Month: January 2019

It's Time to Hope Again

It’s Time to Hope Again

Posted on by Karolyn Miller
“Hope never abandons you, you abandon it” – George Weinberg

According to a news report a few nights ago, this week ended the “honeymoon” period after New Year’s. During this week, most people lose hope, abandon their New Year’s resolution, and slip back into their old habits.

Fitness centers that were full the first week of January have already reduced in volume. Dietary restrictions have already been breached. People who set out to turn their lives around at the beginning of the year are already back on the couch, in line at KFC, or smoking on their lunch break.

Why? Because they didn’t see results fast enough. The one small change in their routine activity did not bring overwhelming transformation and gratification, so they gave up and returned to their past behaviors. 3 weeks into the new year and people have already given up hope on reaching their personal goals.  

Even though the date on the calendar changed, their hope level remained the same.

Is This Your Story?

The past season was filled with struggle, heavy warfare, disappointment, stagnation, things not working out, loss, and discouragement for many. Hope was deferred and many became heart sick on the journey. Dreams sat on the backburner as obstacle after obstacle arose.

Even though you might have been able to implement some plans or take some steps, they didn’t yield their maximum result. Frustration began to cancel faith and soon many of God’s people became weary from the fight and sat on the sidelines tending to their wounds.

Do not let previous failure cause you to become content with “normal” and familiar with mediocre!

Some have resigned themselves to think that things will never change. Others have been tempted to give up on the business and settle into the 9 to 5 scene. There are even a few who have even given up on prayer because change is not happening fast enough.

For many, picking up the shield of faith again sounds like getting your hopes up for another let down. Don’t let past failure hinder your hope!

It’s a new year and the season has changed! To believe that declaration, hope needs to spring eternal again.

It’s Time to Hope Again

Don’t beat yourself up if you have lost hope from a prolonged battle season. You are not alone! Jeremiah found himself in a similar position where he had to stir himself to hope again. 

Lamentations 3:18-26 (NKJV)

18 And I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the Lord.”

19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
The wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul still remembers
And sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.

22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.

Jeremiah looked at all that he had been through and became despondent and discouraged. His battle scars and afflictions had created a gloomy outlook with the natural eye. Yet, he stirred himself in the area of hope by shifting his focus from his personal win/loss record to the track record of God. 

He had hope because in every situation, win or lose, God was still there. God was still in control of the outcome.

My friend, we should be able to do the same. As we look back over the past season, no- everything may not have gone our way, but God was still consistent. He was ever-present and faithful. In the valley, God was a keeper and protector in the storm. When the battle raged toward us, God was our shield and buckler. When we felt alone and forgotten, Holy Spirit was a reliable comforter.  In times of lack, Jehovah-Jireh provided in a miraculous way.

If you look at God’s track record for the past season, we can see not only did we survive, but we thrived through His amazing love. 

He was merciful to us even through the trials and the afflictions. God was faithful to navigate us through the trying times even when we were double minded, doubtful, and faithless.  His great mercy did not give us what we deserved – but he strengthened us to be able to go through!

Therefore, we can say like Jeremiah, “The Lord is my portion…therefore I hope in Him!”

He is the God of Hope!

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 (NKJV)

Are you lacking hope in the new year? Are you afraid to start again? Is it hard to raise your expectation level to dream bigger or try harder? If so, it’s time to spend time praying to the God of hope!

God of hope, heal our hearts from wounds of the previous season! Fill us with Your unspeakable joy and peace that surpasses all understanding. Help us to keep our minds stayed on You so that we can have peace in every situation. Holy Spirit, stir in us a new well of hope, that we may abound in hope. We decree that we walk in an abundance of hope. Our hope is multiplied along with our joy and peace. Let us move in power through the Holy Ghost as the God of hope propels us into this new season with new results!

Faithful to Begin

Posted on by Karolyn Miller

“A journey of 1,000 miles begins with just one step.”- Lao Tzu

It’s easy to look at others and desire their status or possessions. The comparison game can produce either a positive or a negative effect. Comparison can cause you to become a jealous “hater” or it can be a motivator and spur you into action.

As easy as it is to become inspired by someone else’s success, it’s not as easy to work and obtain the same level of status. For example, many students want to obtain straight A’s, but they are not willing to sacrifice the parties, hanging out with friends, and other extracurricular activities to spend long hours studying and late nights in the library. People want to be out of debt, but still want certain comforts like shopping sprees, eating out, and watching cable which pulls discretionary dollars away from paying extra on debt.

Success does not arrive overnight; it takes hard work and consistency to achieve.

Before you can arrive at a particular goal or life position, you must make a step in that direction. The most important step in any achievement is the first step. With one step, a dream begins to manifest into a reality.

It is hard to see how one small step can manifest into a big change. For instance, you can lose weight by cutting out soda and sugary drinks, with no other diet modifications or exercise needed. That one minor change can make a big difference quickly. You can create extra savings if you save the change from every cash purchase. It may only look like a few coins in a jar, but coins make dollars. We can enjoy the bountiful end result, but we have to take the first small step to get there.

You have to begin!

Zechariah 4:10a (NIV)- Who dares despise the day of small things…

Job 8:7 (KJV)- Though the beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

If we know the great potential of the end result, what keeps us from beginning?

There are numerous personal reasons why people have a hard time beginning the transformation of an idea into reality.  Some people want to know the whole plan from the beginning to the end before they get started. Sometimes God will reveal the plan in great detail as he did Noah with the specific instructions regarding the ark. He told Noah how to build the ark, what materials to use, and who should get on the ark once the build was complete. On the other hand, He told Abraham to pack up and leave his family and familiar surroundings to embark on a journey “unto a land that I will show thee” (Genesis 12:1, KJV).

Sounds like destination unknown to me….

Both men had one thing in common – they trusted God for the outcome.

Some people are paralyzed from beginning because the dream is so big until they feel they don’t have the resources to bring it to fruition. God may have shown you a vision of a Christian school for children that you are supposed to build. You don’t have cash on hand for a building with a gym, teachers, nor textbooks for grades K-8 at the present time, but you can start by homeschooling 4 or 5 kindergarteners.

Once you begin what God has called you to do, you will find yourself in a position like Noah.

Genesis 6:8 (NIV) – But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

You may not have all of the resources in your hand, but God’s favor is the only currency you need.

His favor can open doors that would usually be shut and cause your path to be directed to people who will bless you with what you need. Before you know it, the small homeschool class that you began with will turn into a network of grade-specific homeschool teachers and eventually the private Christian school that God showed you in the vision.

Don’t shelve God’s blueprint because you don’t have the resources! Before you get defeated by a massive operating budget, try making a small step with God’s favor.

Finally, the major reason why people don’t ever start on what they are called to do is FEAR! Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of lack, fear of people and what they will say, fear of losing everything, fear of change, fear of rejection, fear of worthiness, fear of everything………….except the fear of God.

Hebrews 11:7 (NIV) – By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

We are afraid of everything and everybody, except God. If anything, we should be afraid of not doing what He called us to do. We should be afraid of procrastinating and missing His divine timing for the vision. We should fear the consequences of our decision to be disobedient. We should fear disappointing God.

This is the only fear that should be considered as you begin.

God is calling YOU to be a “Noah”!

Noah was called by God to become a trail blazer and a record breaker. Noah was going to build the first cruise ship. It would be the biggest boat ever seen and it would look different than every other boat that had ever been built.

God challenged everything that Noah knew to give him a concept that had never been seen before. Noah didn’t know when his ark was going to “blow up” or “go viral”. He had no idea when the rain would begin. He had only a small inkling of the significance his personal instruction would contribute to the course of history. Not only would every person and creature on the ark be saved from the flood, Noah would also find a place in the “Hall of Faith”.

In this new year and season, God is calling us to build “arks.” He is changing the paradigm and the method. Noah’s ark did not look like any other boat.

If you build a boat according to what you know as a boat, you will build too small. You will build within a box of previous experience and personal boundaries. Your new venture will simply be a reflection of your current comfort zone.

Isaiah 42:9 (KJV) – Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Like Noah, God is calling us to build a new thing, something ingenious, out of the box, innovative, and brand new.  However, we can’t study what already exists and research someone else’s empire and design too long.

God is ready to give us new blueprints for the new “ark” that He wants to build.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV)- The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

What an awesome promise! It’s better than a money back guarantee! This one promise removes the burden from you to provide the successful outcome. All you have to do is be faithful to the call and begin. God will do the rest! He is there to teach you to fly and catch you when you fall.

There is no failure in God! 

What is God calling you to begin in 2019?

Whether it’s a business or a blog, a ministry or a non-profit organization, a product or a service, a lifestyle change or a lifetime savings, start today by asking God for the blueprint. Be satisfied if He only gives you one step. Work those one or two steps until He releases more directions. Be faithful over the small steps, the few things, and He will make you ruler over many (Matthew 25:21).

Just be faithful to begin!

*Read more about the life of Noah in Genesis, Chapters 6-8.