HOPE RESTORED - Job 14:14
“If a man dies, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes.“
There is no man who keeps his gaze on yesterday who ever sees a better future. Every man that ever became great kept looking forward. In fact, one outstanding attribute of small minded men is their ability to focus permanently on yesterday. If what you achieved yesterday still looks to you like a very big deal then you’ve not been making progress lately.
The delight of God for us is that we move ahead each year, each month and each day. It is June only and I can tell you already that the amazing 2020 aspirations of many may have expired. After the very terrifying situations imposed on us by COVID-19 over the last three months, hopes have become shattered. I understand, it is easier to shift focus and lose steam in a world where attention span continually wanes. See, dear brother; in times like this where you look determines where you go.
Many have been stuck in the traffic of life because they were looking at other men. Many are held bound by their admiration of their own success stories. They have seen the comfort of Egypt and thought that Canaan was not necessary. Some are held down by their faith in men. The man by the pool of Bethesda is a good example. He wasted thirty eight years because he was looking in the wrong direction. Thirty eight years; all because his gaze was on men! In the very worst case scenario some people look down. In that moment when they have lost all faith in God and in life; they feel like the world should end. At that moment they resent life and hate themselves. In some instances they are cursing the day they were born.
Cheer up dear sister. I have got news for you dear brother. Isa 54:1 says to you “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child “ For the time will change in your favour.
But what exactly is restoration of hope?
*. Help that you lacked hitherto. Brethren, do you know that no one in this life can move an inch ahead if he is not helped from on high? As the Bible says; the arm of flesh shall fail you. Jeremiah 17:5 says “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD“ What you need this year to go up is not connection it is revelation. Your help is not with any man. “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth“ (Ps 124:8) The reason you haven’t found help is you look too much to men. If you begin to look up to God, help will show up for you.
*. Restoration of hope means fresh direction. Isa 30:21 says “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left “ Our most enviable inheritance as children of the Kingdom is God’s leading. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God“ (Rom 8:14) If your gaze is on the eternal order of Heaven then I can assure you that your life will not be like amoeba. See, the greatest frustration in life is to keep going with no knowledge of your destination. And believe me sincerely, many in life are running with zeal and very fast heading nowhere. What a sorry tale. If your life will not be like that this year, you’ve got to listen first to the instruction from on high before you start running.
*. Restoration of hope means favour from God and honour among men… “For I will make you and eternal excellency… “. If you have ever known shame you will appreciate honour. Some men who thought themselves important have been asked away from the seats of more important men. At that moment the embarrassment is better imagined.
In addition to Help, Direction and Favour; Restoration of Hope means the absolute presence of God. You can travel alone and sink but you cannot travel with God and sink. The boat of life may face turbulence like Peter did on the high sea but be sure the storms cannot wreck you.
Dear believer, looking backward will keep you away from Jesus, it will keep you away from help, from grace, from honour, from progress, direction and health.
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith“
There is no man who keeps his gaze on yesterday who ever sees a better future. Every man that ever became great kept looking forward. In fact, one outstanding attribute of small minded men is their ability to focus permanently on yesterday. If what you achieved yesterday still looks to you like a very big deal then you’ve not been making progress lately.
The delight of God for us is that we move ahead each year, each month and each day. It is June only and I can tell you already that the amazing 2020 aspirations of many may have expired. After the very terrifying situations imposed on us by COVID-19 over the last three months, hopes have become shattered. I understand, it is easier to shift focus and lose steam in a world where attention span continually wanes. See, dear brother; in times like this where you look determines where you go.
Many have been stuck in the traffic of life because they were looking at other men. Many are held bound by their admiration of their own success stories. They have seen the comfort of Egypt and thought that Canaan was not necessary. Some are held down by their faith in men. The man by the pool of Bethesda is a good example. He wasted thirty eight years because he was looking in the wrong direction. Thirty eight years; all because his gaze was on men! In the very worst case scenario some people look down. In that moment when they have lost all faith in God and in life; they feel like the world should end. At that moment they resent life and hate themselves. In some instances they are cursing the day they were born.
Cheer up dear sister. I have got news for you dear brother. Isa 54:1 says to you “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child “ For the time will change in your favour.
But what exactly is restoration of hope?
*. Help that you lacked hitherto. Brethren, do you know that no one in this life can move an inch ahead if he is not helped from on high? As the Bible says; the arm of flesh shall fail you. Jeremiah 17:5 says “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD“ What you need this year to go up is not connection it is revelation. Your help is not with any man. “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth“ (Ps 124:8) The reason you haven’t found help is you look too much to men. If you begin to look up to God, help will show up for you.
*. Restoration of hope means fresh direction. Isa 30:21 says “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left “ Our most enviable inheritance as children of the Kingdom is God’s leading. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God“ (Rom 8:14) If your gaze is on the eternal order of Heaven then I can assure you that your life will not be like amoeba. See, the greatest frustration in life is to keep going with no knowledge of your destination. And believe me sincerely, many in life are running with zeal and very fast heading nowhere. What a sorry tale. If your life will not be like that this year, you’ve got to listen first to the instruction from on high before you start running.
*. Restoration of hope means favour from God and honour among men… “For I will make you and eternal excellency… “. If you have ever known shame you will appreciate honour. Some men who thought themselves important have been asked away from the seats of more important men. At that moment the embarrassment is better imagined.
In addition to Help, Direction and Favour; Restoration of Hope means the absolute presence of God. You can travel alone and sink but you cannot travel with God and sink. The boat of life may face turbulence like Peter did on the high sea but be sure the storms cannot wreck you.
Dear believer, looking backward will keep you away from Jesus, it will keep you away from help, from grace, from honour, from progress, direction and health.
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith“
