Hello,
It's been a while and I miss you all. I pray all is well with each of you. This past Saturday, I was asking the Lord for a scripture to encourage members on Sunday, but I believe He gave me a scripture to encourage all of his children. Romans 15:13 (ESV) May the God of hope fill you with ALL joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. As I read it over and over again, I began to be strengthened in my inner man with the strength and boldness of the Lord! I was drawn to the word hope in the beginning and the end of this passage. Hope in this passage means "to anticipate, usually with pleasure." Many times the enemy tries to steal your anticipation, so he can paralyze our determination. You must have a foretaste of the goodness of the Almighty God in the wait. You must be able to realize in advance that He is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. If God said it, you have to be determined to believe that He will do it, and know it will be good. I'm here to tell you that you have to be determined to keep believing; determined in the process of the promise. The shadow of Hope has to be the rear-guard of your life because hopelessness, doubt, and discouragement will try it's best to sneak up on you and kill the dream, purpose, or promise that you've held on to thus far. You have to be stubborn, and you may even have to stand toe to toe with hopelessness, doubt, discouragement, and whatever else that comes to steal your promise and say "I WILL CONTINUE TO HOPE AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS." You might even have to wrestle like Jacob did! Sometimes, I just have to tell the devil two simple words "SHUT UP" because he does not have permission to speak to my promise! I remember seeing the discouragement and hopelessness in my husband's eyes after standing, hoping, and pursuing his promise over ten years to become a fireman; he received rejection letter after rejection letter. Can you imagine how many of those he received in ten years from almost every county you can think of. I remember he came to me and said, "Tiffany, if God is saying this is not what He has for me, then I will let it go; I'm tired." I was glad he said the word "if" and that he did not say "I'm done." God can work with an 'if" when we surrender to His will in the times of uncertainty. So we prayed and asked God should we let it go- we felt like He said, "hold on." I'm not sure how long after that, but it was not too long before my husband received his letter to the Richmond Fire Academy. What would have happened if he would have gave in to the scheme of hopelessness and gave up on this dream. The promise might be right around the corner and the enemy will tell you to turn around while he steals the promise, and not to mention the years or time you stood believing.
The scripture mentioned two Kingdom tools to abiding in Hope: All Joy and Peace. Wow- not partial joy and peace; not even ninety-five percent. He said, "ALL!" He is all sufficient! He is full completion! He is the Great I am; our ALL in ALL. I can stay right there for a minute because He is not only ALL, but He is El Shaddai, our more than enough! That means even though hope is your rear guard, we are also covered on every side.
Lastly, it states by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in Hope. He is such an amazing Father. He is saying not by our power, nor our might, but by His Spirit! In our weakness, He is strong! We are never alone; never forsaken. Now, remember the beginning of the verse stated, may the God of Hope… Do you get it? His Spirit of Hope will be your rear guard, your side and front guard. He will protect everything that He himself has promised. He will fill you with ALL His joy and peace to help you remain present in the promise; always seeing it right before you with much anticipation. You do not have to be depressed or discouraged in the wait. You get to have ALL JOY AND PEACE IN THE JOURNEY!
As I'm typing, listening to my worship, my fingers are typing a sweet worship of truth that I pray resound in the ears of your spirit and soul.
Be Ye Determined and Encouraged. The God of Hope will not fail you.
Tiffany James, Encouraging Touch Enterprise
"Give a gift that creates a Legacy to Encourage, Inspire, and Bless those you love for a life time"
"Give a gift that creates a Legacy to Encourage, Inspire, and Bless those you love for a life time"
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