“For I know אֶת the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for your shalom (to prosper, heal, bless and made you whole in every area of your life) and not evil, to give you a future and a hope (תִקְוָֽה) (Tikvah: cord). Jeremiah 29:11.
“So she sent them away, and they departed; and she bound the (את) scarlet cord (Tikvah) in the window.” Joshua 2:21.
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Never let go of your hope. It is the anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters inside the veil to the very Holy of holies, My throne of grace, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for you, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
One of the devil’s primary tactics is to put your soul in despair, trapped in a place where there seems no way out, a valley of trouble. But have you never read that when you are in the wilderness, I give you אֶת vineyards from there and אֶת the valley of trouble AS A DOORWAY OF HOPE. Hosea 2:15. In every valley of trouble there is a door of hope, and that is your way to the freedom on the heights.
And that is today’s life lesson on what to do when the devil attacks, and that is, “Hold fast to your hope, for hope will not disappoint.”
What is hope and way do you need it so badly to overcome Satan and to live a joyful life? “The hope of the righteous is gladness (simchah (שִׂמְחָה): joy, gladness, mirth).” Proverbs 10:28. If you have no hope you do not want to keep on living, you become a prisoner of despair, seeing nothing but a future of pain and no way out of the corner you have been backed into by yourself or others, but the real culprit who got you there is the devil. And the way he keeps you there is by making you doubt My goodness, My love for you, and My promises. He steals your hope if you let him, but the problem is that most people do not know the game the devil is playing and they are accepting the stripping of their hope, of the hope of glory.
And that is the way the exiles of Judah felt when they had so grievously sinned against Me by scorning My Words and worshipping idols, so, of course, the enemy came in and carried them off captive and burned their city, including My house, to the ground. But in their exile in a foreign land they turned their thoughts again to Me, like the prodigal son, but they felt like a field of dried up bones with no future and no way out. But I see a way when there is no way if you will make Me your hope. I am the One who made a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters. Isaiah 43:16.
So I sent Word to them by My prophet Jeremiah, and that word is the same for you, “For I know אֶת the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for your shalom (to prosper, heal, bless and made you whole in every area of your life) and not evil, to give you a future and a hope (תִקְוָֽה) (Tikvah: cord). Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:11-13.
Hope is a confident expectation of good things coming, as you look forward with joy to the day you will receive them. It is looking forward rather than back and seeing a life filled with good things and much fruit, even in old age.
“My people will be filled with My goodness,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 31:14.
Hope is knowing there is something wonderful ahead that is coming to you for sure that makes it worth going forward with perseverance despite any obstacle.
And you can only have this sure hope of what is ahead when it is based on truth, and not a lie. And you can only have this hope if it is based on a promise, a sworn oath, that has been given to you by someone who has the ability to bring it to pass, that is, has the power and the resources, and is on your side completely who will NEVER leave you or forsake you and is totally committed to your care. And there is only One that fits every part of that description and thus qualifies for you to place your hope in.
“For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.” Hebrews 6:13-18.
David sang to Me, “You are my hope.” Psalm 71:5. And he was right. I AM your hope. But this hope is not only based on My power as the Creator of all and the One through whom every good thing given and every perfect gift comes, but upon My Word. For I am My Word and you see Me in My Word, My Word became flesh and dwelt among you and you have seen His glory and of His fullness you have all received, grace upon grace. “I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His Word do I hope.” Psalm 130:5.
Your hope is not a nebulous thing based on unfounded dreams but your hope is in a living, loving, all powerful God who controls the passageways of life and death and is your Savior, healer, provider, comforter, shepherd, and Father. I have given you many good promises in My Word and all those promises are “YES” to you in Christ Jesus, your Hope. 1 Timothy 1:1.
You have a living hope in one who lives forever and has promised you eternal life if you only obey My Word which is sweet and full of good promises and beautiful laws that hold you in the way of light and truth.
“This is the promise which He Himself promised us: eternal life.” 1 John 2:25.
“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago.” Titus 1:1-2.
You have been born again by the seed of My imperishable Word and My Word is living and active, working in you even now, and you can put your hope in My Word, which has made you a new creation in Christ, the old things have passed away.
“Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5.
The devil has no hope. The demons begged Jesus not to confine them to the great abyss of hell before the appointed time. They face a future without hope. And they do not want to let you have the hope they lost. And they are serious about this. So you must be firm about this as well, DO NOT LET THE DEVIL STEAL YOUR HOPE or you will surely go down and be unable to complete the life of good deeds I prepared for you in advance that you might enjoy it. You will be like Judas Iscariot who thought he had no hope. But he did. Repent and return, things are never lost with Me, they are still there to restore to you. All are alive to Me.
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrews 6:11-12,
“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19.
I richly supply you with all things for life and godliness. You have a future and a hope. A living hope in a living Savior. And that is where all the hope comes from, the blood of the Lamb, and I began teaching that from the beginning. That was Abel’s sacrifice.
The word that you see translated “hope” in the Old Testament, which was written in the Hebrew language, is the Hebrew word “tikvah (תִקְוָֽה),” which means a “cord.” When Rahab of Jericho hung the red cord in her window, that was the word used, although it is after that translated as “hope” wherever it is used. Do remember what she was to do with that cord? She hid the spies from Israel who were came to scout out Jericho in preparation for the entry of the Israelite army under Joshua to conquer it, and thus saved their lives from the king of Jericho. But she had faith in My power and she asked the spies in turn to promise her that the Israelites would spare her and her family and receive them into their nation when they conquered Jericho. They promised on the condition that she mark her home by a scarlet cord hanging in her window that looked out from the wall. “So she sent them away, and they departed; and she bound the (את) scarlet (shani) cord (Tikvah) in the window.” Joshua 2:21. This scarlet cord saved her and her family from destruction and gave them an inheritance in Israel. And not only that, the prince of the tribe of Judah married her and she became an ancestor of David and thus of Jesus come in the flesh. She became a joint heir of the promises of the Covenants of promise by the scarlet cord.
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies with peace.” Hebrews 11:30-31.
“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James 2:24-26.
Hanging that red cord of hope in her window gave her an everlasting remembrance in My Word and put her in the line of the Messiah. As she looked upon that red cord in her window each day, she rejoiced in the hope of the promised salvation to a new life with My chosen people as the destruction of Jericho approached.
Do you see what this is a shadow of? Your hope. Hope is a blood red cord you hang in the window of your soul and keep before your eyes so that every time you look out you see your hope of salvation, the blood of Jesus, that saves you from the wrath to come and gives you an inheritance with the saints in Light. And you rejoice in so blessed a hope. Titus 2:13. And that blood red cord attaches you to the anchor which is firmly embedded behind the veil in the very Holy of holies where Jesus entered with His eternal blood.
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:11-12.
And His blood still speaks of mercy for us, as Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us to give us a future and a hope. Our confession of hope. And the blood opened, rent apart the veil to us.
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. LET US HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE WITHOUT WAVERING, for He who promised is faithful . . . Hebrews 10:19-23.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7.
To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6.
But now to the application. When you are surrounded with the influence of the spirit of despair and trapped in the valley of trouble, how do you come out? When you feel there is no hope, how do you hope against hope? Faith and faith speaks. FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR AND THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN. Hebrews 11:1. You need to answer the lies of no hope and no way out. How do you do that? Listen to David for he had many a day when despair tried to take down his soul. Hiding from Saul in dark caves and then the day Ziklag was burned to the ground and all his goods and family taken looked like dead ends. But they were not. Why? Because he knew to turn to Me in a very special way.
“But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your salvation all day long; for I do not know the sum of them. I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord (Adonai) LORD (Yahweh); I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.” Psalm 71:14-16. “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; and my soul, which You have redeemed. My tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long.” Psalm 71:23-24.
Put on the hope of Salvation as a helmet, 1 Thessalonians 5:8, and step up your praise. Speak of how righteous I have made you in Christ with My own righteousness, Mine alone, and of your salvation all day long. Hang onto the red cord and hope continually, never take it out of your inner window.
When hopelessness tries to invade you, rebuke it, saying, “Surely I have a future, and my hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:18.
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall still praise Him for the saving acts of His presence.” Psalm 42:5; Psalm 43:5.
Keep praising and keep thanking. Thanksgiving for your life, all Jesus has done for you, and for your future of good deeds prepared in advance will give you hope again.
And how does the valley of trouble open to a door of hope? “Surely you will sing there as you did in the days of your youth when you first came out of Egypt (redeemed from slavery).” Hosea 2:15. The word in Hebrew that is translated as “sing” in this passage is the word “anah (עָנָה)” which means to “answer, respond, testify,” and also to sing the response, like a chant or refrain. What do you do in the valley of trouble to get out of there by the door of hope? Here we are again: “And they overcame the devil because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11. Hang on to the blood red cord of hope, answer the devil with My Word (the Sword of the Spirit) and sing your responses, that is, sing My Word. Make melody all day in your heart. And that is hoping continually.
“It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night . . . the righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green, to testify that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:1-2, 12-15. Hope bears fruit in old age, keeps you full of sap and very green.
In the end these three remain, faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. Why? Your faith and hope are in Me and I am LOVE. Until you come to know and believe in the great incomprehensible love I have for you and know about the Tikvah I have given you, the devil can bring despair your way and you are easy prey.
Encourage yourself in My Word. “His Word made me hope.” Psalm 119:49.
Hope is the cord that you lay hold of when the storm comes because it is attached to the anchor embedded behind the veil. I have promised you eternal life, and that life is in My Son. If you have My Son, you have eternal life. Never be swayed off your confession of hope. Never let go of the blood red cord.
I love you. I am your hope, I am your peace, and I am you redeemer. “Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24.
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5.