Listen:
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
Reflect:
My little Romanian Bible is like a journal. I have little dates or scribblings marked on the margins, in order to remember when God used a certain passage or story to encourage me or to give me hope. I am reading the Psalms in this season and almost every Psalm has a date and a little note: When I felt lonely after moving to Bucharest. When I needed to pour my heart out to God in worry over a situation. When I liked a boy that did not like me back (you can tell that this Bible is really old). When I did not have enough income and He provided in a special way for my needs. When I graduated from high school and was seeking direction and clarity for the future. These and so many more were marked on the yellowed pages of my little black Bible.
I am in a new season of life, having just started the third trimester of this long-prayed-for pregnancy and I’ve been experiencing much anxiety at night these last few nights. So I’ve been dreading going to bed because when I lay down I feel overwhelmed with emotion and emotions. So where else to go but to the Word of God for comfort and encouragement? Haven’t so many other children of God experienced anxiety and restlessness before? I’ve been holding on to two truths, repeating like a mantra to re-center my soul.
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:5)
This verse is found in the exact same wording three times in Psalms 42 and 43. It seemed like I really needed to hear it yesterday.
And then another verse that comforted me today:
“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” (Psalm 94:19)
These are not simplistic, cheesy quotes to just be written on a picture-perfect painting, but they are fresh waters, quenching the thirsty souls of people who had walked the hard road and ended up to the same conclusion: hope and joy are found in God.
I remember my grandmother who was kicked out of school when she was only 14 years old, when she had to choose between God and the new communist regime taking over our country at the time. In front of all her friends, she chose God. Her life after that was very hard, with so much suffering and pain she rarely talked about, but were visible on her battered skin and calloused hands. I often asked her in her last years of life if she ever regretted her choice and not once did she hesitate to give the clearest, wholehearted NO. No single regret for having chosen God. Her life was not mentioned in the Scriptures, nor in any other book or even a newspaper article. But her testimony, like the testimonies from the Word of God – they teach us endurance and their encouragement gives us hope.
Prayer of Response:
Lord Jesus Christ, Thank you for the hope that I constantly find in Your Word. No matter what I am experiencing, there is life and encouragement for it. And thank you that the greatest hope and encouragement is found at your cross, where you carried all of my pain and suffering, my anxiety and overwhelm. I am never too much for you and you feel with me, no matter what I am going through. Help me live a life that points to you and that is an encouragement to those around me. Amen.
Questions for Reflection:
- What kind of testimony am I writing with my life? Is it teaching endurance, giving hope to the generations to come?
- What are some of the verses or promises that you find in the Word that encourage your heart in this season?
—Submitted by Diana Anton
Diana lives in Bucharest, Romania and serves as the Executive Director of Lifesprings International and her passion is to see women worldwide connected, encouraged and prepared to keep bringing the love of Jesus Christ to our communities. She is thankful for this season of pregnancy, when at almost 43 she has the joy and honor of carrying a precious little boy inside of her. Her favorite things in this season are cherries and evening walks with Bogdan, her husband, smelling the blooming linden trees.