In 1950, professor Curt Richter experimented with rats to analyse their survival instincts. He plunged a dozen of rats into a large jar filled with water. The rats drowned in an average time of 15 minutes. Richter then decided to save the next set of rats before they give up swimming due to exhaustion; he took them out of the jar, dried them and gave each rats a few minutes to rest before putting them back into the water jar.

The “rescued’ rats lasted an astonishing 60 hours afterwards. Richter concluded that by “saving” the rats, it gave the rats the motivation to swim approximately 240 times longer. He believes the rats have been given a glimpse of hope of “being rescued” and they pushed their bodies beyond what they thought possible.

We as Christian would also agree that hope is the essential ingredient in our own faith journey. Christ has come and given us hope that we have a living Saviour. His Word breathes hope to our inner spiritual sanctuary and it fuels us to stand, to push and believe again with an unsurpassable peace.
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Henceforth, as the Lord encourages us daily, let us extend this hope and encourage people around us. Kind words go a long way and it may be the glimpse of hope they need to push further. Be a bringer of hope as the Lord fans the flame of hope within us.
 
Hebrews 6: 19
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
 
Zechariah 9:12
Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

- Irene Soon 

I’ve recently watched a documentary on Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch woman who persevered in her Christian faith. She helped many Jews into hiding in her house, got captured and survived the concentration camp in World War II.

She displayed an extraordinary forgiveness to everyone who have wronged her and her family and even when she loses her ability to speak in her old age, she remained faithful to the Lord in her ministry. She penned a famous poem titled ‘the Tapestry poem’ in which it revealed the bittersweet truth of faith with God being the weaver of threads in the canvas of our lives. What we see as tangled threads and disarray of colours are due to our limited human ability to comprehend God’s perspective from above.

Our Omnipotent God is able to oversee all patterns of weavings to His purpose; He is making all things work for good for us. Ten Boom trusted the Lord in all her sufferings and tribulations. She worded ever so beautifully, “He gives the very best to those who leave the choice to Him.”

Dear blessed ones, the Lord loves and cares for you more than you could fathom. Even if anything does not make sense, know that the Lord is for you and He is making all things work for good for you.

Romans 8: 28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

- Irene Soon

Dear blessed ones,
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Today Hopeful Heart turns 10 years old. (Facebook page Link)

A decade of journeying in faith and trusting in the Lord daily. We would like to humbly lift praises to the Lord for His grace to sustain this milestone and we are truly grateful of your being with us in this journey to encourage each other.

A powerful reminder for us is found in Zechariah 4: 6 – “Not by might, not by power but by the Spirit of the Lord.” It is the Lord who prepares you for the journey and it is also He who equips you for the journey. The success of any journey is not made through our strength and sheer will alone.

The Lord promises He will never leave nor forsake us (Deut 31: 8). This is a promise He spoke before the Israelites were to cross Jordan river without Moses as their leader. Essentially, the Lord is assuring them that all will be well and a change of leader will not affect their success; it is the Lord that goes before them. This also displays the Lord’s willingness to be involved in their journey actively; this promise still applies to us today.

The Israelites made it to their promised land and witnessed the fall of the Jericho wall through shouting praise to the Lord. Dear blessed ones, the Lord is faithful to His Words and His Omniscience assures us to not fear or be discouraged. He wants to be actively involved in our own journey too.
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We give the glory and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ who sustains us daily and we hope this community of faith will continue to help you to fix your gaze to the One who is the light of the world. Amen. 

Deuteronomy 31: 8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

- Hopeful Heart Team

Many would have heard the name George Muller as a man who prays and received many miraculous provisions through prayers. Faced with many overwhelming needs to run his orphanages, he turned every need to the Lord in prayer.
 
“I was at peace when worries come because I believed the truth of God’s promises, His Word and His everlasting unchanging character that loves us unconditionally.” Muller goes on saying, “I believe God is able and willing to deliver me.” Such display of faith has surely gone through the darkest nights yet seen through brightest sunshine after the billowing gush and storm that destroys.
 
Muller’s life has displayed his dependence on God’s Word and him meditating on the word to create an inner peace sanctuary within himself; the place that ensures him that God is willing and surely deliver Muller from his troubles.
 
Just as a daily good nutrition strengthens us physically, so is studying, proclaiming and standing on God’s Word will strengthen us spiritually. We will not be able to avoid troubles or worries life may throw our ways but if we seek the Lord daily and put all of our petitions in prayers, we will be able to overcome trials and rest in the peace God has gifted us through His sacrifice on the cross.
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Romans 8: 32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
 
- Irene Soon 

Thank you for Lord for Your sacrifice on the Cross.

Whilst I was a sinner, You died for me ; knowing that I would deny and reject you with ignorance. Thank you for loving me faithfully and granting me the free gift of salvation that You have purchased with such a high price. 

Hosanna to the Lord. Hosanna to the Lord who saves me. I bless Your holy name and declare You are my Living Saviour. I receive Your love and Your forgiveness and I lay down all cares of the world at the foot of the Cross. Thank you for my life and may You use it to bless others who needs your love in this Easter weekend.

Amen.
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John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

- Hopeful Heart Team

Dear blessed friends and families, 

We pray into the year of 2021 that it may bring you abundant favors and beautiful beginnings. May you continue to bring the Lord as the center of your 2021 and let Him lead you in all of your plans.

May you receive fullness in health, joy and love in abundance. Together, we proclaim the blessings of the Lord and may our cups overflow to bless others around us and in this, lead them to the Victory of Christ Jesus. 

In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

Dear blessed ones, 

As the year is coming to a closing, we celebrate the joys, tears, losses, gains, blessings and sorrows with a grateful heart to the Lord. We thank Him that He has brought us through another year which has been different that any other year we are used to encounter. Nevertheless, we are children of God who believes the best is yet to come. Let us always praise the name of the Lord through good and bad, through darkness and light for He sustains us through it all. 

We wish you a blessed season of favours, abundance, joy and health to everyone around. Merry Christmas 2020. 

John1: 16
From His abundance, we have all received one gracious blessing after another

Jesus loves you.

- Hopeful Heart team

Some of the loneliest people in the world are those who are constantly surrounded by others, yet they feel that no one truly knows or understands them. They may even have an abundance of material things yet the loneliness they feel still stings. 

We may have a spouse or dear friends who love us, but even they will never know or understand us completely. We may climb the heights of success or accomplishment, yet there is no one who can fully share the emotion of that moment when we finally reach our goal. Even some of our dearest friend could be strangers to our supreme joy and don't always understand our most bitter pain. Some tears are always shed alone. No other human being can ever enter the deepest recesses of our mind or soul.

God Himself is the answer, the fulfillment to these deepest recesses. He who made us is the only One who can fill every part of our life. God’s Word says He is our “satisfying portion.” Not until He fills that inner longing will we ever be truly satisfied or completely free from loneliness.

There’s no need to ever be lonely. Jesus promises in Hebrew 13: 5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” and “I am with you always.” 

So when you feel this loneliness, it is the voice of Jesus saying, “Come to Me.” And every time you feel that no one understands or the load is too heavy to bear alone, it is a call for you to call unto Him again. The truth is, you can never bother or tire God too often, His limit is endless. Come as often, come as you are. His presence satisfies the lonely soul.

Psalm 16:5-11
LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

- Anonymous

With news, social medias and radios discussing COVID-19 on a daily basis, it is hard not to let fear take hold of our imagination.

When we are in need to leave our homes for basic supplies and food, there is always a sense of fear if what is lurking out there.
“Is wearing a mask enough?”
“Should I wear gloves too?”
“That person just coughed!”
"Is today the day I catch the virus?"
The list goes on…

Fear often shows up when we are at higher risk of losing something – health, job, families and much more; it reveals our deep desire to protect things and relationships that are important in our lives. It also shows that having faith and fully trusting all of our cares to God is not something automatic nor natural. Fear cripples our spirituality and drains us emotionally. Fear tempts us to take matters into our hands and compromise the foundation of our faith.
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In this uncertain time, find hope in God’s promises and trust in the reality of His power, protection and provision. Only then, His presence will radiate and expel any fear from your life. The psalmist knows this testimony well, “ I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34: 4
 
- John W.