“At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant" (Job 14:7-9).
Heavenly Father, You are the God of hope (Romans 15:13). Though You are high and exalted, You say of Yourself, “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite" (Isaiah 57:15).
Father, You know so well our hearts. You know so well our weaknesses and our faulty inclinations. You know so well that when we are lowly in spirt—when we are overwhelmed by life and by circumstances—we often lose perspective.
We see here how Job struggles in his despair, thinking there was greater hope for rebirth and revival for a tree rather than for a human (Job 14:7-12). O but Lord, You give us Your Holy Spirit, and the truth of Your word, to right our vision and revive our hearts. Your unerring word tells us that we have hope in You—that we are firmly planted in the soil of Your love and grace, and that nothing can topple us:
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
We come to Your throne of grace today, Father, on behalf of those who are losing hope, who are having trouble holding on. Deliver hearts from fear, worry, anxiety and depression. Speak Your truth into the lies of despair and deception. Bring deliverance from hopelessness. Shield Lord, from the temptation to give up, or give in to desperation.
Give us Your grace, Your help, Your power to persevere through difficulty. Fill us with the new thought-shifting perspective of Job, All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come (Job 14:14).
Father, seasons come and seasons go, life's events constantly change. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end (Psalm 102:27). Give us hope and resilience, so that in time we can say, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth" (Job 19:25).
Comments