There is Hope for Your Future
Pastor Michael Joseph Gowon
Introduction
We live in a difficult time in history. So many things are happening at
a rate and speed that human kind have never imagined possible. Every second
around the world multitudes are sinking down into eternity without Christ and
without hope. Multitudes are in the valley of death, facing untold hardships
and difficulties. Christians are facing severe persecutions, to the extent that
the Christian life is being compromised, and Biblical standards are no longer
upheld. Many have secretly or openly confessed, “It is useless to serve God”
(Mal. 3:14a). “The law of truth has ceased from our mouths” (Mal. 2:6),
and we are left with a bundle of problems to handle.
The Report
There is a great global lamentation and bitter weeping. As Jeremiah
puts it, Rachel is weeping for her children and have refused to be comforted
because they are no more (Jer. 31:15). To parents whose children have become a
source of sorrow, a matter of concern, I am sure you will identify with this
passage. If your only child or children have left you heart broken, you have
lost confidence in them because they
have chosen the broad way of worldliness and self-destruction, then cheer up, there is good news for you. Your
labour of love in teaching them the way
of truth, your intercessions and prayers to God for their salvation will never
be wasted. Your tears in the secret place are in God’s bottle and he will
ensure their restoration.
It doesn’t matter what has caused you these tears, God is so concerned
about it and he is sending this word for you. Have you lost a loved one or your
job? Are you out of favour with close associates and friends? Are you operating
under a closed heaven, facing intense and increasing levels of difficulties by
the day? Whatever is the challenge you are going through, God has send me with
a word for you. This is the “times of refreshing” (Acts 3:19)
coming from the presence of the Lord. Therefore, take advantage of it.
The
Restoration
God says, “Stop your weeping, hold back your tears.” Jer. 31:16 The Message
Thus says the Lord: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your
eyes from tears . . .”
The problem in question is immaterial. The command of the Lord is for
you to stop your incessant weeping. Restrain your voice from weeping. Hold back
your tears. In simple language, God is saying, do not cry any further. The end
of your trouble and tribulation has come. God says, “. . . in his favour is life: weeping may endure for
a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psa. 30:5). It does not matter
how long you have been in that situation, your time to celebrate is here. You
will cheat yourself and bare needless pain, if you doubt these sound Words from
God. Release your heart to the Master and allow him to help you at this
difficult time. Choose to believe the report of the Lord and your morning will
be already breaking forth.
God is about to restore wayward children. He is about to bring back
into existence what he has lost to the enemy. He will bring those once wayward
children from the slave market of Satan and put them into proper use once
again. His promise in Joel 2:25 is still effective and it is already activated
for you. Young people who have drifted to the garden of pleasure and plenty
will be restored to their place of duty in the house of the Lord. This is the
announcement of heaven to parents who have refused to be comforted for their
children, because the enemy has captured them. Do not allow the situation at
hand to hinder your joy in God or take you off from your duty in Him. It does
not matter what else you have grieved, wept and cried for, the trouble will not
last forever. The time for restoration is here!
There is hope for they posterity. Paul said, “For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:19).
Let me further assure you that God is willing to “satisfy you early with his
mercy.” If you delay on you believe in his Word, you will delay the
manifestation of his deliverance. His promise is that he will “make
us glad according to the days in which, he has afflicted us” (Psa. 90:14+15). There
is a proportion between the joys and the
sorrows, as it is between the reward and the work. “They shall come again to their
own border” (Jer. 31:17). Distance is no barrier, geography is in his
control, therefore let the matter into his able hands and the restoration will
be swiftly carried out.
The Reward
Have you labored without a harvest? Have you worked so hard and someone
else seems to be gathering the harvest? It is supposed to be the other way
round. You are supposed to be harvesting! Jesus said: “I send you to reap what you have
not worked for. Others have done hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour” (Jn. 4:38)NIV
The Holman Christian Standard Bible renders the last portion of the
above Scripture thus: “. . . others have labored and you have
benefitted from their labour.” The Weymouth New Testament Translation said
of the same place, “. . . others have labored, and you are getting benefit from their
labours.” That is to say much of your future will arise from the
preparation already made for you by others who have labored before.
On Sunday 24th May, 2015 I was in the church burdened and
concerned about the spiritual condition of my children and as well the current
crop of youths that I see everywhere. I have been praying for a deeper
commitment and total surrender to the Lord for my children. I have frequently asked God to help them to know him, love him and serve him all of
their lives. I wanted to see visible commitment, radical and total
devotion, aggressive actions and total addiction for Christ. I longed to see
consistent overflow of love for God, ever increasing appetite for godly things
and diligence in daily service. My goal as a father has been to ignite the
intensity, fan to flame their resolve, and increase their hunger for the things
of heaven.
To encourage me the Lord dropped this Scripture in my Spirit- Jeremiah
31:16-17 and I quietly flipped through the Bible to see what it says. My face
was ignited with joy and assurance that God has answered my prayer. What God
said to me is what he is saying to you also.
“Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for you
work will be rewarded”, declared the Lord. Whatever sacrifices you have made for your
children is not wasted. The long hours of instructions, training cannot be
wasted. The tedious moments of intercession, the labors of love with fasting
and prayers will certainly be rewarded. Let me remind you again that your work
will be adequately compensated.
“So let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we
will reap if we do not give up” (Gal.
6:9). So
do not let your hands be weak, because your work shall be rewarded.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not
in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).
“But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall
be rewarded” (2 Chro. 15:7).
“For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in
serving the Saints, as you still do” (Heb. 6:10).
Paul speaking to the Philippians said, “Holding fast to the Word of
life, so that in the day of Christ, I may be proud that I did not run in vain
or labour in vain” (Phil. 2:16). Therefore beloved, “Cast
your burdens on the Lord, and he will sustain you, he will never permit the
righteous to be moved” (Psa. 55:22).
Several years ago when I started work as a Civil Servant, we went on
for three months without salaries. Interested in knowing God’s will in that
situation, I prayed and asked the Lord to guide me aright in the steps that I
must take. That night as I slept the Lord dropped a verse in my heart. I woke
up suddenly that night and headed for my Bible and discovered that God was
interested in what reward I get for my services.
“Say to the righteous that it shall be
well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings” (Isa.
3:10).
Our God is just God, he rewards every labour. The Holman Christian Standard
Bible says, “Tell the righteous that, it will go well for them for they shall eat
the fruit of their labour.” The Young’s Literal Translation renders the
same Scripture thus, “Say ye to the righteous, that it is good, because
the fruit of their doings they eat.” God is not a cheat, he reap where
he sows and will always give you what is due to you based on your labours.
The Hope
“And there is hope for your future, says the Lord” (Jer. 31:17a).
Hope is the desire for something good in the future. It is the good
thing in the future that we are desiring. Wikipedia.com defines hope as an
optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes
related to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. The
expectation is with confidence and that in this you cherish the desire with
anticipation.
Is it your children that are the trouble to you now? There is hope for
them. Whatever has become the challenge in your life, do not be anxious, do not
fret and never give up because there is hope for your future. You can have this
hope as an anchor for your soul (Heb. 6:19). The Lord will restore the
excellence of Jacob, like the excellence of Israel (Nah. 2:2a). He is about
to rewrite your story, restore your joy
and ensure you finish well. Do not dwell
on your errors or sorrows, focus on your success and stardom.
David understood a secret many years ago and he said of the Lord, “My
hope is in you” (Psa. 39:7). He joyfully placed his trust in God and
was certain; he will not be put to shame. He again declared, “For
you are my hope, O Lord God, you are my trust from my youth” (Psa. 71:5). I
urge you therefore, that no matter the circumstances, no matter the pains, your
consolation is in the Word of God so lay hold of the hope set before you (Heb.
6:18). Beloved, there is hope for your future. “For I know the thoughts that I
think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give
you an expected end” (Jer. 29:11).
Conclusion
The life of Job in the Bible should be an encouragement for us today.
In spite of the challenges he faced he declared, “Man who is born of a woman is of
few days and full of trouble” (14:1). Further speaking from his
experience, Job declared:
"For there is hope of a
tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch
thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the
stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud,
and bring forth boughs like a plant” (14:7-9).
Putting to heart this eternal secret can change the cause of your
future. There is hope for a tree, if it is cut down that it will sprout again.
You can never reach a situation when you assume you cannot be redeemed or
delivered. Even if you were cut down, severed from your source of hope and
life. Even if your roots have dried up and you and others have declared that
you are hopeless and useless. God specializes is fixing hopeless situations. If
you can consider what God has spoken to your heart through this message then be
sure that, “Still, at the smell of water, you will bud, and put forth boughs
like a plant again.” God said it and I believe it, what about you? There is
hope for your future!!
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