Yesterday marks the 15th year of when we wrote Hopeful Heart’s first post.

When we began, there was no grand strategy. It was a quiet night, prayerful yet shadowed by doubts. There was no carefully mapped plan, no large team assembled, no guarantee that there are answers to questions prayed but there was a small conviction that the Word of God is living and faithful. A conviction of knowing that when we share the Word of God, even in a small and ordinary way, we could encourage friends to be hopeful and believe again, just a little more.
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One post, one scripture, one reflection at a time and we ourselves are encouraged in return. Today, as I write, I am reminded that this moment exists only because of God’s grace. Not by strength nor by might but by the Spirit of Lord.

This verse reminds us that the work God establishes within us is not sustained by our might, our efforts, our sheer will but by His Spirit alone. Strength can fail. Might can be exhausted and willpower has its limit but the Spirit of the Lord sustains.

We think about this often, nothing is ever small in the Kingdom of God. The Lord is our multiplier, our very strength, protector and provider. Even one Bible scripture could refresh a weary soul, His timely word could renew someone’s hope so every devotional that shares of His Words could remind a believer that God is near and has not forgotten them. His Words too could call a lost soul to embrace the freedom He gives.

We are a team of ordinary people who love God and love His Word. We have our own seasons of doubt, weariness and wondering whether what we do here matters. And yet, what keeps us returning is not our own ability or faithfulness, it is His.

To every person who has read, shared, prayed along, returned and stayed, thank you. You are a part of this too. Hopeful Heart has never been a one-way conversation. You have encouraged us with your presence, prayers and encouragements.

We may not know what the coming years will be like but we know the One who does. We trust the Lord will continue to do what only He can do through us in this journey. May we always remember how much God loves us and cares for us with daily grace. Amen.

Zechariah 4: 6 NIV
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
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Zechariah 4:10 NLT
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.
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- Hopeful Heart Team

Some battles are loud, some may require hard conversations. Telling a manager the workload is unsustainable, raising boundaries with loved ones, saying no and many more. Some of these conversations may even rehearse in our minds weeks before it happen, some for years and some left unsaid becoming an invisible burden.

God said to Joshua, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1: 9. 

Notice what God said to Joshua, He did not promise Joshua that the task would be easy, he did not assured Joshua that he would be brave. The Lord gave Joshua something better than a fleeting feeling, the Lord gave Joshua a fact; the fact that The Lord God will be with him wherever he goes. Courage here is not an absence of fear, not an absence of worry nor doubt but it is an obedience of walking forward with God's assurance that He is always with us.

The word "wherever" means the Lord will be with you in that meeting room, He will be with you for that  phone call you rather avoid, He will be with you in your home when the hard conversation needs to be said with love. The Lord walks with you, sits beside you, steading your nervous ways and gracing you with His peace that surpasses understanding.

Be strong and courageous, know that the Lord will always be present wherever you go. Invite Him in your conversations, invite Him to your handle your fears and worries.

​- John W.

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There is a kind of tiredness that sleep does not fix.

It is not the tiredness of a long day. It is the tiredness that comes from seasons of faithful effort with results that seem slow to materialise. Perhaps, it is also the tiredness of not knowing what to pray anymore or from the daily grind of adulthood; a certain burnt out.

In 1 Kings 19. Elijah had just witnessed one of the great demonstrations of God's power sending fire from heaven, the prophets of Baal defeated and yet, within days he is under a tree asking God to take his life. He is exhausted. He is afraid. He is done.

However, we will read on and find the grace God imparted to Elijah. He did not rebuke Elijah, instead, He sent bread baked over hot coals, a jar of water and an angel who woke Elijah and gently remind him to get up and eat. Twice, the angel said, "Get up and eat. The journey is too great for you." Kings 19:7
In every season, sometimes the posture we could adopt is not helplessness but a posture of rest, a posture which allows us to receive and allow the Lord to restore what trials and hardships have taken from us. He knows the limit of our strength.

The Apostle Paul wrote that God's power is made perfect in weakness, not despite it, but in it. A tired person is not disqualified; he/she is often the closest to God because they have run out of the self-sufficiency that can so easily crowd the Lord’s strength out.

If you are weary today and burnt out, you are simply in the place where God does His best work.
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2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

- John W.

My cat, Mia, does not worry about tomorrow.

Each morning she stretches into the warmth of a sunlit patch, curl herself comfortably and simply rests. She does not know what the news say or when the electricity bill is due or what will happen tomorrow. She only knows that she will be fed, she is warm, she is home and she is certainly loved.

That simplicity taught me so much about trust, an uncomplicated trust.

There are times where trust feels less like ‘resting in sunlight’ but more of a continuous race of finishing one task after another, exhausted yet convinced that once I find this or get that done, I will then be able to ‘rest in my own sunlit patch’. I have forgotten that the Lord loves me and I’m able to access His strength and rest in the warm comfort of knowing that He is for me and not against me.

Mia trusts me without fully knowing, she doesn’t question or worry that I would forget to care for her. She doesn’t know my plans for her nor where her food comes from or why some days I come home later than usual, late in feeding her. She simply knows that I will be home and she greets me by the door without fail, surely with the hope of getting early dinner but she shows me her trust in a way a small creature could, certain and trusting. She knows she belongs to someone who loves her and she rests on that knowledge.

I wonder if this is what God gently invites us into. Not a blind trust that asks no questions, but a settled trust that says, “I do not need to understand every detail but I know whose I am and that is enough.”
The One who created and holds the universe, holds you and loves you. You can trust Him and rest; rest without needing all the answers.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Romans 8: 31 NIV
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

- Irene Soon

The winter season has a way of exposing what is strong and what is fragile. In the depth of storm, resilience appears. Not through resistance, but through the quiet bending of branches and the unwavering steadiness of a deeply rooted trunk like a tree.

A tree stands tall through the cold and rain, quietly growing itself. When the storm deepens, their resilience becomes visible, they do not resist the forces of wind; the branches bend, yielding to the nature’s force as its leaves are torn away. The trunk however, remains steady and deeply rooted, making the tree stays grounded and unmoved, holding firm through it all.

We too, are living in a season where the storm seems relentless. The news carries unsettling headlines one after another and the future which once felt exciting and full of hope now seems to be full of uncertainties. If we are honest, the weight of daily life can bend us, tearing away the sense of peace we have cultivated as God’s children.

The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians not from a place of comfort but from a prison cell and yet, he wrote words that have outlasted every empire, generations and times that has come since, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Paul did not promise that everything will work out, he did not assure everyone of a smooth circumstance but he simply urges us to present our requests, to bring all of it; to bring all the fears, tears, the uncertainties, the helplessness, the thoughts that keeps you awake at early mornings, bring all these to God. Paul also did not say the storm will immediately cease but because there is peace available to us, the ones that Paul testify to “transcend all understanding”

This could simply mean a peace that does not require us to have the answers first, a peace that guards our hearts even while the storms are roaring and our branches are bending helplessly. The Lord, He is the unshakeable root that holds the tree, unseen yet fully present holding us when we feel like we are failing.

Dear friends, when life feels out of control, it is not truly beyond His care. We belong to the One who spoke the world into being, the One who can calm even the fiercest storm. He is our steady ground, our unchanging certainty. We are not meant to carry the weight of being the trunk or the roots. We are simply called to remain connected to Him.

So let us gently release all things that steals our peace and rest in the One who holds all things with care.
 
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

- Irene Soon 

We are taught the great lesson from the Bible, that to get, we must give; that to accumulate, we must scatter; that to make ourselves  happy, we must make others happy; and that in order to become spiritually healthy, we must seek the spiritual good of others. In watering others, we are ourselves watered.

How? Our efforts to be useful brings out our power for usefulness. We have latent talents and dormant and dormant skills which were brought to light by usage. Our strength for labour is hidden even from ourselves, until we venture forth to fight the Lord’s battles or to climb the mountain of difficulty.

We do not know what tender sympathies we possess until we try to dry the widow's tears and soothe the orphan's grief. We often find in attempting to teach others, that we gain instruction for ourselves. So that watering others makes us humble. We discover how much grace there is where we had not looked for it.

Our own comfort is also increased by our working for others. We endeavour to cheer them, and the consolation gladdens our own heart. He that watered shall be watered also himself. Give then, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and running over.
 
Proverbs 11:25 ESV
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

Excerpt from Charles Spurgeon @Heartlight inc 1996 - 2024

Growing up, my parents taught us the children on the values of persistence, determination and commitment in all our pursuits and endeavours. Whilst they are good qualities, in my case, it imposes self-generated urgencies.

John 10: 10 tells us that our Lord has come to give us life in abundance opposing to the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy, but what if our self-generated urgencies are stopping us from living the abundant life God has gifted us?

Self-generated urgencies are weights or metaphorically, ‘the stones’ we unknowingly carry. They manifest mentally as a burden that we carry everywhere we go; it constants reminds that you have not done your best, the house is still dirty, your wardrobe is full of junk, you have not lost the weight or that you were passed for that job promotions and the list goes on.  The nagging will only stop if you heed the voices and urgently finish tasks that you think will bring you happiness. Yes, it will give you temporary satisfaction or happiness but it is a never-ending daily cycle that constantly tries to steal your peace and joy.

Dear friends, it is the Lord who gives us the wisdom to know when to lay aside or let go of the self-generated urgencies. The Bible heeds us to cast every burden to the Lord. Could I encourage you to lay every ‘stones’, aspirations, worries, anxieties with prayers to seek strength and wisdom. It is your heritage to receive the abundant life God has gifted you. Learn to let go and deliberately cast the stones that torments you. Let the Lord grant you wisdom that brings clarity; He will take care of you, cast each burden and He will strengthen you to let go of any false self-generated urgencies.
 
Psalm 55: 22 NKJV
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved

Isaiah 54:17 NKJV
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” says the LORD.

- John W.

 
Do your thoughts, speech and actions reflect your dependence and faith on God? Introspectively, my answer is no. Challenges and trials easily bring worries and doubt to my prayers and thoughts which leads to speaking negatively to my situations. To my dismay, the more I try to push the bad thoughts away, the more the doubts amplify and there goes my negative speech again despite my awareness.

The Bible writes in Luke 6: 45 – “…The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” When your heart is fully trusting and dependent on God’s Sovereign power, your speech will reflect the audacious faith outwardly which will also impact your thoughts and actions.

​Like a person expecting for a harvest, you would look forward to it with joy and elation. Oppositely, if you are expecting a drought, you would be dejected and sink into the mud of negativity. When you cultivate a trusting heart in the Lord, doubt and fear will still come but your inner-man/faith will be undeterred as you know the source of your strength and miracle comes from the Lord. God is the One who would strengthen you and He is the One who promises that He will not test you more than you could bear.

If you are relying on your own strength, let this be a reminder that you could involve the Lord and trust He would enable you to go forward further and work through you. Cultivate a trusting heart and may your speech flow with grace and faith expectant of harvest and triumph.
 
Luke 6: 45 NIV
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

1 Corinthians 10: 13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

- Irene Soon

There are times I really ‘envy’ the faith of great people who trust God and overcome trials in their lives but then I am reminded that I have the same great God who is with me and is within me. The same One Saviour who is working through the great men and women I read in books and in the Bible; He is at work in and through me and all of us who call on His name.

I have many days where I’m persuaded that I could not do anything for the kingdom of God in my line of work, I feel that my prayers for mission work do not bring forth any fruits sought and to top it off, we constantly get fed bad news from the media. All these are enough to think why we bother to be the salt of the world.

If you are tired and doubtful, may I encourage and remind you to remember that God is ever patient and present if you feel your prayers are repetitive or if you are plagued with constant doubts needing God’s assurance daily. Please continue to seek His Heart and focus on the Lord. The Lord will strengthen us ,let us march daily with bold confidence that God is on our side and are turning things around supernaturally in our favours. Amen!
 
Psalm 108:13 ESV
With God we shall do valiantly, it is he who will tread down our foes.
 
- Jenni Wang

​The year was 2000, the era of Y2K, the year where some embraced the excitement of entering to the new millennium, others felt trepidation, uncertain of what lay ahead; I belonged to the latter group.

Just a day after the dawn of the year 2000, I lost my mum. She was bedridden during the last two weeks I spent by her side. Having recently returned from my studies overseas, those final weeks were the only significant time I had with her before she passed.

25 years later, I still grapple with that overwhelming loss, often talking about it with the Lord. In difficult times, I have accused Him of not understanding my experience, feeling that no one, including Him, could truly comprehend my pain. It was as if I believed my tragedy was uniquely profound.

Then, with the gentlest prompting, Questions arose: What about Jesus? Could anyone truly understand Him? A person born with the destiny of crucifixion.

Matthew 27:46
My God, my God why have you forsaken me?

His cry of anguish echoed in my mind.

Tears welled up as it dawned on me how much He had suffered. What a heartbreakingly beautiful suffering. He endured, knowing that through it all, you and I could be together with the Father (John 14:6) and become joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:17).

In that moment of reflection, my grief slowly transformed into a realisation of how minuscule my suffering is compared to His. Yet, in His ultimate suffering, He cried out in apparent heartbreak. This was a profound awakening to the truth that He truly understands what I am going through, having endured it all and more.

My pain, though deeply personal, is not isolated and misunderstood. In His anguish, I discovered a shared human experience, a powerful testament to His great empathy, love and the depth of His sacrifice. The Lord understands.

- Annie Pisca