Today I offer you encouragement. What is encouragement? It is something that gives hope, determination, or confidence. That is something that is sorely needed in our world of chaos, sickness, and political strife. We can easily feel like there is no hope for our future. But I am here to tell you there is hope eternal! Looking at Isaiah 46:4, the Lord is talking to His people saying: “...And even to your old age I am He, and even to hoar (white) hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear, even I will carry and will deliver you. (KJV throughout)” This verse is packed with hope, assuring us that if we love Him and live only for Him there is no limit to His help and rescue! No matter what! He tells us in Joshua 1:9 to be strong and of good courage, not afraid, neither dismayed: because He, the Lord our God, is with us wherever we go. He is our God, and we are His people.
Jesus was perfectly honest in His teachings that the life of a Christian will not be easy. But, He said in John 16:33, “ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” And He has! He knows what you and I are going through and how it makes us feel! He has firsthand experience. Jesus also knows that even though we cannot do this without Him; with Him we can not only overcome, but that our difficulties will work out for our good (Romans 8:28). If you read and study the Bible, you know how this story ends. We who are His do have hope for a glorious future; free from sadness, pain, and chaos. One He has planned for us from the beginning of the foundations of the earth and He is so excited to see it come to pass for those who love Him and live according to His Word! He says in Deuteronomy 31, be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of all of this! For the Lord your God, He is is that goes with you, and He will not fail you nor forsake you. His promises are sure, for He is God! His promises and His loving kindness endure forever. He never changes!
So, my friend, I urge you to stand in the truth, stand strong for the faith and remind each other that God is infinitely good. He is amazing and as we strive to emulate Him we will find hope and be able to pass on that hope of God to others that they too would refocus and recognize that eternal life in God's family is what we have to gain! It is the most important thing of life.
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