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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I used to think strength meant never showing weakness openly.

If a man was struggling, he would work and try harder. Strength in my definition would be the absence of visible need for help. Foolishly, I held on to that belief and later learned that what I thought is strength was actually, just silence and silence is not peace.

I think I may not be the only one who thinks that way. Many of us believe as a Christian, we need to be responsible and dependable at home and work, helpful to everyone around us but somewhere, somehow, we have forgotten to ask for help, even from God.

But Paul, who was not a weak man, wrote in 2 Corinthians that is both humbling and brave. He carried a struggle he could not shake yet the Lord did not remove it. Instead, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s power is made perfect to enable Paul in his weakness, the Lord is Paul’s source of strength.

If you are carrying something heavy, even in quiet perseverance, you do not have to have it sorted before you bring your burden to the Lord. He is not waiting for you to be stronger. He is simply waiting for you to come. Are you brave enough to ask for help? Asking for help is not weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

​- John W.

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.

There is a beautiful stained glass window in the historic Wesley’s Chapel in London. Etched into the glass are these tender words: “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me.”

For as long as people have lived, we have longed for wings or metaphorically, freedom from our troubles. We seek ways to rise above the weights and troubles of our days and surely, we have had days where we think life must be easier, brighter, freer somewhere else or for other people.

The Psalmist understood that longing too. He cried, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest”  Psalm 55: 6 NLT. Yet he also discovered the true secret of rest and he proclaimed: “The Lord sustained me.”
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The Lord will sustain us and He extends the same promise in Isaiah 40: 31 NLT, “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

When we pause and dwell on God’s Word and promises, His presence visits our weary hearts, in quietness and prayers, something beautiful happens; we rise. We find ourselves lifted into peace, steadied by His love and sustained by His strength.

The world will try to run on their own strength, they too, wish for wings and hope they can outrun their troubles. But in the Lord’s promise, He reminds us that running and walking come after the renewing. Wings come before feet. What hope does a weary soul have when it rushes to run before being renewed and restored?
 
Psalm 27: 14 NLT
Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.

Isaiah 40: 31 NLT
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Psalm 55: 6 NLT
Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest

- Irene Soon 

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 

I often wondered how could Jesus forgive his enemies whilst He hung in pain and grief from the cross and graciously said "forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34) and for those who put Jesus on the cross, didn't they know they were killing an innocent man?

Perhaps, they were just following the protest where most people yelled "crucify Him" but would they know what was Jesus' crime? If only they knew how much Jesus loves them. Jesus demonstrated His love on the cross by dying for His children and He did not impose any blame unto them. If an earthly parents will never dream of seeing their own children suffer, how much more God will not allow suffering unto His children.

Are you weary and burdened today, let us return to the Cross.

The Lord has died on the cross to set us free from all torments, sins, shame and guilt; He reconciled us to God at the cross. For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more , having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5: 10-11). His resurrection then becomes the assurance that the same power that raised Him is available to lead us into a life of victory.

How would our lives be if we have the boldness and hope to live in the overflow of God's abundant love for us? That His Light could break through any darkness and no metaphorical death could defeat the power of Christ, His Spirit courses through our body with strength and assurance of victory. This Easter, return to the Cross, remember the Lord's unconditional love for you and receive His forgiveness. Let Him renew your strength and hope once again, to live wholly and joyfully assured that His mercy and goodness will follows us all of our days.

Psalm 23: 6
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

- Irene Soon 

Once in a while, an ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. If the shepherd tries to return the lamb, the mother might even kick the baby away and will not change her mind to accept the baby back.

These little lambs spirits break and they will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with their little necks. These lambs are called "bummer lambs.”
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Unless the shepherd intervenes, that little lamb will die, rejected and alone.  This is where the shepherd will take the rejected little lamb to their home, hand feed it and keep it warm. They will wrap the baby lamb in blankets and hold it to their chest for it to feel the shepherd’s heartbeat. When the baby lamb is strong enough, the shepherd will then place it back with the flocks in the field.

That baby lamb who is now a sheep will never forgets the shepherd's love and care when their mother rejected them. When the shepherd calls for the flock, guess which sheep runs first? That sheep that knows the shepherd's voice.

By now that forgotten sheep knows that it is loved and intimately trust the shepherd. Many of us are like the bummer lambs; rejected and broken but Jesus is our good Shepherd. He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heartbeat.

As broken as we are, our Lord Jesus deeply love us and He is Shepherd who would leave the 99 sheep just to find our lost soul, to find you, to find me. Jesus, He left the 99 to rescue you and me.
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Luke 15: 4 ESV
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
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- Author unknown

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