Grab Hope Today!



And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. Isaiah 62:2-4

I'm so excited about what God is doing in this season! You may be thinking that I've lost my mind. We're in the middle a pandemic. People are walking around with masks covering their faces and blue gloves on their hands.  Families are separated, and people are dying.  I got my mask and gloves, too.  Nevertheless, I also got my hope!
What is there to be so hopeful about? I'm glad you asked, and I'm excited to tell you! Isaiah 62:2-4 was our Sunday School lesson last week.  When I began to study, my feet got light and I felt like dancing.  Isaiah often brought gloom and doom to the people, but he also brought blessings.  He was talking to Israel about justice. Some say that all of this happening around us is because the church stopped praying.  Some say it's because God is trying to get our attention.  Some even say we have sinned and this is our punishment.  Well, whatever you think, read the bible.  It's awful outside, but there is hope.  God is not going to leave us outside.  Hephzibah means, "my delight is in her."  Beulah means, "married."
So at the end of it all, we have hope.  We are the new Israel. We are God's people and He delights in us! Isaiah was letting Israel know that God was giving them back their land.  Maybe you haven't prayed like you ought to.  Don't stop reading there.  Repent and move forward. God is giving us all a second chance. God is putting us back in the right position with him.  When we come out of this, people will know that we are His people!
I encourage you to rejoice in the God of your salvation, and grab hope! There will be glory after this!

Reaching the lost at any cost,
Pastor Odie Kennedy

Photo by Julie Elliott-Abshire

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