Hello Friends ~ I pray that you are all doing well in spite of this pandemic we are all dealing with. We are well into our 4th month of isolation, masks, distancing, etc. all in hopes of staying well.
The other morning I woke up with the old hymn, 'Whispering Hope', running through my mind. That made me want to write a post about hope.
As a believer in Jesus being God, my hope is in Him. He is the Creator of the universe and all that is in it and in Acts 17:28 of the Bible it says ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’
In Romans 14:8 we read, 'If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.'
Wikipedia says this about hope. "Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large."
Right now, I would say that most of our world is living in hope. We are all effected by this pandemic, our health (physical and mental), finances, relationships, governments, on and on. We hope things will get better, we hope it is soon.
What are we to do each and every day when we wake up and it hits us, that we are still dealing with this worldwide situation. We don't know when it will end, we don't know what life will be like, 'after'.
We are also hoping for there to be peace among all peoples. We need more kindness, love, forgiveness, encouragement. Selfishness and entitlement are not good things for us to live by, they enslave us.
The answer is let us have hope in God, let us see the beauty and goodness in each new day, let us be thankful.
I will share some Bible verses here along with pictures from Plum Cottage.
Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Ps. 31:24
All you who hope in the Lord.
Ps. 31:24
Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
Psalm 42:5
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31
The Lord alone is our radiant hope
and we trust in him with all our hearts.
His wrap-around presence will strengthen us.
Psalms 33:20
and we trust in him with all our hearts.
His wrap-around presence will strengthen us.
Psalms 33:20
My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
Psalm 62:5
For my hope is from Him.
Psalm 62:5
Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
I Chronicles 16:11
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10
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I will close this post with the lyrics for 'Whispering Hope', also three different musical versions that I found on you-tube.
Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard.
Hope with a gentle persuasion,
Whispers her comforting word.
Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done.
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.
Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.
Hope has an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul.
Wither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of it's goal.
Come then o come glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary soul.
Come Thou O blessed hope of glory,
Never O never depart.
Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.
If in the dusk of the twilight,
Dim be the region afar.
Will not the deepening darkness,
Brighten the shimmering star?
Then when the night is upon us,
Why should the heart sink away?
When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day.
Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.
Breathing a lesson unheard.
Hope with a gentle persuasion,
Whispers her comforting word.
Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done.
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.
Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.
Hope has an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul.
Wither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of it's goal.
Come then o come glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary soul.
Come Thou O blessed hope of glory,
Never O never depart.
Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.
If in the dusk of the twilight,
Dim be the region afar.
Will not the deepening darkness,
Brighten the shimmering star?
Then when the night is upon us,
Why should the heart sink away?
When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day.
Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.
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Firm Faith Zimbabwe
Whispering Hope on harmonica
Musical leaf - Hi everyone, Thank you all, I'm glad you enjoy my playing. I must say God He himself made this simple and beautiful instrument. I only picked it and played it. God bless you all. -Leaflute
That's it for now.
Love, hugs and prayers,
FlowerLady
20 comments:
Dear friend what a wonderful post of encouragement. Hope is everything and the Lord Jesus will never leave us without this great gift that keeps us rising each day and so to speak "keeping on". Than you for your choice of scriptures too...perfect words with lovely photos. Take care - Hugs!
All of your flowers are beautiful. Lovely lyrics to that song
What a hope-filled post, FlowerLady. So enjoyed your photos and accompanying words. The old hymn Whispering Hope is one I liked as a girl. I haven't heard it in years. Thank you for sharing the lyrics and links to listen.
Together with you as we keep our eyes fixed on Him,
Brenda xo
PS. That leaf flute fellow is amazing. Lovely!
What a lovely song. I have known this song for many years, but i'm glad you reminded me of it.
Oh what a wonderful, wonderful post! Thank you so much for sharing all the verses, giving us hope.
That's quite a rich collection of Scripture verses. Thank you!!
Hi Lorraine, there is only one way to live and that is to get up each day and be grateful for what you have.
There will always be something standing in front of us that we have to get around won't there?
I take a look back through life and see all the things that I have overcome and notice that they were not that bad after all and I got through them.
You have had the worst thing to get through losing your dear husband and I know he would be proud of the way you have come through and are still coping.
Love and hugs to you
Briony
x
Hope is the only thing that keeps me alive. Bless the name of God.
Rainey, Thank you for these lovely images and words of encouragement! We must hold fast to our faith in the Lord, our Hope and our Redeemer. Wishing you a healthy and happy weekend, my friend {{hugs}}
Hope is indeed something we are all striving to hold onto these days. Here, where I live we now have a double whammy. Not only the virus, but we're sitting on the cusp of hurricane Hanna knocking on our door...arriving tonight. And reading your shared verses & viewing your photos inspired me.
Thank you for such encouragement. We all need it. This is very troubling
times we are living in. I wake each morning thanking God for his hand
in my life. I was created by Him and I will live and die for Him. You
must have it more difficult than some, as you live alone. I think we are
starting to adjust to it such as it is and socializing may come as a bit
of a shock later on. Your pictures are worth a 1000 words.
What a beautiful and thoughtful post. I’ve spent the morning in reflection on the Bible verses you shared, your thoughts on hope and what we all are experiencing during this uncertain and fearful time. Thank you for sharing your heart ❤️. Whispering Hope was my grandmother’s favorite hymn. Her and I would sing it together when I was a child, sitting with her on her couch as she read the Bible to me each night. It was a special time each year for 2 weeks as we vacationed with her. When she passed, I played the piano for her service and wrote an arrangement of Whispering Hope to honor her at the service. Not a dry eye in the church. The lyrics always speak deeply to me when I sing it, for the sweet, precious memories but also being reminded my hope is in Jesus, that He knows the future, He loves me and will always complete His perfect plan for me. Thanks for the reminder that in Jesus, there is always hope. Love you 💕
So many of my favorite verses here! Many of them are on large cards that I laminated decades ago when I had a serious surgery scheduled. Thank you for these and for that beautiful hymn that I haven't heard sung in many a year. It was a staple in the small Baptist church I grew up in.
Lorraine, every single day I need hope. Faith never leaves me but there are nights I need to refresh my hope. Thank you.
It's so good to have our hope in God. Wonderful post, Lorraine. Thanks for all the precious verses from God's Word. Always refreshing to read the truth. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
Thank you for sharing this. You can't go wrong when you read God's word.
Thank you for those scriptures and encouraging words, FL. I know they come from deep, deep inside your heart because sometimes you also feel the worry and darkness creeping in. We must choose hope and hold on to it.
HOPE is such a wonderful word ---and with all that our country is going through these days, we have to keep HOPE on the top of the list.....
I love your flowers/plants... Seeing the flowers always bring me hope for a better tomorrow...
Thanks for making me smile.
Have a great week.
Hugs,
Betsy
Hi Lorraine,
The words, prayers, psalms are all so beautiful along with your pretty pictures. Wishing you a good week ahead.
Hugs,
Kris
Lorraine, this was such a comforting post! Indeed, the opposite of entitlement, discouragement, and angst is a steadfast hope in the goodness of the Lord!
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