“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” -Romans 5:8 (NLT)

If you’ve given your heart to Jesus, you have every reason to hope. He doesn’t want you to struggle and worry. Hope is available right now. God is especially near during hard times – He is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18). And He cares about our needs. 

Jesus is our reason for hope. What does that mean practically? Like when I have financial trouble? A marriage conflict? Problems with my kids? Issues with friends? Or a broken heart? It means that God can handle any trouble you throw at Him. He is Almighty God. He created the universe and NOTHING is too hard for Him!! 

God describes Himself as “I AM” in Exodus 3:14 when asked by Moses His name. I used to wonder what that meant? While it is quite a profound statement, I can’t say that I fully understood its meaning. Most commentaries interpret this passage, based on the original text, to mean that God is self-existent. He always was, and there was never a time that He didn’t exist. He just “is”.*

I like the way Henry Blackaby puts the answer to Moses’ question: “God’s answer was, “I AM!” That is, “Moses, I’ll be whatever you need Me to be as you carry out my assignment. If you need miraculous signs in order to convince Pharaoh, then that is how I will express Myself. If you need Me to interrupt nature and part the waters of the Red Sea, then I will demonstrate Myself in that way. If you require food and water, then I will be your provider. If you are afraid, I’ll be your strength.”

I love the idea of God is saying I AM whatever you need in the moment. Through His presence we can receive comfort, guidance, faith, provision, restoration in a marriage or friendship, or simply peace. And so much more. He’s the God who stands ready, wanting to help, but waits patiently for us to ask in faith. We need to grow to be people who trust that when we ask, He has heard our cry, and will answer our prayers.

Did I ever tell you about the time I had a big decision to make? One night, the weight of it woke me up at 3am and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I don’t know about your schedule, but 3am is nowhere near the time I normally wake up. Unable to sleep, I got up, sat on my couch and in the stillness of the early morning, I prayed and asked God my questions. The answers would determine my course of action. I asked God 3 specific questions and then went back to bed. I know God well enough to trust Him to answer my questions in His time and in His way (Isaiah 55:8-9). My timing would’ve been right then, and how I expect Him to answer would preferably be thru an angelic visit or even a neon sign would do. But that’s not often God’s way.

And for me, its not even always about the answer, but what’s often more impactful is that God sees me. That in His love He heard and answered me, which can be enough to settle my anxious heart on many issues.

In terms of prayer, God is faithful…I’ve had Him answer a prayer sometimes as quick as 10 minutes later. Other times 2 weeks later an answer would show up. And still other times the  answer has taken much much longer. But as best I can tell, He always answers. The key here though is we have to be on the lookout to see His answers. They are not always what you’d expect and rarely are as obvious as a neon sign (although I’ve gotten an answer on a billboard before, but I’ll save that for another post). If you pay attention and look and listen, you might just be blown away by the answer He provides. I know that I have been!

Back to my story and the questions I asked at 3am… God proceeded to answer them in astounding ways over the next few days. One answer came through a book I had read before but just picked up that day and decided to read again. Another came through a friend I hadn’t spoken to in about 3 years. She said some stuff that was really impactful about a decision she was feeling a bit of fear over making in her own life, and I recognized that this answered one of my questions perfectly. The last answer came to me in the middle of a discussion with my best friend. God answered!  And I’m not sure I ever had Him answer that dramatically before! It was quite astounding, and helped me make my decision rather easily after that.

God is a God of hope. And He’s a God who so desires a relationship with us that He sent His ONLY son, Jesus, to die a criminal’s death (though He had done nothing wrong), so that He could pay a penalty we could never pay. The Bible says while we were still sinners He gave His life for us so that we could be saved. Jesus gave up His life on the cross for our salvation and was resurrected on the third day. That is the message of Easter, and that is the message of hope. He died so we could have a restored relationship with God our Father and Creator, and with our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you’ve never given your heart to Jesus, I would encourage you to do so. Being connected to the ultimate source of all hope, all strength and all love is the greatest thing that can or will ever happen to you. This is game-changing, life-altering stuff! You get to embark on a new journey as a new creation (2nd Corinthians 5:17) and come to know this Wonderful Savior, this Mighty God and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). As you walk with Jesus, you will gain an understanding of what God’s purposes are for your life and how to live that out.

Get connected to the source of all hope – connect to Jesus. If you have more questions about salvation, there is a wonderful post [here] all about how you can say “yes” to Jesus. If you do make that decision, please let me know, so I can be praying for you.

Scripture references:

-Exodus 3:14 AMPC
And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you! 

-Psalms 34:18 ESV
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

-Genesis 18:14 NLT
Is anything too hard for the Lord?

-Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my way,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

-2nd Corinthians 5:17 ESV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

-Isaiah 9:6 NLT
And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

*I AM reference: https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-does-exodus-314-mean/

#HopeIsHere #Hope #HopeInGod #FaithInGod #EasterHope #EasterReflections