P 2158 Hope.

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of things to come, as well as our treasure – right here, right now. We need to treat His favour as our greatest prize. The Holy Spirit’s continual Presence with us, is Father God’s gift to us. He is guiding us, teaching us, and assuring us, that we belong to the Lord Jesus, over and over again  That is a far greater treasure than all the wealth in this world. 

One day we will leave our mortal bodies behind and go to be with Jesus forever. So right now, even if our bodies, emotions, or minds betray us, we can rest in the fact that we are not alone, without hope or help. Our help is in the Name of the Lord Who made heaven and earth! Our hope is in Jesus our Saviour, our Redeemer, our Friend. Our hope is in the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us to help us manage this life, from one minute to the next. Our hope is that THEY ARE ALWAYS FAITHFUL… It’s in the book!

2 Corinthians 5:5:  “And this is no empty hope, for God Himself is the One who has prepared us for this wonderful destiny. And to confirm this promise, He has given us the Holy Spirit, like an engagement ring, as a guarantee.” Our hope is not empty, because it is not about feelings, it is about an utterly reliable Person! He is our constant companion. God gave us the Holy Spirit so we could have His hope in the midst of difficulties. Just call out for His help at any time.

The Holy Spirit is SomeOne we can rely on, because He put the sun, moon and stars in the sky. Plus He made you and I inside our mother’s wombs. While we are here on this earth, we are continually assured and surrounded by His Love and involvement – whether we feel like it or not! His Presence in our lives is our guarantee that God is in charge, He’s got you and me firmly in His hands. Like the infant in my picture today.

Things around us can change in a heartbeat but He will never change. There are moments when we desperately need to escape from difficult circumstances, because our flesh can grow tired. However, we can escape despair by remembering WHO GAVE US THOSE PROMISES.  Let’s look at this life through the eyes of faith – the Holy Spirit gave them to us. There is no room for fear in His kind of love, even though we have been attacked on every side, and we feel like all is lost, our feelings are not facts. But the bible is a book full of facts about our God.

The Love of God, and the Presence of His Holy Spirit is so all encompassing, He is all over us, IN us, and around us. So when we use our eyes of faith we can see Him at work. I put the picture above today to illustrate what enfolded means. It means wrapped around, surrounded so carefully you can barely see that little child’s feet – because the parent’s strong hands are enfolding them. The Holy Spirit wraps Himself around us like a cocoon wraps itself around a butterfly. We are safe inside His care. His Presence within us reassures us, over and over again, that we belong to Him now. Always. We are held so completely, so tightly by His Love, that love fills our vision. Remember, what you focus on grows bigger – focus on the One Who has come to be with us here and now and He will never leave us. 

Let His love enfold you, this very second. Then continually practice hiding in that love. Especially when the world misunderstands you, ignores you, or abuses you. We are NOW enfolded into Christ. When Father God looks at us He sees Jesus. V14: “For it is Christ’s love that fuels our passion and holds us tightly, because we are convinced that He has given His life for all of us…” V17-19 “… Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to Himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God.”

This is our message of hope – God is not mad at people. The Holy Spirit has come here personally to help human beings every single day to discover more about the God of heaven and earth Who saved them. Our HOPE lies in Christ and everything He has already done for us. 👋🏻