Gateway

 "I will give her....the valley of Achor as a door of hope." Hosea 2:15

In a wonderful little book titled, "Tell Your Heart To Beat Again," by Dutch Sheets, the above Scripture is elaborated upon. In it, God is speaking to His people, a people broken, beaten down, and defeated. The word "Achor" literally means, "trouble." Sheets writes that what the Lord is saying is, "I will give you, My weary and hurting people, a hope that opens doors in the midst of troublesome valleys." Hosea goes on to say that once that hope opens a door, "she will sing there as in the days of her youth." 

The NLT renders this verse as, "I will...transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope." We don't have to go far to find trouble...a lot of it. In fact, very often, trouble finds us, and easily. What we have difficulty finding in our various valleys of trouble is hope. His Word says that "hope deferred makes the heart sick." Anyone living in the place of despair and hopelessness knows the truth of this. We are living in the day of the sick heart. Myriads of people suffer as they live in the midst of despair. Satan, the enemy of our souls, plots that this would be the state of the human race, and if possible, even of the people of God. He plots to steal and kill our hope. Without hope, we fall into darkness. That's his plan for us in the Valley of Achor, in the Valley of Trouble. Maybe you're there right now, and his attacks upon your mind, heart, and spirit are increasing. 

In the early days of the collapse and end of my marriage, I kept looking for Him to do something, anything, to end my suffering, to restore my "fortunes." That didn't happen, not at that time, and each day seemed darker and the light of hope appeared to be going out. I remember talking to the one who had been my pastor since my first days as a believer. As I shared my brokenness and feelings of abandonment, he said in gentle but firm words, "Gary, you must hope in God, for if you lose hope in Him, you will have lost everything." It was then that the Holy Spirit brought to my mind  the Scripture concerning Abraham, the father of faith...and hope. The Scripture that said Abraham, "hoping against hope, believed." Abraham, having no visible reason to have any hope, hoped anyway, and believed the God who had promised.

At that moment, hope within me was renewed. A fresh, new reality of who He was entered my heart and mind. Christ had promised to never leave or forsake me. The Father had promised that in all situations I might walk through, no matter the appearance of them, He was working. And working that I would have His best, that He would give beauty for ashes and joy for my mourning. I had Him "a future...with hope." In my Valley of Trouble, He did open up a door, a gateway of hope. Can you believe Him for the same? Can you believe that the One who is Hope can restore your hope? Hope that transcends the natural and takes us into the supernatural. Hope that transforms.

Is your heart sick today because your hope is fading, perhaps almost gone? Are the shadows of the valley filling you with fear and dread? Can you dare to believe for His door, His gateway, that has already been prepared for you? The Door is Jesus Christ. He is always the Open Door and in Him is found the source of all hope. Run to Him, run into Him, and allow Him to restore and renew your hope and with that, transform your valley of trouble into His gateway of hope and life. In the darkest valley of trouble and despair, He is, and will always be, your gateway of hope.

Blessings,
Pastor O