Originally published Thursday, 12 February 2015.
This morning, I was reading in the book of Job. Let's face it, we all feel a little like Job sometimes. Am I right? In chapter 19, we are told he is trusting in his redeemer. However, he says the following in verse 10...
He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; my hope He has uprooted like a tree.
-Job 19:10
That verse stuck out to me, because previously Job said this:
For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. 8 Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground...
-Job 14:7,8
If you read the chapter in context, you will see that Job is discouraged and comparing human suffering and death to the chopping down of a tree. He believes in new life for the tree, but he has questions about what happens to man at the end of life. He goes on to ask, "If man dies and is laid away, indeed he breathes his last breath, then where is he?" (See Job 14:10)
This comparison, and the different views on it, is in no way an accident. If you put the two bold statements together it reads - My hope He has uprooted like a tree. For there is hope for a tree.
Because of Jesus, we can read this passage with confidence. There is hope, because we serve a Savior who suffered and died to give it to us. Death and hell have been defeated.
- We might suffer and feel uprooted, but we have hope.
- We might wonder about our reality, and even worry about tomorrow, but we have hope.
- We might feel pressed down, but we have hope.
When a tree begins to die, the fragrance of water awakens the buds of new life. We have access to the living water of the Almighty. It comes through His word, which is His love poured out on paper, that we might find hope and life inside it. I know this to be true, because in the verses listed above, I found new hope for my soul.
The thing about hope is that it can be renewed daily. It gives us exactly what we need to face whatever challenges come our way.
Friends, if today is a difficult day, I want you to know there is hope for you! Do not allow it to be uprooted. Even if your circumstances have "chopped" you down, let hope water roots of faith. Allow yourself to be saturated in His great love. Breathe freedom.
Love,
Jennifer
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