would have been devastating to have it so quickly snatched away. Instead of setting them free like they were expecting, Pharaoh makes their unbearable workload impossible. Instead of things getting better, they get much worse. Moses is just as discouraged and confused. He complains to God, “Why have you brought this trouble on your people? Is this what your great plan was? All Pharaoh has done is make trouble for us. You haven’t rescued them at at all!” (Exodus 5:22, paraphrase mine) God assures Moses that He has heard the Israelites’ groaning and that He has remembered His covenant to deliver them and give them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. But when Moses tries to tell this to the Israelites they don’t want to hear it. They won’t listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. And can you really blame them? Why should they trust the God that seemingly just broke His promise and dashed their hopes into pieces? But of course, that isn’t the end of the story. God does eventually deliver them up out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outreached arm, and leads them into the Promised Land. In the end, God kept every promise He had made. And yet in the moment, their situation must have felt devastating and disheartening. It would have seemed like God wasn’t going to come through for them. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” When our expectations aren’t met, we feel disappointed and discouraged. When things get worse instead of better, we feel defeated and let down. When our hope is deferred, we feel sick with grief. Personally, I have experienced many situations in which things haven’t turned out the way I had hoped. I have wondered if God has forgotten His promises. I have doubted whether things could ever really get better. Maybe you’ve felt that way too. Maybe the place you thought would bring salvation became a place of captivity. Maybe it seems like you’ve been in bondage for years. Maybe you don’t know what true freedom feels like. Maybe it seemed like something you had hoped for would finally come to pass, and then things just fell through. Maybe something you were anticipating with excitement didn’t actually turn out as well as you thought it would. Maybe you wonder if God’s promises are really for you. Maybe it feels like He’s not at work right now. Maybe it feels like He’s failed you or He’s holding out on you.
The hard reality is that sometimes things get worse before they get better. But that doesn’t mean God is not at work. Sometimes it feels like God has forgotten us. That doesn’t mean He has. Sometimes we feel alone. That doesn’t mean we are. My friend, I want to encourage you to remember that your story isn’t over yet. God is a Father who delights in giving good gifts to His children. He has good plans for you full of hope, freedom, deliverance, healing, restoration, and abundant life. He is not withholding good things from you. Maybe His good is better than your idea of good. Maybe the breakthrough you’ve been waiting for is just around the corner, and you just can’t see it yet. Maybe your cross feels heavy, but you’re just a few days away from a resurrection story. Maybe your miracle is just a prayer away. Maybe your healing is about to become someone else’s inspiration. Maybe when you let go of the dream you’re clinging to and surrender it to God, He’ll replace it with something even better. I can promise you this, in full assurance of God’s enduring promises: the best is yet to come. God’s dreams for you are far more wonderful than anything you could ever ask or imagine. So if you’re struggling right now, hold on a little bit longer. Don’t loose hope yet.“There are no hopeless situations, only people who have grown hopeless about them.” Your situation might feel hopeless, but it isn’t. God can and will redeem it. He will keep every promise and more. So don’t let yourself become a person without hope. Because Jesus is here to give you a hope that is sure and eternal. To quote the verse in its entirety, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) We have been given a Deliverer who fulfills our every desire. And we have been invited to eat from His Tree of Life. The book of Revelation says that the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2) Jesus came for your healing. And for mine. When we delight in the Lord He will become the desire of our hearts and He Himself will fulfill our desires. He will heal our hearts. He will restore, and deliver, and set free. Things might get worse before they get better, but with Jesus, they will always be better in the end.
10 HOPE is Now
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