Reflection on “Hope in Waiting!” April 23, 2024

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word, I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.  Psalm 130:5-6.

Waiting and Hope are the essence of life. The four months I spent in a nursing rehabilitation facility seemed as if it would never end. Oh, the joy His Hope became to me, as I listened to God’s Word and sermons on my iPad. Then my hope grew that I might be home again. God promises an inheritance of eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Christ. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:2-5.

There are so many seasons when enduring is a heart of hope in Christ and that is when we are denied the joy of life and feeding on His Word. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:18-22.

There is no change in God! He is truth forever. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore, I will hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24.

How does Hope begin? God’s Love for each of us! Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong-doing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:4-7,13.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Psalm 37:3-4,7.

Trust and Faith are closely bound to Love and Hope. The question I learned during the four months of rehab—continues to be, “What is God teaching me through this time?” And then I remember these words from James 1:2-3: Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

God told Abraham to go to Mount Moriah and sacrifice his son Isaac. He did not hesitate to go. It was a test. God provided Abraham reprieve from sacrificing Isaac. God sacrificed His One and Only Son on the cross for our salvation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. John 1:1-3.

So, we wait for the Lord. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14.

While we wait, we will be busy. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:11-13.

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget Your Word. Psalm 119:15-16. It is time that we understand loving God with our heart, soul, and mind means to delight in reading His Word and following His ways and desires, rather than having our way. This will please Him. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34:8.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.  2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.