What is the Reason For This Hope of Mine?
What is the reason for this hope of mine?
This is the question that rang in my heart this past weekend as I was given the honor to spend three days inside Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, a maximum security prison.
The first sign of hope I experienced was coming into the gym inside Fluvanna where the Kairos Prison Ministry weekend would be held.
I came across an Angel.
The Angels are inmates who have completed a Kairos weekend and have come back to volunteer on a weekend. As I walked through the hallway toward the doors of the gym I was met by Freda.
She was so radiant and full of light. I will never forget meeting eyes and seeing the glow all over her face. She was confidently defined by her God. She was graceful and secure.
She had enough to give.
Her presence and our connection left me with no doubt that we were bound in sisterhood and love for Christ.
What is the reason for this hope of mine?
Christ’s love and power is so real to me and so many others. As Christians we are notes in a shared sympathy. We recognize the Spirit in each other. We carry our stories of redemption in our hearts. We are sisters across the street, across the world, and across prison walls.
My union with Freda through Jesus was undeniable. Our story of becoming complete in Him is miraculous.
Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Freda and I know that without the work of God in our lives, circumstances could be grim. We know that if we were not saved from ourselves we would continue to make decisions that hurt. We know that if we remained unaware of God’s love we would keep grasping for worth. We know our God never leaves us and that we have family in every corner of the world.
Our hope is in the truth.
Each and every individual that has ever taken breath was created to be loved by God and to love Him.
What is the reason for this hope of mine?
Our shared hope is in Christ’s transforming power. He alones knows who we are meant to be. He can and will bring beauty from ashes.
Jeremiah 29:11, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
It is never too late. There is always hope, and we should not be ashamed to declare our hope.
We should never be ashamed to declare our hope or our suffering.
Romans 5:5, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Matthew Henry comments on Romans 5:5 saying, “A right sense of God's love to us will make us not ashamed, either of our hope, or of our sufferings for him.”
Let us not be ashamed when we declare the truths of our failures or pain and the depths of Christ’s victories. Our confidence and lack of condemnation will send the message that we are certain of our redemption. It will be the confidence someone needs to trust they too can be completely redeemed.
Our unashamed declarations of the journey are the praises to Jesus from the mountain top. The truth of God’s power is revealed in His bringing us out of suffering and sin. The truth of how great God is and how small we are offers us comfort and ushers in hope.
What is the reason for this hope of mine?
I am convinced that the brightest lights come from the ashes.
Isaiah 61:1-3, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord … bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners, proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”
What is the reason for this hope of mine?
I am certain that anyone can have abundant life in Christ in any circumstance. He never fails to offer freedom. His love and peace are relentless. I know that whenever we are with Him we are in heavenly places.
Psalms 27:13, "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
