Tag: Hope

Some Thoughts about Light

On By vickleaIn Quotation and Citations, Scripture1 Comment

“Be the light!” the preacher proclaims from the pulpit. “Shine in the darkness,” says the Sunday school teacher. All good advice, but the practicality sometimes escapes us as we hurry away from the darkness and try to stay near the light ourselves. We are missing the point that we are the light and in our haste to move away from darkness, we are missing opportunities to shine His light on a dark world.

We try to stay insulated in our protected group of Christians who all believe as we do when what we are supposed to do is go into the world and shine the light that we have on the people who don’t yet know that they need Jesus. When we are doing what we should be doing, we are going to naturally attract others and need to have an answer for the hope that is in us. Be ready at all times to tell others how Jesus has made a difference in your life! Like a moth is attracted to a flame or any kind of light, so people in darkness need to know that there is a light that they can turn to. At the most unexpected times and from some of the most unexpected sources, you may have people seeking answers from you because they have seen your light and want to know more about what makes you different. Be ready to be that light!


Many times we fear approaching darkness because we are intimidated by just how dark it is and the fact that we cannot see “two inches in front of our face.” That’s okay, Step into the darkness and it won’t be dark anymore because your presence brings the light with you.

The light that is in us comes from the Lord Jesus. When darkness is all around, we can continue to shine and attract others to the beauty of salvation and the peace and hope that it offers.

A Source of Life

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

When the woman at the well was thirsty, Jesus said that He had living water that would always refresh her. We have that same living water living in us and we are called to pour it out to others.

The words that we speak should be a source of life for others, giving them hope and encouragement and love just when they need it the most. The wicked, however, spew words of death and discouragement and hatred. They plot to destroy, not to build up. It is up to those of us who know the Lord to be a source of life to others, to speak boldly and proclaim with courage that our hope lies in the Lord and in His plan for salvation for the world. Let’s be a source of life together!

Holding on Tight

On By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

Whenever I am walking on uneven ground, I instinctively reach out for the arm of my husband. I know that he will help me not to fall and to reach the place where the ground is even again so he can let me go. I have been on uneven ground a lot lately, with all kinds of medical tests going on and with them the unknown answer to the question of what is going on with my body. But I am holding on tightly to God, knowing that He is faithful to take me back to a place where I can be more sure-footed. I did not arrive at this assurance of His faithfulness overnight; rather, this assurance has come through many trials and much dependence on Him.

God promises that He will take care of me, so I believe it. That is a promise that is settled in my heart. Thus, I can hold tightly and not waver, not allowing the seeds of doubt to be sown in the soil of my mind and heart.

God is always the same, never changing and not breaking His word. He said it. I believe it. That settles it. Yes, the doctors are assailing me with one test after another and offering little in the way of answers to my queries. But God is there with me, faithfully calming me and comforting me and speaking to me words of wisdom from His Holy Word.

God continues to accomplish wonderful things in my life and He is not finished with me yet. How do I know? Well, I’m still here, so that tells me that God still has things for me to get done. I’m excited to see the outcome of all of these tests, knowing that no matter what, God will get the glory!

May you be blessed as you hold tightly to the One who created you for a purpose and will fulfill that purpose in you.

God Is Faithful

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

God’s promises always amaze me, but none more so than those I read in my devotional this morning.

My hope is in God, so I am blessed. He is the Maker of heaven and earth and all that in is them. And, best of all, the promise is that He remains faithful forever. Not just for today when things may be difficult. God is there for the good times, the bad times, all the times.

And in case I am wondering how I will get safely from point A to point B, God graciously reassures me that He takes me by the hand and tells me not to be afraid. Just as I hold the children under my care and cuddle them and tell them that it will be alright. God does the same for me. It’s up to me to listen. God is there and promises His help.

God’s Word is always lighting up my path and He always seems to know when I need a brighter light shone or when I need to see something new that I haven’t noticed before. I pray for each of you to find the help and hope that you need in the Lord God, the Maker of Heaven and earth, and the Creator of YOU!

May God bless you with a new revelation from His Word today!

God’s Pleasure

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

I am a prolific reader and as such, I have frequently read the phrase, “I serve at the pleasure of the king (or president or governor).” But I have never heard anyone say that they serve at the pleasure of the Lord. Maybe because we don’t often consider the Lord’s feeling because we are so busy pleasing ourselves and others close to us. I am happy to have discovered this verse in my Bible reading this morning because it gives me insight into God’s character. God gets pleasure from those of us who fear Him. We honor and revere Him because He is God. He takes pleasure in those who hope in his love that is always steadily fixed on us. No matter the circumstances, we have hope because we have God. That unwavering belief gives God pleasure. That’s a good thing to know and a good thing to work on in my life!

Have a blessed day and I hope that it is one in which you are aware of giving God pleasure just because you love Him so much!

A Potpourri of Verses

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

As I spent time reading God’s Word and my devotionals this morning, several verses spoke to my heart, so I will share each of them with you and pray that they will also touch you wherever you are and whatever circumstance you are facing.

Hoping in the Lord is not some “pie in the sky, by and by” promise. It is real because God is real and we can be strong because we do hope in Him. Our hope is not in leaders of the world or even in ourselves. Our hope is in the One who made us and all that we can see around us. During this season of joy, it’s easy to forget that some are mourning and struggling through the days. I pray that they can find hope in a relationship with the One who loves them most.

I always thought of this verse in terms of material or physical things, but today the Lord showed me that the hope that has been fulfilled is Jesus Christ coming to earth and planting the tree of eternal life in our souls. We don’t have to wait; he is right there beckoning us to accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Good news!

Many times, I get ahead of the Lord and move at my pace instead of His. The best thing I can do is to wait quietly for Him to show me the next step, for it is in the waiting that I find the right path that leads ultimately to salvation.

We don’t shine because of who we are. We shine because we reflect the glory of the Son, the One who came as a child and grew to be a man who died for us. It is a wise person who recognizes Jesus for who He is and allows Him to be King of your heart, soul and mind.

I hope that at least one of these verses spoke to your heart today and ministered to you. Let me know in the comments if that is so or another verse that is calling out to you today. We are all in this together, rowing the boat towards Heaven, and encouraging each other daily with His Word.

May the Lord bless you and you bless others. Have a wonderful day of peace and worship in the Lord!

Hope for Now and for Eternity

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

I am thankful for the hope that I have living in me that helps me to get through each challenge of each day. This morning when I awakened before six, I thought to myself that I would get up, go to the bathroom, take care of the cat’s needs and go back to bed. After all, I did not fall asleep until after midnight and knew that I needed more rest. All good intentions aside, that is not how things happened for me. I did get up and to all of the aforementioned tasks, but I could not fall back to sleep. My mind, restless thing that it is sometimes, decided to remind me that I had to post my book review that would not load yesterday. And it reminded me that today is my laundry day. And it reminded me that I have a library book out that I have not seen since my husband carried it into the house from the library two weeks ago. And…and…and. The end result was that I got up, put the laundry in the wash, made my morning beverage of flavored water and got my book review posted. The satellite decided to work today, so that was a blessing in itself. Now, I am pondering what I am particularly thankful for today and I am thankful for hope. As long as I have breath, there is always hope. (I may even find that library book once my husband awakens and we think of where he may have put it.)

My mind may be galloping away with me at times, but my soul remains at rest. I know that I can totally count on God because He has never failed me yet. Sometimes my hope is stalwart, standing like a child on Christmas morning, absolutely sure that good things are coming. But most days, my hope is just a calm assurance from deep within me that everything will be okay, that God is working on me to rest in Him and put my hope in Him.

Over five decades ago, I was walking around without the hope that lives in me today. I had no idea that Jesus loves me or that God has a plan for my life. Now, I know for absolute certainty that God’s plan is one that I can count on working out because He is in the center of it and His great love for me means that I can fully trust Him. The hope that I have is not something that I can easily explain. After all, I am older and have a lot of aches and pains (some days, more than others), and I have retired so some friends tell me that I have finished my days of being useful so I should just enjoy the rest of my life quietly waiting to pass on to eternity. Well, that “friendly” advice is not for me! I don’t mind dying when God calls me home, but I am occupying this space and time until He does and all of my hope is in Him, that He will continue to mold me and use me, just as He has been doing for the last fifty years. I will ACTIVELY hope for as long as I am alive and my desire is to spread the reason for my hope to others.

Today, I am thankful for hope. I am grateful for God who is with me today and every day and who gives me hope for today, tomorrow and all of the tomorrows that are to come.

May you have a day blessed with hope that springs from within and that waters your soul with peace and the assurance of God’s great love for you.

Real Hope

On By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

As humans, we have a tendency to wake up each day and hope for a good day with good things to happen in our lives. God wants that for us, too, but more importantly, He wants us to realize and to tell others that the only hope we have is in Jesus.

God spoke the world into existence and Jesus was right there with Him. Then, when God sent His Son to earth, He did not come to save us because of our own worthiness. Rather, we are saved only because of God’s great mercy. He sent and He saved.

We cannot overcome the sin in our own lives by just hoping that it will go away. We have to believe that Jesus delivered us from that sin on the cross and that we don’t have to bow to sin any longer. We are children of the Most High God, not slaves to sin as we once were. There is where our real hope lies, for today and for eternity.

If we awaken and have hope in things or events coming to pass, then our hope is misplaced. We need to fix our hope on the grace that Jesus gives us each day and the grace that will be ultimately revealed when He returns and takes us to be with Him. That is our real hope.

When I awakened this morning, I was thankful for a new day and hopeful for what it would bring. With my devotional completed and my meditation on the word “hope”, God has shown me that He is my hope and things that happen are just circumstances that change from moment to moment. But His love, grace and mercy in my life stand forever. Real hope!

May each of you know the real hope that is only found in the person of Christ Jesus. God bless you!

Holding Onto Hope

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

I don’t get on scary rides at theme parks very often, but I have a couple of times, once when I was assured that it was a “mild rollercoaster.” Well, mild is not the word I would have used as the ride slung me from one side of the seat to another as I tightly grasped the bar in front of me. My hope was that the bar would hold me in my seat so that I didn’t tumble out into an unknown abyss.

Isn’t that what our hope in the Lord is all about? We hold tightly onto the hope that we have in Him, the sure knowledge that He is bigger than all our problems and that He will be with us through everything we face?

God is always faithful and always keeps His promises. We can count on Him not to move away from us and leave us hanging over the challenges that life tosses at us.

But there is another reason to hold onto hope. Others are watching us and how we react when the storms of life assail us. Do we behave like those around us, kicking and screaming about the unfairness of life? Or do we quietly pray and ask for God’s help to get through the situation or to remove it, whatever is best for us in the long run?

I want others to be glad to see me because they know that I put my hope in the Lord. How do they know that unless I have shown them through the faith that I live out daily? We are a walking testimony, either showing others the faith and hope that God has instilled in us or the fear and anger that man daily inputs into our lives. I choose faith and hope and pray that each of you does the same, knowing that others are always watching.

I screamed on the roller coaster and I even have a photo record of my terror. What would it be like if each time I face a new test in life, a photographer were to capture my reactions? That is certainly food for thought, isn’t it? May my reactions be consistently Godly, representing the Christ whom I serve!

Have a blessed day as you hope in the Lord and give those around you reason to rejoice!