Proverb 23:18 “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”
This weekend at our Next Step Recovery celebration our personal testimony will be given by a lady (Gwen) who has had to deal with an unbelievable amount of tragedy in her life. I met her about six years ago when we first started our recovery service. She was doing all she could do to help her son overcome the bottle. Her son eventually lost his battle with the bottle but my friend never wavered in her faith. Gwen is up there in her years, is not in very good health and doesn’t have much from a materialistic standpoint, but she always makes it to church and has lots of wisdom to share with others. In many ways she reminds me of the modern day-female version of Job.
I got to know Gwen really well because she took a liking to our special guy Jordan. She always talked with Jordan after church (even though Jordan does not talk) and it was as if she knew him all his life. I can remember one night when she came up to me and handed me a t-shirt she had made for Jordan. The shirt had scripture written on it and after reading the scripture, it was obvious to me that Gwen felt a real connection to Jordan because she knew he had been dealt a difficult hand in life just like she had.
The scripture from the shirt was from Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross.”
My interpretation of that scripture is “don’t get down, keep your head up and focused on the ‘prize’ and know that no matter how much pain you’ve experienced our Lord Jesus experienced it also and someday (eternally) you will experience joy.”
Anyway…last weekend Gwen approached me and asked if she could share her story at the Next Step and she said, “Jay all I want to tell the people is no matter how bad your life may seem never let go of your faith because sometimes that is all you have to hold onto.”
I thought of Gwen when I read my Proverb this morning because Solomon reminds us that there is always a future hope for us that will never be cut off and the hope he is talking about is the eternal hope that comes by following Jesus. Gwen knows this and will be sharing her eternal hope this weekend.
P.E.A.C.E.
If you aren’t doing anything at 7:00pm this Saturday evening, come on over to Ginghamsburg Church just outside of Tipp City, Ohio and hear a story of hope.
