The Hope Chest

The idea of a hope chest evokes thoughts of a an era long past. For the uninitiated, it's purpose was simple and sweet: to tenderly hold the contents of a bride-to-be's future home. Whether simple or ornate, inside each hope chest lay treasures such as new linens, fine china and silverware, along with something intangible; the dreams and hopes of a young lady's heart.

Though I never owned a hope chest, God used one to speak a profound spiritual truth to me at a time it was desperately needed.

Eleven years. It's a long time to pray a specific prayer without an answer. It's a long time to maintain faith that the One who hears all prayers has heard yours. It's a long time to hold on to hope. And frankly, hoplessness had begun to bombard my heart.

So, God spoke to me through a dream. A beautiful wooden hope chest rested at the foot of my bed. In the middle of the night, a thief broke in through my bedroom window, tiptoed to my hope chest, and silently lifted the lid. He proceeded to steal everything inside, leaving it completely empty.

When I awoke, the Spirit of the Lord told me that Satan was stealing my hope; in this particular situation, the enemy wanted to leave me hopeless. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only in order that he may steal and may kill and may destroy.”

After this dream, I realized that hope is something that I need to make a diligent effort to hold on to. Hope is a provision from the Lord that will keep us going when our circumstances tempt us to feel, well, hopeless. Hope keeps our dreams alive. Hebrews 6:19 calls hope “an anchor of the soul”. It prevents us from drifting into the sea of hopelessness.

Proverbs 29:18 tells us “Where there is no vision the people perish.” Hopeless people have no vision for the future. People who commit suicide do so because they have lost all hope.

Are you looking at a situation that seems absolutely hopeless? Does it seem as though your hopes are as good as dead? I’m convinced God doesn’t mind when we look at our situations and realize that the facts seem hopeless. We cannot pretend away our circumstances. However, we mustn’t allow the situation to sway us concerning God’s ability. We can magnify the power and the ability of the Lord to do that which is seemingly impossible in our situation. We can face the facts, yet refuse to give up our hope!


Join me next week for Part 2 of "The Hope Chest".



6 comments:

Joyful said...

Beautiful Julie. The picture of the "hope chest" is a lovely visual of the treasure of hope God has for us.

I wrote an article once on "Hope Floats" (there was a movie by that name, although I didn't see it). My hope floats, because it has an anchor - Jesus Christ. I loved the verse you shared in Hebrews as hope being the "anchor of the soul".

Twila Paris sings a song that says if we're holding onto Jesus, we're holding onto hope.

My hope is built on Him,
Joy

Susie said...

I always wanted a hope chest when I was growing up, but never had one either. I love the dream God gave you. What a wonderful way to speak to you about something so important!

I'm trying to hold on to hope! Thanks for sharing another great insightful message.

Kelly said...

I have a hope chest, it was my mother's and her's before her.

I love that God spoke to you, and look forward to hearing more.

Sonya Lee Thompson said...

What a powerful post, Julie! This sounds like such a vivid dream! Does God often use dreams to speak to you? How wonderful.

We need to guard our hearts so that the enemy cannot steal our hopes! Great reminder.

Love,
Sonya

Julie Gillies said...

Sonya,

Yes, God does frequently use dreams to speak to me. I don't know why, really. Of course He also speaks through His Word and so many other ways.

I rejoice that the Creator of the Universe cares enough to communicate with me (and each of His children) regardless of the method.

Anonymous said...

I cling to my Hope. Sometimes I cling with my very life. I started blogging because there are too many people, Christians included, who have lost hope or maybe never had it. Thanks to posts like yours, His hope reaches far and away. :)

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