Get Your Hopes Up

Depending on where you live, this time of quarantine can feel like it will never end. If we are being honest, all of us would say that we are longing to get back to normal…whatever that means. We know God is near right now. We know He is sovereign and in control even though life feels like a dream we cannot wake up from. How do we hold onto to hope in moments like this?  We remember. We remember that God’s time of sheltering His people always turned out hope.

Come on a journey with me.

Noah & His Family: God sheltered them for one year. When he emerged, he became the father of nations.

Jacob: God sheltered him with his Uncle Laban to escape the wrath of his brother, Esau. When he emerged after 20 years, he had a new family, new wealth, and a new name. He became Israel, the name for God’s people.

Joseph: God sheltered him in slavery and prison for 13 years. His sheltering became his school for his ultimate greatness.

Moses: God sheltered Moses in the desert for 40 years. Out of that sheltering, he liberated the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.

Naomi: God sheltered her barren and without a husband in the land of Moab. When she emerged with her daughter-in-law, she became part of one of the greatest love stories in history and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, became a part of the lineage of Jesus.

David: God sheltered David for 15 years from the time he was anointed King of Israel until he finally took the throne. Once there, he became a man after God’s own heart and gave us many of the Psalms.

Elijah: God sheltered Elijah by the brook of Cherish. When he emerged, he stood against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.

Jonah: God sheltered Jonah in the belly of a whale for 3 days. When he emerged, he led a great revival in the land of Nineveh.

Daniel: God sheltered Daniel for 70 years in Babylon. While there, he wrote the Old Testament book of the Bible bearing his name that told of how God will deal with His people in the future.

Esther: God sheltered Esther in the palace leading her to an opportunity to protect and save her people.

Disciples: God sheltered the disciples in the Upper Room for 10 days until the Holy Spirit descended upon them leading them to form the Church.

Paul: God sheltered Paul in the Arabian desert for 3 years until he had an encounter with God that changed him forever and turned our world upside down.

Paul: God sheltered Paul in a Roman prison. During that time, Paul wrote the Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

John: God sheltered John on the Isle of Patmos where he wrote the greatest prophetic book in history: Revelation.

Jesus: God sheltered Jesus in the tomb for 3 days. When He emerged, He brought salvation to all.

 

God is not quiet in our sheltering. He is working in and through you and me to bring His glory to life. Can you imagine what we will witness because of what God did in the sheltering? It is about time we GET OUR HOPES UP!