Held Captive By Hope

Once again, I'm going to pass along a couple of paragraphs from a message sent through in an Elijah List e-mail. This message is by Victoria Boyson. I am constantly amazed by God in how He places things in my life at the exact moment I need them. This message this morning was another time He did just that. The entire message was really poignant to me, however, I'm going to share just the following two paragraphs:

" There are times during the birth of your destiny that you feel as though you would like to give up hope, but God will not let you. If feels as though you are held captive by hope. 'Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope...' Zechariah 9:12
There are times during the development of your dream when your hope seems to have turned into a prison. You cannot make your dreams come true, and you find it impossible to stop believing in them. You cannot go forward any faster than God will let you, and you cannot return to where you once were before you became pregnant with the promise from God. God will not let you give up! During this time you might feel like saying, 'Okay, God, this is enough! I don't want to hope anymore! I am tired of being pregnant with this promise! I want out of this prison of hope!'
It is during this time that your dreams feel so real to you, yet to others they are not. The conflict between what you feel in the Spirit and what is evident in the natural grates at your soul. You feel much like you are on a Ferris Wheel. You have your up times when you can see your dream's fulfillment far into the future, but you also have your down time when you cannot see anything. You think to yourself, 'Am I crazy to think that God could use me?' The enemy comes in like a flood and you begin to doubt, causing anguish to your soul. This is the time when God is doing His greatest work in you."

I was powerfully touched by this. God has His perfect time and perfect place for the release of His destiny into my life. I just have to trust that God is doing His perfect work in me and not give up hope. I have to keep my eyes and my heart towards the things of God. If my eyes are anywhere else, I will likely give up on hope because my hope is found in Him.

The message went on to say: "You may not like the circumstances you are in now, but do not run from it. It may be what is saving your life! The second half of Zechariah 9:12 gives us the answer to what we are looking for. Why are we going through what we are going through? It says, 'Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.' God says, 'Even now I announce to you that not only will I restore to you all that has been taken from you, but I will give you double for all the trouble you have endured.' He says, 'Don't stop now...keep trusting Me, because I can see your future and it is very blessed. Keep walking with Me and keep trusting in Me and I will give you rest.'"

My hope is found in Him alone. He is faithful. What He says will come to pass. So I believe that I will be restored, that God will bring me into the fullness of my destiny in Him and that I will have rest. Praise God for that!!