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Schedule   |   Dance teams   |   Special Singing   |   Testimony   |   Worship Leader

Testimony
As a women’s group, we held our “A Hope to Hold Onto” Spring Conference. At the conception of planning this conference, I never really thought that I would be one who needed this message so much. I wanted to reach out to others whom I know have waged battle after battle. It’s funny how the enemy can turn something that was meant for good into something that can cause such confusion in one’s life. As I recalled the vision God had placed in my heart, I felt hope slip away. It would require more than one to accomplish this goal and that would require unity and love. How could this possibly come to pass?

God began to remind me of my grandson, Javin – a hopeless situation. The circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and birth looked hopeless. My daughter-in-law, Cristy, chose the name Javin, a name I had never heard of. I learned that it meant “hopeful.” I thought, well, that’s nice. Then things started going wrong and Cristy almost lost Javin and God sovereignly rescued him. Cristy was confined to bed for over half of her pregnancy. She was stuck with me as her nurse. It was a hard time, watching my children suffer and praying for a miracle day after day. We made it to 37 weeks in the pregnancy and Javin had to be born. The doctor was confident that she had carried him long enough and that he would be fine. I thought so too; after all, his name is Javin – full of hope. January 25, 2007, Javin entered this big world and it wasn’t long before they knew that he was in trouble. He was sent to Ruby Memorial Hospital that cold snowy evening by ambulance. The weather was too bad to fly him. We were so afraid that he would not make the trip. He was “sicker”, as the doctor put it, than first realized. He was diagnosed with Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension. This was the sickest baby they had seen in five years - our baby - the one we had prayed diligently for. We lived hour by hour to get the reports from the medical staff. Day by day, praising God that he made it through one more day. Javin spent the first three months of his life in the hospital. To make a long story short, God brought our little bundle of hope through and although it was rough for the first year, you should see him now as he enters those terrible twos! Praise God!!! God is the God of the Possible when it looks impossible!

So once again, I find myself looking at Hosea 2:14 -15. It’s about the Valley of Achor. I’ve been here before. I’d do anything to avoid it but somehow I sense God’s timing and know that once again, He, too, is in this thing. This is for the good and I must trust Him. You see, God allures (Hebrew meaning to open or make roomy in a mental or moral sense) us into the wilderness. A wilderness speaks of a desert or open field, a place of discomfort, or out of our comfort zone. We don’t like it, yet it’s imperative for our growth and preparation for the work that God has before us. The enemy knows this and that is why he tries so hard to abort hope in the life of a believer. The Valley of Achor is the Valley of Trouble. The word valley here means “a vale, depression.” It’s taken from a word meaning “to make deep, profound.” We sometimes can find ourselves in a deep, profound depression caused by relentless and unchanging trouble and situations. Yet, God uses what the enemy means for evil, and makes it into a “door of hope.” An entrance to “an expectancy.” Expectancy, according to Webster Dictionary, is “to await some occurrence or outcome implying a high degree of certainty and involves the idea of preparing or envisioning.” It’s like being pregnant and preparing the birth of that child. You know he’s coming, there’s anticipation, an excitement like awaiting Christmas morning. Now, my sisters, that is hope! Hope, in this passage, actually means “a cord, an attachment.” I love this! We grab a hold of this hope in Jesus because with Him “all things are possible.” Hebrews 6:19 says “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.”

An anchor is attached to a rope (cord) and holds the ship steady. Our hope is Jesus. He alone is our anchor and He is able to hold us steady and safe through any storm the enemy could possibly send our way. He is our “shelter in the time of the storm,” our refuge, the glory and the lifter of our head. He, alone, is our all in all. He will never leave us or forsake us, He never fails!

In verse 15 of Hosea 2, it says that “she will sing there…” The word sing here means “to heed, pay attention, respond, testify, and to sing.” God’s has our attention now, we’re listening and we respond to His love with our song of worship and praise, our very lives.

Many of you have experienced so much in this last year - death of a loved one, illnesses, marital and financial problems, lost children and the many everyday battles that the enemy and just life can bring our way. Will you, with me, grasp a hold of Jesus, our anchor, and know that He truly is “A Hope to Hold Onto?” He will not fail us. He will give us the grace, mercy, and strength to feel alive, dream dreams, and breathe once more. We must decide to continue to walk in His love at all times. Remember, God has a plan for each of us. He is not done with us yet! He alone can give us the desires of our hearts.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
“to give you an expected end.” KJV

With great expectancy, we look to you, O God, and know without a shadow of doubt that Your plans and ways are good. We trust You, love and adore You. You are our hope.
Amen.