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Kathi Pelton: "But Those Who Hope in the Lord..."


Kathi Pelton, Portland, Oregon
Jun 30, 2024

Have You Become Barren of Belief?

There are seasons in life that challenge the hope that we have. These seasons look like contradictions to all that we believe and have hoped for. As humans, we like answers; we like quick answers even more.

When the Lord speaks a prophetic promise over our lives, we get excited and our hope soars. Then a month passes by, and if a quick fulfillment of the promise has not come, we begin to get a little discouraged—but still we hope. Then if a year goes by without fulfillment, we have to remind ourselves to hope and believe. But what if a decade or even longer goes by, and that prophetic promise seems further away than the day it was given? When that happens, we grapple in our souls with doubt, unbelief, skepticism, and weariness.

You may still believe in His eternal faithfulness, but you may have become "barren" of belief in the earthly promise that you received.

I have painfully watched people that I love go through these kinds of things, and it reminds me of what Abraham and Sarah must have felt and experienced. Yet, they are listed among the heroes of faith. How could doubt and unbelief coexist with being counted as a hero of faith?

He Who Promised Is Faithful

Sarah was found to have laughed, when late in life (far beyond the time when a woman could carry a child in her womb) it was told that she would have a son by the next year (Genesis 18:13–15). Hebrews 11 says this about Sarah: "And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise" (Hebrews 11:11).

She considered Him (God) faithful who had made the promise! When she received the prophetic promise, she believed it because she believed in the faithfulness of God. That moment was the eternal memorialized statement of faith that Sarah would be remembered by. (Photo via Unsplash)

It was tested against time and the frailty of human understanding. Over time she doubted, she lost hope, and she even laughed when it was prophesied again so many years later—this time, into a physical womb that had dried up. But God remembered her initial belief in His faithfulness as if she had never wavered.

This says to me that God understands our frailty. He is compassionate toward our humanity. He is patient with our limited understanding. And He credits us with our core belief and statement of His faithfulness even before they've been tested. Sarah's hope was in the Lord; her soul and her body could not stop the Lord's faithfulness.

Recently, the words from Isaiah 40 were constantly in my head. Especially the part that says, "[B]ut those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

Let Your Hope in the Lord Be Your Foundational Truth

I can only believe that Sarah's eternal hope in the Lord remained her foundational truth. Maybe her hope for a child had departed, but her hope in the Lord and His faithfulness was still solid. And yet, her hope in His promise of a child was about to be strengthened with fulfillment. Her youth was about to be renewed—she'd need that!

Some of you have kept your core belief of "hoping in the Lord" even though you have lost the hope that some of the promises that you carried long ago would come to pass. Like Sarah, your foundation of believing in His faithfulness even amid contradictions is counted unto you, and you are, in His eyes, a hero of faith!

Isaiah 40 is a chapter of comfort to Israel and His chosen people (which is you, for you have been grafted in). It is about how when all has been lost, God is still faithful, and you can put your hope in Him. It is filled with words of comfort and hope that will strengthen you and renew you.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength." (Isaiah 40:28–29) (Photo via Unsplash)

Even when you do not understand, He understands what you are not able to. Even when it seems that your faith has fainted or failed, He does not grow weary. His faithfulness has not wavered or changed; only your human understanding has reached your carnal capacity.

At This Time Next Year You Will Hold the Promise in Your Arms

Suddenly, God comes upon the scene once again—at a time when your wombs no longer can carry a promise—and says, "At this time next year you will hold the promise in your arms." Like Sarah, you may be tempted in your soul to laugh, for you have heard that before. Now it appears that it's too late—too impossible! Yet, that is exactly what happened. When all human strength and belief was lost, God still came through.

The hope in the Lord's faithfulness that Sarah had in her youth was the foundation and guarantee of His fulfillment. So, the hope that you have had in the Lord is remembered and will strengthen you once again.

You may have lost hope in the answer to a particular promise, but now is the time to allow your heart and soul to be strengthened by renewing your hope in the Lord (for He is our eternal hope). This time next year you may just be holding the fulfillment of your promise.

We believe because He who promised is faithful!

 

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Kathi Pelton
Inscribe Ministries

Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.inscribeministries.com

Jeffrey and Kathi Pelton live in Portland, Oregon. Jeffrey is a writer, teacher and book editor. Kathi is an author and prophetic voice to the Church. They walk with nations and individuals to see God's original intent fulfilled. Their ministry, Inscribe Ministries, was founded upon the verse from Habakkuk 2:2 that says, "Then the LORD answered me and said: 'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.'"

 

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HR

 

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