Hope

Is That a Trumpet?

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I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.             Revelation 1:10 NRSV

It might seem strange that God’s voice sounded like a trumpet, but in John’s day the trumpet was commonly used for a number of things. The trumpet was actually a ram’s horn called a shofar and was blown at the beginning and end of religious festivals. The trumpet also called the public together for meetings and was sounded for armies to advance in battle. We should not be afraid when God blows a trumpet in our lives because is a sign He loves us and has a message we need to hear.

Shofar

The apostle John had been deported and imprisoned on an island as far from home as he had ever been. But in his isolation, rather than surrendering to despair John worshiped. Few of us experience those circumstances, but like John, in our own times of difficulty God is with us and, we can hear his voice.

Prayer: Father recently I have been battling fears and feelings of isolation. Thank you that You remember where I am and are blowing a trumpet so I can hear your voice in my life today!

The Other Side of the Hill

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For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?  Romans 8:24

 

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In the town where I spent my teen-aged years there is a hill we called Mount Pleasant. On most days it was just another rolling green hill. But on some mornings you drove out of that sunshine into a deep impenetrable fog bank. Though the fog usually covered no more than a half of mile of the summit, it was terrifying. The only safe way through was to slow down and keep your eyes on the yellow center line. The most dangerous thing was to stop because then you became a target of the next car that came speeding along. But if you could just force yourself to just keep going, in just a few moments you would drive back out into sunshine.

Fog banks come to all of our lives. A single phone call and a visit to the doctor who told us that my wife needed surgery to remove a mass loomed ahead like a blinding fog. Everything around us seemed dark. Our lives slowed to a crawl. Days blurred into nights as my wife struggled through a painful week in the hospital after her surgery. Ahead lay more months of difficult recovery then more months of chemotherapy.

Through that time we were ever so slowly passing through our fog bank. We were learning how to pray together, and be gentle and honest with each other as we both struggled with our fears. But God’s promise to guide us through our own valley of shadows stood true. When life slowed to a snail’s pace the lines on the road of God’s promises remained and showed us the way – even if just one inch at a time! God stayed with us and carried us through. Today we are driving back out into a sunshine season with gratitude to God, our friends and family. But now we see with a hope, that no matter what dense clouds lie ahead, our sunshine road will be just on the other side of the hill.

 

Effortlessly Waiting

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Being a bit of a driven person I have always loved how in Portuguese, (my adopted Mother tongue) the words for hope and wait are interchangeable. In today’s passage it translates to “The Lord is good to those who put their hope in him”

I don’t know about you but I never head off to the post office thinking, “I really hope to wait in line!”. Nor was I thrilled last week to hear a recorded message saying, “Your call is important to us and your estimated wait time is 35 minutes”.

But one thing I have learned over the years is that when I am in a rush, God loves to wait! As the twin voices of doubt and frustration call for my attention God’s hope wants to show me a place of effortless rest.

From the first day of creation till the sound of the last trumpet God will never hurry. He is not nervously watching the seconds tick by. His plans cannot be delayed by our problems or hurried along by our demands. But when we put our hope in Him He shows us a goodness so great that we will be able to spread our wings and effortlessly wait for Him!