So, if you’ve been following my blog for very long, then you’ll understand- for the past few days, 4:00am has been the new 3:00am. Of course, Daylight Saving’s time has something to do with that, I’m sure. For about a month, I’ve been sleeping much better. I think it was probably because I had COVID in February and I was just so tired. However, now I’ve shifted back into my old pattern of waking up again and when I look at the clock it’s almost exactly 4:00am. When it usually happens, I have about 10 seconds of time before I remember. Then, memories come flooding into my thoughts in this order, like scenes from a movie trailer almost: Sarah’s death, scenes from the hospital, various scenes of our life since she’s been gone, and then my mind frantically searches for memories of her face before cancer. I usually begin talking to Jesus and asking Him to help me see her now, even if it’s only an image that I’m imagining, based on what I know to be true about heaven. After a few minutes of this battle in my mind, and realizing that I’m not falling back to sleep, I’ll continue to pray and talk to Jesus about the things and the people that are on my heart. Sometimes, I’ll just go ahead and get up and turn on the coffee pot. I’ve had some really beautiful and sacred moments with God in these times.
This morning, as I was praying, the Holy Spirit gave me 2 words that I feel very strongly that I’m supposed to share. I know that these words are for more than just me. I didn’t hear them, I saw them as giant text that my mind actually had to read to digest. It was this…CHOOSE HOPE. That’s what I saw in all white colored and capital blocked font lettering. Those “vision” kinds of things don’t usually happen to me. Not that I haven’t desired it, but that’s just not how God usually speaks to me. Without a doubt though, I know it was from Him and that I was supposed to share.
Is that message for you? I can certainly relate to the message that was given. I’ve written about the topic of Hope before. The Bible tells us that Hope is the Anchor for our souls in Hebrews 6:19. The thing about anchors though, is they have to be attached to something to work. If an anchor’s rope has been severed it is useless and probably sitting at the bottom of the lake. The vessel that it was once attached too, probably drifted or wandered into places that it didn’t want to go. Is that happening to you? Sometimes, our rope isn’t severed, but we can let our rope that’s attached to our anchor of hope get to long. When we do that- we drift further away from the truth than we should. Keeping the rope shorter, protects us and allows us to feel the tug, when we start to drift too far.
Hebrews 6:19 is quoted and displayed often and rightly so, but there’s a second part to the verse that’s equally as beautiful when you understand the imagery. It actually flows right into verse 20 with a powerful truth.
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:19 NIV
This is one of those passages that I love to use the Bible App to read in all the different versions. The verses translates the same, but different versions paint better images for us of what it means. I encourage you to dig in and study it for yourself. The way that I interpret this passage is that the anchor of Hope is placed in the very presence of God, where Jesus also is and because we are attached to that anchor, we are attached to Jesus who is acting on our behalf as our eternal High Priest or mediator. Now in Biblical times, the High Priest was the only one worthy enough to enter the Holy of Holies and offer a blood sacrifice atonement for the forgiveness of sins. So the significance here is about what Jesus did for us on the cross and how He enters into the presence of God on our behalf to atone for our sins and mediate for us with the Father. It’s a beautiful picture of how He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. I love that it’s all attached to Hope. That’s the thing that we must grab onto and not let go of to stay connected to the very presence of God.
You see, God will never sever the rope. We have to hold on to it though. Let’s rewind a bit more and read what scripture says before verse 19:
“God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.” Hebrews 6: 17-18 NLT
The Message translation actually say’s “grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline.” Do you see the preface to the promise? YOU have to grab on and not let go! No matter how much it hurts, no matter how far away you get from the anchor, just please don’t let go. This message isn’t just for the grieving, it’s for the living. Although, I feel very strongly that AS I grieve, the hope that I have has changed HOW I grieve. Grace In Grieving has grown out of a desire to share that hope and connect with others who are grieving. It’s my prayer that together we would choose hope and keep encouraging one another to not let go.
So now I’m curious…who was my word vision for? Would you be bold enough to let me know and claim it for your own?
Thanks for reading, sharing, commenting. Every click helps support the message of hope!
Great post 😉