The Hope Chest

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

A hope chest traditionally holds the contents of a bride-to-be's future home. Whether simple or ornate, nestled inside each hope chest are treasures such as new linens, fine china and silverware, along with something intangible--the dreams and hopes of a woman's heart.

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, hopelessness 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 stolel 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 we 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 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!

Next week: Part two.

Because of our family is in travel mode this month, I decided to re-run this previously published post, along with part two the following week. I hope to get back to the real blogging world the first week of December. Thank you!



16 comments:

Speaking from the Heart said...

I didn't corrolate hopelessness with Santan. However, you are absolutely right, Satan is the thief of hope.

Bonita said...

Julie, I have a neat story about my hope chest. Maybe I'll share it some time. God used it to speak the same verse to me that you mentioned in your post.

Karen said...

A good word about hope, and good meaning of that dream. Julie, safe and fun travel with your family.

Gaia said...

Yes Julie, you are right we must hope in God and have faith in him. It is the devil that makes us fearful and lose confidence in our God. Thank you for this reminder. Bless you.

Sista In Arms Lxx said...

Letting go of hope and releasing that anchor paves the way to be shackled by fear, which in turn can stop us from stepping out in Faith, exactly where the enemy wants us! thank you for the reminder. Lxx

B His Girl said...

My hope chest is locked and Jesus is the key. I love what the Lord showed you Julie. Powerful.

achildoftheking said...

Amen Julie!

Rachel Beran said...

Amen! So good! He is the giver of Hope...and the devil tries to steal it from us. What an awesome dream that the Lord gave to you. Thanks for sharing this with us. A great reminder. I'm watching my hope chest carefully. What a great visual!

Cheryl Barker said...

So thankful that with God, we will always have hope in our lives!

Enjoy your time with your family!

Terri Tiffany said...

This post is perfect:) My husband and I have said these past two years as we go through this trial that you can go through anything if you have hope. On the days or weeks we didn't,I knew Satan was having a wonderful day.
THnak you for putting words to my thoughts. Enjoy your travels!

Lisa Smith said...

Julie,

I'm just catching up with you. I love, love the new look. Your latest posts are so anointed and I absolutely cannot wait to see what God is going to do!! You are truly an inspiration.

And, btw, I love the hope chest illustration. The Lord used it greatly in my marriage. I'm praying safe travels for you, lisa

Ginny said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ginny said...

Julie I loved this post. It spoke to my heart. We are still again going through another crisis in our life and this post helped. I will be reading these scripture passages a lot.

Deb said...

So glad that you posted this piece again.

So much truth here.

Just tonight, I "reminded" the Lord about how many years I've been praying for lost family members and how they're still not saved.

Sometimes, I think it's hopeless.

So why bother to keep praying.

But I know, of course, that He wants me to keep prayin.

Keep hoping.

Because He is the God of Hope.

And He will answer!

Thank you, Friend.

Sweet dreams.

Carla Gade said...

What a great word picture. Your dream has helped me to consider many things. I appreciate your sharing this.

Nishant said...

It is the devil that makes us fearful and lose confidence in our God.

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