We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Nate Hemphill.
Bible Reading:
Romans 8:24-25
“24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.“
Word:
Have you ever had to hold on to hope during a long waiting period where nothing on the surface seems to be changing? You’ve been praying for some breakthrough, a dream, a new job, a prince charming, or a baby to start or add to your family. Days turn into weeks, turn into months, turn into years and your hope begins to dwindle.
You start thinking to yourself what if this never happens? Has God forgotten about me? Why isn’t anything changing? Today’s scripture is one that I’ve had to read through and deeply ponder when grappling with this waiting. It says, “…hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, WITH PERSEVERANCE we wait eagerly for it.”
The Message translation compares this hope to a woman’s pregnancy. From one day to the next it’s hard to see any change. But the baby is growing every day as the mother eagerly awaits for its arrival. The key words in this scripture that really hit home are “WITH PERSEVERANCE.”
Jacob A Riis put it perfectly, writing “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at the stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” Each of our prayers is like the stonecutter taking a swing at the rock. While each strike appears ineffective, change is happening. God is making moves that we can’t see. Keep swinging. Don’t give up!
Prayer:
Lord God I’ve been praying about _____ for so long that my hope is growing faint. But I know that you haven’t forgotten me. I know that these prayers are being heard and that I’m on your timeline. So just like the stonecutter, I will keep swinging.
Skillwork:
Let’s once again revive our hope for that thing you’ve been praying for. Let’s dig in today and exercise our hope that change is happening below the surface. Also, don’t pray alone– enlist a small group, a brother/sister in Christ, your FAITH RXD chapter to join with you until you receive your breakthrough.
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