Now More Than Ever

Have you ever experienced a “now more than ever” moment? A point of time when you realize you need something now more than you ever did before. Is that moment now? Maybe it was two weeks into quarantine? A year ago? If you’re anything like me, you can experience “now more than ever” moments numerous times in the course of a year— a month, heck, even sometimes in one day!

So what is it you need now more than ever? Do you need hope more than you did in the past? Face to face social interaction with people other than the ones who share your address? Maybe your “need now more than ever” is peace. Strength? Does it vary from day to day like me? Every time I go out to the grocery store, I’m brought to the awareness that I’m just not ready for face to face social interaction and my “now more than ever” need right then and there is peace! It’s all just a little surreal! Maybe in this time you’re busier than ever because of the pandemic and you need some quiet time alone to sit still and just breathe.

I believe now more than ever what we all need is hope. Hope that helps us to see a brighter tomorrow. Hope that breathes life into a weary soul. Hope that is put in something secure that can be trusted. Solomon, renowned as the wisest man to ever live, says this; “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12 NLT).  Ever feel sick at heart with a loss of hope? I have! It’s not a good place to be and can cause various emotional disturbances. Lack of hope opens the creaky door that reveals a dark, foreboding pathway leading nowhere. Yet, the opposite of that, when we have hope of a dream fulfilled, is a tree of life! Hope supplies that tree with the water and nutrients it needs to grow and flourish! It deepens the trees roots so when the storms of life blow hard against it, it remains firmly planted in the soil. It’s leaves may turn, and branches bow, but buried beneath the soil, where the wind cannot reach, the roots continue to thrive.

So, where, you may ask, do we find this hope? I’m glad you asked! I find so much encouragement in this verse: “Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope!” (Romans 15:13 TPT). Hope that trusts on a sure foundation, fills you with peace in the trial, supplies joy in the midst of suffering, and provides nourishment for the roots, can really only come from one person. God alone can provide and sustain all we need now more than ever. He wants so much to give you all you need, if you only ask. I love the second part of this verse! “And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope!” Oh I want to radiate with hope! To shine its brilliant light into the darkness for all to see the goodness of God! To be filled and overflowing with overwhelming joy and peace! How wonderful does that sound?

In a season of trial, these “now more than ever” moments can be a treasure if we choose to see them as such. A moment when we realize that we need confident hope. A moment when we are brought to an awareness that only God can provide what we need now more than ever.

“Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.” Romans 12:12 TPT