A Future & A Hope

Some time ago a popular American preacher Billy Graham once said,

“Take one day at a time today. After all, it’s the tomorrow you worried about today”.

I would love you to read the quote once again to have a grasp of the hidden message of hope Billy Graham was trying to convey. Our journeys on earth present us with different challenges in various aspects of our lives.

These issues come to light in various forms. Hence, it is important to note that issues in life are inevitable. As long as we live on earth we will always encounter tribulations. The difficulties of life are not respectable to persons, age, race or background. A look into the lives of great biblical characters such as Hannah, Joseph and Moses a constant factor that was always present in the lives of these characters was the fact that despite the challenges they encountered at various moments of their lives, they had the hope of a better future in God our father the author and finisher of our faith “Hebrew 12:2”.

When the situation’s in life aren’t going your way and you’ve prayed and fasted for countless days or months it becomes easier for us as humans to give up on God because we feel situations aren’t changing, Hence having a false sense of belief that God has abandoned us. Thus, We are reminded by God never to lose hope. Proverb 23:18 prompts us to remember:

“Surely, there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off”.

In the scriptures, Hannah one of the wives of Elkanah was resentful towards Penninah’s torture due to her barrenness and her husband’s inability to understand the depths of her pain, despite the actions of God not changing her situation for years, she continually offered prayers to God believing in him. She didn’t allow her resentments to halt her efforts from believing God for the fruit of the womb. Although it took a while, God fully understood the extent of her pain and anguish that was the reason her prayers were eventually answered despite the ridicule she experienced from others in trusting the process of God.

Brethren, When believing gets hard, prayers could oftentimes be the first activity we relinquish due to the difficulty of our situation. We do not want to pray to God sometimes because it hurts a lot to pray about a particular situation without seeing results. Therefore, It becomes easier to be resentful rather than being steadfast in our prayers to the Almighty. Choosing to continue to hope has to be an intentional decision.

We have to decide to pray vulnerably when our hearts are in a state of chaos. Hannah didn’t just list the facts of her situation; she was vulnerable enough to talk about how she felt about the facts of her circumstances. As Christians, we should be encouraged by the story of Hannah and remain devoted with our prayers to God because he always has good intentions for us. We just have to be persistent and believe.

Similarly, the story of Joseph is another perfect example of hope for our future with God. God had already revealed to Joseph through dreams that his father and siblings would bow down to him as a result of his greatness in the future. However, a few years after the promise of the dream; Joseph found himself as a slave in Egypt after his brother decide to sell him due to their bitterness towards his dream and later a prisoner due to false allegations of rape by Potiphar’s wife.

As you must have read in the book of Genesis, After many years of unstable events in Joseph's life when all hope was supposed to be lost his persistent belief in God’s vision for his future made him persevere in the challenges life threw at him. Eventually, God honoured Joseph for his perseverance by making him the vizier of Egypt (pharaoh’s right-hand man) under the name of Zaphnath-Paaneah, and was given Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of on to be his wife. Also, Joseph was given the privilege to reunite with his brothers and the prophetic dream, he had was finally fulfilled.

In the story above, we are shown the faithfulness of God to his servants especially when we place our trust in his promises and abide in his ways. God had a bigger plan for Joseph that neither he nor his brothers could comprehend as he ended up saving his family and Egypt from famine. On this account,

the rejected stone became the cornerstone.

Concerning the story of Hannah and Joseph who had to go through extreme adversities before the plans of God in their lives came to fruition why would you lose hope in his promises. We should always bear in mind: Jeremiah 29:11 which says

“ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Dear students, you might be in a precarious situation regarding your studies. You might have been thrown out of a program because you found it difficult to meet the grades to survive in that particular program. God is telling you to remember the promise made in Jeremiah 29:11 and be rest assured that our Father in heaven who makes all things possible will never abandon you because he has plans to prosper you and not harm you.

Beloved married couple, you might be having difficulties in your marriage, don’t be downcast or discouraged instead, keep seeking the face of God and believing in Him as Hannah did for the reason that God’s plan for you is to prosper you and not to harm you. Stay blessed.

Leave a comment below. Hope you enjoyed this read. Do not forget to join us live this Sunday, 30th January for Sunday service. God bless you!