“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.”  Proverbs 13:12

I’m passing from the pain that experience taught me and into the hope of a future truly established in God’s goodness.

I can see it now, but for years I could not.

I could explain situations, people, circumstances.  But, we all have them.  The details vary from person to person.  But, we all have experienced deep, deep pain.  Profound disappointments.  Gut-wrenching sadness.  Nasty emotions and ugly thoughts.  Injustices and abuses.  Situations within our control and those that are not.  Are you there?  Have you been there?  Up to your nose in the thickness of the darkness and the pain?

It can feel like you are drowning and wrestling and fighting without any end in sight.  It can last for days, or years.  The unresolved situations.  The inescapable pain.  Fear of more of the same.

And, this is why I love God.  This is why.

I was sitting with the Lord, talking with Him about one particularly terrible situation and asking Him to help me.  Suddenly, I saw myself in a desert.  So dry and desolate and hot.  No vegetation at all.  Just hot, dry dirt beneath my feet and scorching heat all around me.  Then, He handed me a pink gift box, wrapped up.  “What is it?” I pondered.  Then it spontaneously opened, as if what was contained inside could no longer be held, and a powerful, bright rainbow shot out of it.  In that moment, all around me, things began to completely change.  There was a swiftly flowing stream running where there had been not a drop of water.  There was soft, lush grass beneath my feet where dry, gritty sand had been.  There were lush green plants and flowers and trees and a cool breeze, where there had been desolation and profound heat.

I knew at once that He intended to give me a gift, and that it contained a promise.  And, that the fulfillment of that promise would bring life, generous and rich and refreshing.

Brand new.  Taking one situation and blasting it with His promise.  Creating something brand new.

“Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.

The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.”  Isaiah 35:6-7

From wilderness to satisfaction.

I have a feeling that some of you, my friends and family, are in need of Hope.  And, here it is.

It’s Him.

You don’t have to take my word for it.  Talk to Him.  Ask Him.  See what happens.

He is your Hope.  He can take a desert and turn it into something radically different and new.  He can create something out of nothing.  He can make something good where there was nothing good at all.  He is in the business of brand new.

He created you.  He knows you.  He sees you.  And, best of all, He is GOOD.

Are you scared?  Weak?  Worn out?

Soak in these life-giving words.  It is for you.  The promise is for you.

“Say to those with fearful hearts,
‘Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.’
And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
where desert jackals once lived.”  Isaiah 35:4-7

He is coming to save you.

And, He will come.

Receive Him.