Hold Fast to
Hope!
Jeanne Alcott
You know the saying, “They suffered a setback”? We say it when we refer to someone who has had something bad happen to them. They were working toward accomplishing something or trying to see a desire come to pass, but now they’re hindered. An event has stopped the person from getting what they need. That’s what it means to suffer a setback.
But have you noticed how we say the word “suffer?” I think that’s appropriate because a setback sure can cause suffering. It can hurt us when something doesn’t happen; it goes wrong. We’re in need or we’re humiliated or disappointed. We can’t describe how it is. Sometimes we can’t even think straight. It’s hard to analyze our emotions. We’re suffering! The setback has been more than we feel we can handle. So what can we do in those times? What do we have to hold onto when we are losing what’s so important to us?
God gives us the answer in His Word. Hebrews 10:23: Let us hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess. Why should we do that? What’s the reason that we can hold onto hope? Because the rest of that verse says, He Who promised is reliable and faithful to His word. (Ref. Hebrews 10:23.) So when we face a setback, know that it’s temporary. That’s because God who has promised what you are to receive is reliable. He’s faithful to fulfill His Word.
It's temporary.
So the setback is TEMPORARY because God is coming in to fulfill His Word. It won’t exist anymore, because what’s going to push it out of the way? The promise of God. The promise that God put in your heart will push that setback out of your way. Remember it’s temporary! It cannot continue to exist is what that means. It cannot continue to exist because God comes in and moves it out of the way SO THAT what He promised you can happen.
It doesn’t matter how dire the conditions appear. Those conditions do not determine the limit of God. Can you even imagine that? That something on this earth could ever limit what God could do. That it could put boundaries around Him and force Him not to move in your life? No way. Nothing is ever going to prevent God from moving the way He desires. If you hold fast to hope! You believe in what you have been promised, and that He will be faithful to fulfill it according to His Word.
From a handful of rice to great blessing.
There’s a woman I’m going to tell you about who has done this in her life. And when you hear her story, it really causes you to admire her. She’s a person who had to believe her setback was temporary and hold fast to her hope. Because she did, read what happened. This woman is from Chicago. One day a reporter was assigned to do a human-interest story on her. It was Christmas time and his newspaper wanted to show the struggles of a family from inner-city Chicago. But this reporter, who was an atheist, didn’t care about Christmas of course. However, since his paper had made the assignment he had to go visit this woman.
When he arrived at her house, here is a description of what he saw. The woman was sixty years old at the time. Her two granddaughters were living with her. They had had a home in a tenement, but it burned down. So the three of them were crowded in this tiny two-room apartment on the West side. Not two-bedroom apartment, but two rooms total.
As bad as that was, he then saw there was no furniture in the apartment. It was empty. No rugs. No pictures. Nothing except a small kitchen table. On it was one handful of rice. The two young girls were the ages of 11 and 13. They each owned one dress and there was one thin grey sweater that they shared between the two of them. They would trade it back and forth as they walked to school in the cold Chicago weather. The woman had arthritis so she couldn’t work. They were suffering a setback.
But in everything he saw, the thing that got to this reporter the most was her attitude. As he interviewed her, she didn’t have a sense of self-pity or blame the government. Instead she was full of faith and dignity because she believed God would take care of them. She was holding fast to hope. So she told this reporter all about Jesus and her hope in Him.
Well, the man finished the interview and turned it in to the paper. But over the next few days he couldn’t get this family out of his mind. So on Christmas Eve, he decided to make a visit again to their house. This atheist was searching. He couldn’t figure out how they could have so much faith and seem to have nothing in this world, yet he had everything and had no faith.
So as the grandmother opened the door and invited him into the apartment, here’s the change that he noticed. Now the apartment was filled with furniture, appliances, and rugs. There was a nice Christmas tree. Wrapped presents. Bags of food, and winter garments. They even had cash gifts given to them. Where did this all come from? Since the reporter’s article had been published, the people who read it had responded to the needs of the family.
Here’s what happened next.
Now this sounds as if it’s a great ending to a wonderful story. But if we see this as the ending, then we will miss the complete picture of how God works. Because here’s what happened next. This family, who had been in need and now had so much given to them, were not hoarding it and holding onto it as if these things were their hope. No, they were continuing to hold fast to the hope they had in God and His faithfulness. So instead of keeping everything for themselves, they were getting ready to walk out the door to give away many of the items.
The reporter was shocked. He asked the grandmother why they were doing this. Her answer? “Our neighbors are still in need. We cannot have plenty while they have nothing. This is what Jesus would want us to do.” He was taken aback. That rocked everything that he believed. But then came the next big wonderful truth that changed him. She said, “All this is wonderful; it’s a gift from God, but it’s not His greatest gift. No, we celebrate that tomorrow at Christmas. That is Jesus.” That did it! This atheist could no more hold fast to his belief that there was no God and there was no hope. He now put his hope in Jesus and became a Christian.
When defeat is staring you in the face.
Oh what God can do when we hold fast to our hope in Him. That grandmother knew what she was experiencing was a temporary setback. So she was able to hold fast to her hope. She knew God would come through and help them. Because she understood this principle, when she did receive His promise, she was able to share with others.
You see, when we trust God, we won’t hold onto material things or relationships or position or money. When we’re holding fast to Him, we have the faith to let those things go and use them as God desires. It was her hope in Jesus that transformed her life and the life of an atheist.
When defeat seems to be staring you in the face, hold fast to hope! Somehow, God will change the setback and help you. He is reliable and faithful to His Word. Remember that scripture in Hebrews said to hold fast to the hope that you cherish and confess. That’s what that grandmother was doing. She cherished the Word of God and His promises to her. She cherished the hope she had in Him. Because of that she was confessing to that reporter what she believed God would do.
It’s time for you to reach out to embrace and cherish the hope that God has for what you desire. And don’t just cherish it, but confess it. Confess the promises of God and what He will do for you. Express those from a heart of faith and believe you will see a great spiritual move just as that family did and as the atheist did in his conversion.
God can do great things for you and for your family and those around you who need Him. So today hold fast to hope. Cherish it. Confess it. Then you can experience it.
OUR PRAYER FOR YOU.
Oh Lord, my dear friend has suffered a setback. It feels as if the desire in their heart will never come to pass. The devil has inserted his hand into the process and stopped what should have been theirs.
But instead of losing our hope, we’re going to laugh. Because even in the midst of suffering, we know the devil cannot prevail. He’s tried to change the scene to one of no hope. Ugly. Not what they desire. But that’s just temporary. He can’t determine what You are about to do, because You see us at this moment and how we are holding fast to our hope. We cherish it. We confess it.
Now, I believe for my friend to experience it. Experience everything You have designed for them to have. So we praise You for what is to come. It can be mighty and good and fulfill their dream. We believe it. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
We want to help you enter into what God has for you!
So together we must take hold of the hope of what God has for you. It’s a united front against what the devil is doing. That’s why it’s good for you to share with us the kind of setback you’ve experienced. What are your needs? What are your dreams? We are both sent here to help you enter into what God has promised.
But we must hear from you so I can then lay hands on what you share and intercede. Also, it’s important for us to write to you. That’s because God drops in our spirit words of encouragement and power for your life. So we can’t wait to hear from you. Just click here now and it will come directly to us. Jeanne Alcott
SPECIAL NOTE: You’re giving life to people!
Now, I encourage you to believe God’s Word about giving and receiving. It’s right there. In the Scriptures.
God promises when you give into His work so that His Word can give life to people, that’s what you’ll receive in return.
Life.
Blessing.
Provision.
Favor and promotion.
Well-being and wholeness.
He’ll give so much to you that it will run over and you’ll be able to give to others. (Ref. Luke 6:38.) That’s His plan for your life. Now, enter into it today as you give into Alcott Ministries.
We have some wonderful people helping support the radio airtime and the materials that we produce and many things we’re doing for God. But we need more people to be a part of this ministry. So if you have been hearing the teachings and have been encouraged or helped in some way, be sure to respond to what God has done for you and give back to Him. And John and I are doing the same thing today. We’re giving of our finances to God. So now expect miracles.
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All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.