LIMITLESS HOPE

LIMITLESS HOPE
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." (Hebrews 6:19 NIV)
Have you ever found hope inside the grocery store? I spotted Him in the isle of household cleaning products, and He appeared to be reading labels. Marc continued a bit further down the isle to pick up our preferred laundry soap, but I drew near to the One for whom my heart beats, and He directed my gaze to the particular label He was studying.
The bottle was red, and in bright, large letters across the front were the words "LOADS OF HOPE." Directly below that in much smaller print were how many loads there were. "Hmmm...," I said with a chuckle, "it looks like you only get 42 loads of hope."
"Don't settle," He said. "Huh?" I replied, leaning in so I wouldn't miss anything He said.
"Don't put your hope in the things of this world. Put your hope in Me." He finished. I thought about all the things people around me put their hope in: government, money, material things, their children, their spouse, their careers, their physical health, and even religion. I pondered all these things in my heart as we went through the check-out line and then home.
As soon as the groceries were put away I headed down the familiar path to the well. I arrived at the well and Perfect Hope was waiting there for me. His Book was open and He had marked some places He especially wanted me to read. So I took off my shoes - the ones I wear on Saturdays to run around doing all my chores - and I took my place at His feet.
My heart grew still as He talked with me about Hope. Here is some of what He shared with me. Why don't you kick off your shoes of busyness and sit a few minutes with Him too?

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13 NIV)

"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27 NIV)

"He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us." (2 Corinthians 1:10 NIV)

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. (Romans 5:5 NIV)

I remained quiet as I pondered hope. I had heard about different kinds of hope. There was little hope, diminished hope, crushed hope, vain hope, empty hope, and lost hope. I had even talked with people whose hope had died. As I thought of these kinds of hope, the laundry soap label came to mind, “LOADS OF HOPE…42 loads.” I looked at Him who is Eternal Hope and asked, “Lord, why would anyone choose hope that only goes so far and then runs out?” A picture formed in my mind of someone hurrying to the place where their hope was kept only to find their hope gone. An ache for those who had this kind of hope began to form deep in my heart.
In that moment He drew me very near Him and said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:37-38).
I thought about a thirsty world that didn’t seem to know what they needed to satisfy such a thirst – a thirst of the soul. How would they know? Following my train of thought, He said, “You are salt and light.” I thought about that for a moment, and then moving in a bit closer to Him, said, “Sometimes, I don’t feel very salty or like I have much light. In fact, there are times my own hope seems to be a bit low.” “That’s the trouble,” He said. “What is?” I asked. “Your own hope; it’s no hope at all. Lasting hope is only found in Me. Come to Me,” He finished.
I’m not sure why, but our talk made me think of another woman who had met Him at a different well long ago. Knowing my thoughts, He softly said, “Her hope had run out.” Gazing up at Him, I said, “But then You gave herYour hope.” I thought about her, and then it occurred to me, she had run back to town casting light and salt on everyone she met, and then she led those heart-thirsty people to Jesus. “Then they believed for themselves,” He said.
It was then the Master Weaver took the threads from Romans 5:13 and John 7:37-38 and turned them golden as He skillfully wove them into the fabric of my heart, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. …so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” “Oh,” I cried as my heart sat up. “I too must come to You every day. You will fill me with Living Water and with Your hope. Then as I go about in a thirsty world, the power of the Holy Spirit will cause me to overflow with hope.” “Salt and light,” He said.
I lingered a while, drinking deeply at the Well of His Presence. When I stood to put my shoes of busyness back on, I saw that He had replaced them with shoes of hope. My heart smiled broadly as I put them on, they felt so much better than shoes of busyness. I walked the path, my feet shod with the hope He had given me; not a hope like the world gives, oh, no. His hope doesn’t end after 42 uses. It can’t be crushed and it can never die. It’s glorious, living, limitless hope.
A little later, as I was going about finishing my chores for the day, I found a note He had tucked into a corner of my heart, and I sat down and read His Words – they were from Psalm 62:5-8. I decided to turn them into a prayer.
Father, give me rest for my soul – the kind only You can give. You alone are my hope, my rock, my salvation, and my fortress, so I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on You. You, Lord, are my mighty rock, my refuge. Help me to trust in You at all times. Help me to pour out my heart to You, for You are my refuge. Amen. Feel free to borrow my prayer if you want to.
Later that night, I stopped by the well and found a note He had left for me. “Daughter, thank you for the prayer. Will do it.”

Dear one, are you running low on hope? Are you unsure where you left it? When was the last time you stepped out of the busyness and spent some time with Him who is our Living Hope? What kind of shoes are you wearing today? Perhaps yours are shoes of sorrow, rejection, guilt, depression, fear, worry or anxiousness. Do you hear His voice thunder through your soul, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31) And after you have drawn away and sat with Him a while, you'll find He has exchanged the shoes you wore for shoes of hope; glorious, limitless hope.

An Original Conversations at the Well
By Diana Morgan
© Copyright September 18, 2010