Are You Looking for Hope?

When your home seems bare without evergreen trees and twinkling lights …

When your children are back at school and the pets miss them …

When the flu or the sinuses or worse has fell upon your family …

Look up, Friends:

The heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of His hands

Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge

They have no speech, they use no words, no sound is heard from them

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth

In the heavens, God has pitched a tent for the sun (Psalm 19:1-4)

~~~

When I was young in the faith, I trained myself to look up after looking down in shame for so long.

I came up with a little mantra: Look up, Let love, Be a light.

It was catchy, based upon His truth. At the time, I had not read much of the Bible.

But God.

Was His hand gently lifting my chin toward heaven to remind His daughter she was never alone, never again?

Did I create those three phrases … or was it a lesson by Holy Spirit?

And now several years later in that after Christmas let-down time, I still look up. I took all these photos within the last week. Though now I look everywhere, not just up. God is all around us, everywhere. You really can’t get away from Him.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).

And Jesus. He is Our Living Hope.

Because Jesus lives, hope lives.

Hold onto hope, no matter what.

Hope saves lives.

Hope restores lives.

Hope extends lives.

Hope in freedom … from sin and shame and fear and any emotional/spiritual prison we have been trapped in.

Hope in new life here on earth. We get to put on a new set of clothes, washed in heaven’s bleach so they are white. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin.

Hope in a forever life with Our Only Savior Jesus is the thread that draws our hearts to grow closer to Him now.

Doesn’t hope stir your soul to want more of Jesus?

When you sense a closeness of relationship with Your Lord, the one who died and fought Death for you, doesn’t it make hope grow?

Hope and faith and love complement each other, crafting beautiful melodies in broken and restored souls alike, as long as love’s presence is greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13).

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing and rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things and excellent and profitable for everyone (Titus 3: 4-8).

~~~

Welcome everyone. Glad you are here.

Wow! Hope is a huge topic. Could do several blogs about it. Do you have any thoughts about hope or faith?

Feel free to start a conversation in the comments or email me at juliedibblespeaks@gmail.com.

There is a new poem at https://faithhopeandpoetry.blog.

Tonight’s post will be the last until after the first speaking event of the year! I am humbled and excited to speak to women God chooses in Arizona. God’s focus for this retreat is refresh, renew and strengthen.

If you or someone you know is looking for a speaker, I am available this Spring and next Fall and beyond! I will consider summer if it does not conflict with family vacations:)

Have a blessed rest of the night.

I look forward to returning here January 25th.

In Christ,

Julie