A Hopeful Future
*God can and will Reverse, Restore, Revive and Renew.
Don’t give up on the God who’s never given up on you! Life is hard– God is still God— Don’t give up!
*Out of struggle comes strength; out of strength comes discipline; out of discipline comes integrity; out of integrity comes inheritance.
*Know that your heavenly Father is looking down the road for you.
Job 42:1 “Then Job replied to the LORD: ‘I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.’
verse 5 …My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”
Job 42:12 So the LORD blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning…
*As convinced as Job was, we must realize that God spoke and it came into being. God is the creator and we, the created.
*Therefore God has the final say in all things especially those things which we have no understanding of.
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Sometimes I don’t fully trust God has prepared good things. For me, for family, for friends, for others.
*I’m not sure He can redeem the pain, recover what’s lost, heal all that’s broken. Can He truly fit the pieces of this past year into a hopeful future?
Right now, circumstances suggest otherwise. And if I rely on what circumstances currently imply, I’m apt to believe the answer is no, the Lord is not able.
*BUT circumstances tell Tales that are prone to change in a moment.
And the truth of the matter is: God never changes. His power to give a future and hope never change. His Word never changes. So when life weaves stories of doubt and hopelessness in God’s authority over circumstances, I reread accounts of His faithfulness and redemption. I refer back to the Truth…
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the lord’s purpose that prevails.
All the while Job’s family, home, crops and health demolished…God was preparing to give him double of what was killed, stolen, lost and damaged.
The time Joseph was a slave and prisoner…God was planning for him to be second in command over Egypt.
When Ruth was a homeless, barren widow…God was creating a home in Boaz’s heart for her to be a wife, and mother, and great, great, great-grandmother to His Son.
As Lazarus was bound in grave clothes…God was forming the breath that’d give him new life.
The moment David laid down in adultery…God was laying the groundwork for him to rise up in repentance.
Every time Saul crucified Christians…God saw Paul preaching the crucified Christ.
With each strike that Sarai beat Hagar with…God saw Sarah beating her jealousy, pride and doubt with the birth of Isaac.
When Esther was an orphaned girl shaking in fear for her life…God made a way for His daughter to shake a kingdom and save His people.
As Rahab welcomed men into the shelter of her bed…God saw her sheltering the spies on her roof.
When Peter lost faith and denied Christ…God saw him bringing many to faith as he proclaimed Christ.
As Moses killed an Egyptian with his hands…God saw him chiseling the Ten Commandments with those same hands.
At the time Mary saw Jesus die…God saw Jesus resurrected and seated on His heavenly throne!
No matter what the dire, dreary circumstances, God turned each into a hopeful future.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Our key verses in Job 42 assures us, none of His plans can be thwarted. Despite what is happening in life, these stories of redemption and hope speak the truth.
And Job 42:12 reminds us that the blessings Job lists in Chapter 29 are just table scraps compared to the riches and blessings God lays on Job in his latter years.
*You know you are healed, when you can Thank God for the pains of the Past!
I submit, not for blessings sake alone, but for the sake of the knowledge of God, when God walks with you through trials and struggles so that you might KNOW Jesus better than you ever could have imagined. Repent for what you thought you knew of God and were wrong about, and then rejoice in what you now know about God.
Can’t wait for Heaven when no veil remains, and I can finally say with Job, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you! And the blessings of eternity will far surpass anything I call riches here in this life.
*God can and will Reverse, Restore, Revive and Renew.
*God sees beyond the present troubles and is sparking a fire to light up the future with Hope.
As we begin this New Year, let’s be on the lookout for His plans to come to pass. And trust Him that He can take any circumstance and use it for our good and His glory.
*Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
What was Jobs final destiny?
* Job was walking out his destiny– Job didn’t stop at the roadblocks.
Dear Lord, I’m so grateful You not only see my future, but You’ve planned it. Thank You for Your faithfulness last year. And for recording these stories of lives You turned dreary pasts into hopeful futures. I ask that You do the same for all our circumstances this New Year please-for Your Glory and our joy . In Jesus’ Name, Amen.