Hope Is Freedom

My nephew was in the hospital for 65 days. He’s been a quadriplegic for 40 years and up until this hospital stay he’s been able to manage life and live independently with the use of trained helpers.

For 65 days many people have been by his side. They have offered help, but more importantly, they have offered him Jesus in the way they act and conduct their lives. And my nephew has listened, requesting prayers before they left the room. My husband and I have watched expectantly knowing God was going to show up in a mighty way in His perfect timing.

But the looming problem: my nephew was losing hope. He had fought a good fight, but he wasn’t healing like he should. For 64 days the hospital staff changed his orders many times, and we watched as his condition changed from grave to poor, but never really getting any better. Then on day 65, the surgeon walked in and told him to go home and see if he could manage better with his helpers. He was released that day.

He still has a battle ahead of him, but being home has offered hope. Many issues have arisen, but he’s had a tremendous support group who has rushed in to help. His faith is growing. As faith grows, hope grows.

On Monday, we celebrate the 4th of July, Independence Day, when 13 colonies celebrated their freedom as a new nation with a new home – the United States of America.

Our forefathers had renewed hope when they were freed from British rule. They knew they would have issues ahead, but they were ready to move forward and succeed as a new nation.

“Hope is the thing that gets us up in the morning when we know that God cares but we haven’t seen any evidence of it in the last few days. Hope drives us onward when we stop and quit. Hope keeps our dreams alive while we are waiting.” (Dr. David Jeremiah)

How about you? Are you facing circumstances that are taxing your hope?

Attend a 4th of July celebration, remember and feel the power of hope that is still vital 240 years after our battle for freedom.

Take that hope home and pray for God’s intercession in your life, trials, struggles, and heartbreak. Ask God to help you revitalize your hope. Hope is the freedom to move forward and live life to its fullest.

Happy 4th of July! God bless you all,

Praying: Standing Strong In Adversity

This morning began like any other morning. I stumbled out of bed and headed for the coffee pot. And as I do every morning, I picked up my cellphone to send a love message to the grandchildren before they headed off to school. Before I could finish my task, a drop down menu on my phone caught my eye, “Pinterest comment to your post.” I finished my last little text and went over to email. I opened it and saw this note:

“Ever noticed how praying does absolutely nothing”

Chills went up and down my arms. I felt, a presence of loss, a loss of hope. My next response was to wonder what pin I had posted that would illicit such a response. Here’s the pin.

What if we all prayed for America? Why would this incite someone to post that kind of comment? What did they hope to gain from it?

After checking out the pin, I realized it had been posted several months ago on my board “Pray for America.” A cold chill ran up my back. It was happening again. Those same feelings I had that pushed me to write my last book, Cries of Innocence. That was more about the presence of evil. This one felt more like a loss of hope. But I couldn’t keep my chest from aching.

I regret that I went back to the comment post and tapped on the name of the sender which opened up their Pinterest account. As soon as it opened up, I understood why I had been troubled. The page was filled with horrible apocalyptic pictures, depicting evil warriors in the middle of mass destruction and total annihilation. Evil . . . where there is no hope.

I immediately shut down the page.

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers…” Psalm 1:1

I went around for hours praying over the person. I could have sent back an innocuous line like, “Prayer is my lifeline.” But you know what, I think, after looking at the horror on their Pinterest page that anything I could have said would have only provoked retaliation.

I must recognize that Satan is on the prowl. He is the master at creating havoc, instilling fear in the weak, especially God’s people. A lot of older women, like myself, would have seen the evil on that person’s Pinterest page and run for the hills in fear. Not me.

Mark 9:29  And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

That’s what spiritual warfare is. God’s Word says we are more than overcomers through Christ that lives within us.

Prayer honors God. And in turn, God honors His children. Even when we give up on God, God never gives up on us; not even the person who sent the comment and was driven to post horrific pins on their Pinterest sight.

Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God,

 and a scourge for Satan. ~ John Bunyan

Prayer – secret, fervent, believing prayer –

lies at the root of all personal godliness.  ~ Williams Carey

Prayer is the key to Heaven,

But faith unlocks the door. ~Anonymous

I am praying for this person. I know the power of prayer, speaking God’s Word over this individual. I’ve been the recipient of prayer many times. I know there is evil in this world; I am not naïve. As a spiritual warrior, I know how to battle this kind of foe.

“Stand firm! Put on the belt of truth and buckle it around your waist to counter a culture of lies.

Attach the breastplate of righteousness in place,

and with your feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Then pick up your shield of faith to extinguish the flaming arrows the evil one will hurl at you.

Don’t forget your helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Mighty Word of God.” (paraphrased from Ephesians 6)

And pray fervently, storm Heaven with requests, and wrestle to bring forth prayers from the Throne Room.

If we are quiet in how we feel about Jesus, our faith, and our country, we are handing it all over to the enemy on a silver platter.

Power up with prayer! God be with you,

The Least, the Lost, and the Last

 

God has offered me many opportunities in my life. Some I have embraced and others I have felt were a heart-burden. Having been brought up in a neighborhood on the wrong side of the tracks where drinking and abuse were common, I dreamed of fleeing. Running as far away as I could.

We never know what God has in store for us. We never know if the one thing we fight against will be the one thing He’ll draw us back to. But God often does, and I’ve seen it over and over again in my lifetime.

It’s funny how stepping away from anger, abuse, and disorderly conduct and stepping into another life where people value education, ethics, morals can be life changing. I’m proof positive. So when God nudged me to work with the least, the lost, and the last I went, dragging my feet, but I went.

In the process of helping others heal, I healed. The more I squatted down to assist someone too low to rise up or a child too defeated to smile or a woman too hurt to see love . . . I saw Jesus by my side, again and again. I learned to bury my deep hurts. I sought safety under the shadow of the Almighty’s wings. My whole outlook began to change. I had to be on the highway of the hurt—to offer a cup of cold water in the blistering heat of dissatisfaction, betrayal, and loss. And God provided.

A fellow writer asked me if one of the characters in my latest book was me.

I’m still pondering the answer.

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” Psalm 18: 16-19

All around us are people who desperately need someone who cares. Someone who will show them a different way of life . . . a little hope. Be observant. Step out of your comfort zone. Don’t miss an opportunity to change someone’s life.

Please don’t stand in the whatifs wondering why you didn’t help. I never thought that would happen to me. Then it did. With all my training I failed, and the aftermath has been sorrow.

God be with you always!