Years ago, I felt the Lord whisper a promise in my soul. It was a sweet promise of a gift that would come. He did not tell me how. He did not tell me when. Somehow I just knew it was true though. I could feel it in my heart.
I prayed off and on for years over the matter. I prepared myself both in my spirit and in practical ways, waiting for the moment it would occur, but it never did. Just when I would begin to think I had made the whole thing up, somehow the Lord would confirm it to me again through Scripture or a sermon. One time, he even confirmed it through a conversation with a stranger while on vacation. Still, time passed, and nothing happened.
This month, during a vulnerable conversation with a friend I confided in her this promise the Lord had whispered. Rather than shaking her head in disbelief, she said, “I have a similar story,” and as she shared it, it really did seem that our stories aligned closely. Happily, her whispered promise is in the process of coming into fruition.
Honestly, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it anymore. I don’t even pray about it regularly. I know that, if it is to happen, the Lord will bring it about, and it probably will come about differently than I expect anyway.
This makes me think of Abraham. The Lord gave him and his wife a promise of something that seemed impossible: a baby in their sunset years. What seemed ridiculous at age 75 must have seemed unimaginable as he approached ages 80, 85, 90, and 95. Perhaps he thought he had imagined the whole thing. In fact, because the waiting was too hard, and his faith was so small, he and his wife set out to accomplish the Lord’s will in their own timing. Abraham had a son with his wife’s handmaid. We all know how that turned out. Trying to accomplish God’s will for Him is foolish indeed.
Finally, at age 100, Abraham’s promised son arrived. He was the beginning of a long-awaited line of chosen people, through whom the Lord would send His Son. He was worth the wait.
In Hebrews 6, the author references Abraham’s story as he writes about inheriting a promise. However, this time, a more permanent promise is spoken of using the language of hope:
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner…
Hebrews 6: 19 – 20a CSB
We have reason to hope. As believers, we have hope in a great promise that includes redemption, forgiveness, new bodies, and eternal life. Jesus has entered before us, and hope anchors our soul as we wait for what is coming. Hope is a beautiful thing. It rises up and holds our souls steady as we wait for the promise to be fulfilled.
Pause: Inhale and exhale slowly. Find a quiet space to read Hebrews 6: 13-20. Meditate on these verses. What stands out to you?
Renew: Think about hope as an anchor for the soul. What are you hoping for? Who are you hoping in? How is thinking about hope as an anchor for your soul reassuring?
Next: Hebrews encourages us to “seize the hope set before us.” How in your faith walk can you “seize hope” this week? Is it by clinging to a particular Scripture verse, by praying through a seemingly impossible situation, or by acting obediently on something the Lord has called you to do?
May we cling tightly to our anchor of hope.
Pause, Renew, Next!