of us as individuals in a way that only One who is omnipresent and our creator could do. He is so longsuffering, but understands us more than we do ourselves. My back is a lot better than it was, and the lovely thing about mistakes and trials is that we can learn from them and grow stronger through them eh?
I love the Spring planting. God bless you Ceil

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. Matt. 19:26 is one of my life verses, along with John 15:5, for without Him we an do nothing, but with Him, all things are possible. Ps. 111:10 is also a confirmation to me and I thank you for this reminder. May God continue to bless you and your ministry richly and to answer your prayer for healing.
Love in Christ,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie, I love the way you have brought the words from John ch. 15 into your comment because when I asked the Lord for help for you in your situation He gave me Psalm 111 v. 10 for you, regarding fearing (respecting) the Lord (Jesus, the Word of God)which I know you do.
Respecting (fearing) the Lord is a two way relationship as it states in John ch. 15 v. 7:- 'If you abide in Me, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
As you do respect the Lord, then I believe that the promise that follows those terms of relationship in verse 7, of granting you desire, will come to pass. God is not a man that He should lie, and we must trust absolutely in His word spoken to us.
May God bless you with your request Laurie, and thank you for your prayers for me. I trust Him with all my heart, our times are in His hands and He will rescue us from our spiritual enemies whatever they might be.

Aritha V. said...

Thanks Brenda. I love the colors in your tekst. It makes it easy for me to read.

Brenda said...

Hi Jedidja,
I always feel to highlight words, and like to use the colour blue for scripture. Hope you are well, I must come over and visit you as I have slowed down on my blogging lately and need to catch up.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Brenda,

I so much appreciate your prayers and how God has used you to confirm to me His faithfulness. John 15:4-5 have been part of my daily prayer, but now I see that verse 7 is even more powerful and a promise that He will keep, for He is faithful and cannot lie.

It is also significant that God led you to Psalm 111 for me. During a time when the faith of our whole church was shaken because of the terminal illness of our young pastor, the numbers 111 kept appearing to me in different ways -- my systolic blood pressure, cost of postage, change given for a purchase, street address where I had an appointment, etc., etc. During this time the pastor had given our church "We Choose Faith!" as our and his reminder that God is faithful. Finally I realized that God was pointing me to Hebrews 11:1 -- the definition of faith, and the opening of the "Hall of Faith" chapter. Thanks to you, now I see that Psalm 111 is an awesome reminder as well. Thank you for being such a blessing and encourager.
Love and prayers,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Laurie,
I am rejoicing at what the Lord has revealed to you and how He has revealed it because I have so many things like this happen in my own life. He accompanies His word with signs and wonders. We must not worry about the fiery trials, we must simply ask 'Who do we believe, the carnal mind - limited man or our unlimited Father God? Sometimes it is hard, but when we take each thought captive and bring it into obedience to the Word of God, then it grows easier. The battle is not ours is it? It is the Lord's. Praise His lovely name.
Regarding your Pastor, did I ever share with you about a lady that I came to live next door to some years ago. I told her about my miraculous healing and she told me that seven years previous she had been told by the doctor that she had terminal cancer and had two months to live. She told me that she got down on her knees and prayed to God - and now she was seven years on. She went on to live twenty two years after she was told she had two months to live. God has not told your pastor that he has a short time to live, and I pray that he will not fear what man has said and have a long life. Man can only do their best - God can do better.

S. Knowles said...

Very encouraging message Brenda. I've been meaning to read this post from lastweek but was busy; I'm glad I finally stopped by to check it out. over the past few days I have come across a few of the scriptures you shared in this post. It's nice to see them all again.

Brenda said...

Hi Sateigdra,
I have been going to put up another post for a while but have also been busy. It seems the older I get, the busier I get. It is lovely to see you blogging again. Keep up the good work, I think it is lovely to encourage one another and interact on the blogs.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Brenda,
You are always such an encouragement to me, and I truly appreciate how you yield yourself to God's will to be a blessing to all your readers. Praise God that the battle is the Lord's and that He has already won the victory!

It is a blessing to hear how God healed your neighbor. He healed our pastor also, not in his earthly vessel, for he went home to be with Jesus 7 months after he was diagnosed. The whole church prayed fervently and with faith that he would be healed, and he was, for he now has no illness or pain, yet not in the way we had hoped. But God's answer to prayer is always far better than what we could imagine, even though it may be difficult to understand at the time. We know he would not want to return to us even if he could, and yet we look forward with peace and joy to when we shall all be reunited!
May God continue to bless you and your ministry,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Oh Laurie, your pastor sounded like a well loved person, and now, for him, there is no more sadness, no more tears and no more death. Only the Lord knows each individual situation fully. He is well able to speak a word to us in all situations, whether to strengthen us or to comfort us according to our need at the time, and He also understands our fears and that we are flesh. What I love most is that no matter what we go through, loving our God brings a happy ending. For we know that all things work together for good to those who love Him...

May God bless you and your ministry too Laurie.