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“I still have hope for things to change, but regardless, I want Jesus more.”

I sat across from my friend as chills went down my back. Her circumstances hadn’t changed, but her hope had been restored. You could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, even see it in the way she carried herself.

Have you ever longed for something? Like a heart-wrenching, all-consuming kind of longing? The kind of longing that leaves you having many vulnerable conversations with God? Well after years of desperately longing for God to come through, my friend sat across from me a changed person.

Nothing had physically changed, and the circumstances were still the same, but spiritually, everything had changed.

She explained that God had restored her hope. But what really struck me, is that even if he never came through with what she has desperately longed for, it wouldn’t matter, because her longing for Jesus is far greater than anything else she could hope for.

What a beautiful, vulnerable place of complete surrender.

Waiting for the Miracle: The Power of Hope

I know what it’s like to really hope for something. Like when God gives you promises of things to come and you must wait, desperately longing for the miracle and trusting that God is going to come through.

Proverbs 13:12 says ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick.’ Waiting for the miracle isn’t easy.

Doubt can begin to creep in, as you start to question if you are even hoping for the right thing. Many times, I’ve found myself questioning if I’ve even heard from God correctly, or if I’m just caught up in my own desires.

But our God is the God of hope. Whenever I feel my hope wavering, I go back over the promises he’s spoken to me, the verses he’s given me and the testimonies of his faithfulness that I’ve seen and heard. To put it another way, when I feel my hope wavering, I come back to Jesus.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrew 10:23

We can get so caught up in longing for the miracle, that we forget to long for the Miracle Maker.

Related: Why it’s Important to Remember God’s Faithfulness in Difficult Situations

What is Biblical Hope?

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we have an eternal hope that one day we will spend eternity with Jesus. But we also have hope for our everyday.

Our culture has lessened the value of the word hope, as we throw it into conversations like ‘I hope you feel better soon’ or ‘I hope to see you soon.’ It’s become a polite exchange.

But God isn’t a God of just polite exchanges. The hope he gives us is so much greater.

Paul prays for the church in Ephesus that ‘the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you’ (Ephesians 1:18). God is not just sitting around waiting for the day Jesus returns, he is actively working in and through us, today and every day, to bring Heaven on Earth.

Biblical hope is not a shallow optimism that everything will just ‘be okay,’ but a deep, powerful belief that God is finishing what he started we he sent his son, Jesus, to reconcile himself to us (2 Corinthians 5:18).

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:6

Related: What to Do When God Says No: A Lesson from Habakkuk

Dry Bones Come Alive: Restoring Hope

The Israelites knew what it was like to desperately long for God to come through.

God promised to take them out of captivity and lead them to the Promised Land (Genesis 15:18). In Ezekiel 37, God speaks to the prophet, Ezekiel, about how the nation of Israel had become like dry bones. As I was reading over this passage again, there was a part I couldn’t pass.

‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’

Ezekiel 37:11

Their loss of hope caused their loss of life.

Life without hope is not life at all.

However, God wanted to bring them life, even before their circumstances changed.

God commands Ezekiel to speak a prophetic word over them (Ezekiel 37:4) and he promises to breathe his Spirit in them and bring them life (Ezekiel 37:14). God reminds them of his promise to physically lead them to the Promised Land, but he is also spiritually transforming them by restoring their hope.

It is the breath of God, his Spirit, that brings us life.

Fully Surrendering to the God of Hope

Hope can feel scary because it’s believing for something out of our control. But hope also brings full freedom because we must fully surrender to God.

There is something deeply soul changing when our hope is set in Jesus. Isaiah says that those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.’ (Isaiah 40:31).

We are called to the freedom we experience when our hope lies solely in the hands of our Heavenly Father. This is a freedom where we trust that his ways and plans are always better, as he fully knows us and fully loves us.

So, no matter your circumstances, hope is not lost. God has a divine and beautiful solution to whatever you need.

And even so, he is still good.

Let this be my prayer for you, as you learn to trust God and let him breathe hope into every situation in your life:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

Eleanor Carpenter

Writer

Eleanor Carpenter is a mother, wife and number one hype girl for women discovering their identity as daughters of the King. Unafraid to talk about the real and raw moments of life, she empowers women to embrace being fully known and loved by God. She is the founder of Fully Loved, which is a community that equips and empowers women to live spirit-filled lives to the fullest. Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, or through her website.

After the birth of my second son, I decided to go back to Hebrews 11:1 and study the whole chapter. Being a mom of two brought new challenges and I wanted to spend time studying the examples of faith. God asked many people in the Bible to do things that must have seemed absurd, and there are days when that’s what motherhood is like!

The people in the bible trusted God enough to follow his leading. I was encouraged by their faith and reminded that while God may set tasks before us that require courage, he will never forsake us. And yes, motherhood requires courage! So, let’s look at some of these courageous stories of faith. May they encourage you in your journey as a mother, or in the journey towards any other new task the Lord puts in your life.

Noah and the Ark

“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

Hebrews 11:7 ESV

If you’ve spent any time with animals, you’ll understand how much faith Noah and his family must have had to agree to build an ark and fill it with every kind of animal! Even common domesticated animals can be a handful without adding lions, bears, zebras, deer and so on. The Bible doesn’t elaborate on how Noah fed the animals or cared for them, but that is all part of the miracle.

Not only that but Noah had to build the ark first, which would have been a huge undertaking! How terrifying it must have been, the prospect of everything God was telling him to do. He didn’t let it stop him though. For his obedience, God saved his family and all the animals from the flood. Such faith!

Abraham and the Sacrifice of Isaac

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

Hebrews 11:17-18 ESV

This story of Abraham and Isaac has always hit me hard. Just as God offered Jesus as a sacrifice for the world, Abraham followed God’s instructions to the point of being ready to sacrifice his son Isaac.

It’s hard to imagine this as a parent. Giving up your son, trusting that God will raise him from the dead! We do everything in our power to protect our kids, but we have to remember that God is the greater power and he will take care of them. God is faithful to those who trust him and stayed Abraham’s hand after he had shown his obedience.

Abraham did not live to see God’s promise fulfilled (the father of nations, Genesis 12:2) but because of his faith, it did happen. What a testament to the assurance of things hoped for. Abraham had no way of knowing whether or not God’s promise would be made real. Such faith!

Related: An Open Letter to the Weary Christian Woman: Keep Holding On to Jesus

The Israelites & the Walls of Jericho

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.”

Hebrews 11:30 ESV

“Keep walking, but you won’t knock down our wall!” If you are familiar with VeggieTales you may know this song (from the episode “Josh and the Big Wall”). The peas who stood on Jericho’s wall sang it and laughed at the Israelites as they walked around the wall.

When you reread the chapter and think about what the Israelites were doing, it does seem ridiculous! As if walking around and around in circles would make a wall fall. At what point did the Israelites also feel this way? Did they want to turn and run in the other direction instead of marching around a city? I can only imagine the amount of faith it would have taken to keep going.

Likewise, it takes faith not to give up when raising your children to become Godly men and women. Keep being faithful, and believe God to work in their lives.

The Israelites didn’t give in to peer pressure, or to jeering and taunting. They kept their faith and completed the task. Lo and behold the wall fell, just as God promised. Such faith!

Related: 3 Encouraging Things To Know About The Big Story of the Bible (ft. Corine Bourke)

Our Faith: Joining in the Legacy of Hebrews 11

There are so many more stories I could talk about, and Hebrews 11 states this as well. People trusted God to provide for them and some of these people died without ever seeing what was promised. Today we have the bible to show us how much God cares for us. These stories remind us of what faith has cost people but also what it provides.

It can be difficult to trust God in our daily lives. When things are running smoothly, we may think we are being faithful but it’s when we encounter a struggle or big decision that our faith is tested. Motherhood can be hard. Even if you’re not a mother, you will encounter life experiences that require faith. Career changes. Big moves. Health issues. Relationship struggles. These are all areas where God may ask us to remain faithful even when the situation looks bleak.

We serve a faithful God. All these stories of faith show God’s faithfulness toward us. When we keep our eyes on him and follow his directions, he will not forsake us. As a mom, I am reminded of this when I reread Hebrews 11. God has plans for my life and my children’s lives if we have faith enough to follow!

As it says in the previous chapter of Hebrews:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

Hebrews 10:23 ESV

So, I encourage you to have faith this week. God may not ask you to build a giant boat and house all the animals in the world, but he does ask us to do daunting tasks. Have faith! Trust that God will give you what you need to succeed. Be assured that the things we hope for; the things we cannot see will be provided!

Alyssa Gale

Alyssa Gale is a teacher turned stay-at-home mom and blogger. When she isn’t singing kid songs or enjoying God’s creation with her boys, she writes. Her passion is to share Christian perspectives on parenting, including stories, recipes, tips and activities. Check her out on Facebook @littlebitoflavender.

Last year, I saw a post on social media that implied that all of the Christian holidays, including Easter, have pagan origins. When I saw this, I knew I wanted to dig deeper. Is Easter really a pagan holiday? Should Christians still celebrate Easter in the way we traditionally do in our culture? There are some people who think that many of our Easter traditions are wrong. So if I participate in an egg hunt, or allow my nieces to visit the Easter bunny, is that wrong? Are these practices displeasing to God? 

What Do Christians Celebrate During Easter?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11:25-26 ESV

Even if some of the traditions and symbols connected to Easter celebrations today have pagan roots, the holiday itself is not pagan. When Christians celebrate Easter, we are thinking about the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is important to celebrate because it is foundational to our Christian faith. It is a reminder that Jesus’s claim to being the Son of God was true.

Early Christian Celebrations of Easter 

The earliest recorded observance of an Easter celebration comes from the 2nd Century, but celebrating Jesus’ resurrection probably started earlier. The last supper was Jesus’s last Passover, so early Christians still observed Passover but integrated the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection into the holiday. 

In Acts 2:22-24, Peter preaches about the resurrection on Pentecost. It wasn’t called Easter but it was the first time that Christians celebrated Jesus’s resurrection. 

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Acts 2:22-24 ESV

In 325 A.D the Council of Nicea decreed that Easter Sunday, the day after the first full moon, after the spring equinox, would become the day to celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection.

Why People Think Easter is Pagan

People claim that Easter is pagan for a few different reasons.

Some people think that the word Easter came from the word eostre, a name for the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility.

This is largely believed to be where the focus on eggs comes from. Eggs represent fertility and birth. 

However, some believe that eggs became important to Easter because they were used to break one’s fast in medieval times. During this time, fasts were very strict and you could not eat any meat or dairy, including eggs while fasting. Eggs, though, could be preserved longer, so that is what people ate to break their fast. Not only that but yes, eggs were a symbol of new life; being born and breaking free from a shell. This is obviously a huge theme for Christians during Easter since Jesus was resurrected and gave us new life so that we can break free from the shell of sin if you will.

The tradition of the Easter bunny is also said to have pagan roots representing fertility. Some sources say that in the 1700s the tradition of bunnies laying eggs came to the states when Germans settled in Pennsylvania. While this does not point to a pagan root, it also doesn’t necessarily point to Jesus. 

There is now widespread consensus that the word Easter comes from in albis, a Latin phrase for “dawn” and became eostarum in Old High German, the precursor of the modern German and English term.

Many times, Christians will object to celebrating Easter for these reasons. On the other hand, non-Christians tend to have an issue not just with Easter itself, but also with the idea of the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

People think the death and resurrection are made up and copied from the pagan religions that came before Christianity. There are myths of Egyptian gods who died and were reborn. The Persians also worshiped a god, Mithras, who was born from a virgin and who died and rose from the dead. To argue against these, many of the gods in these myths died and rose again each year, not once and for all as Jesus did. Also, Jesus’ death accomplished the salvation of the world and the death of these pagan gods did not accomplish anything. 

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:8-11 ESV

7 Noteworthy Things Christians Should Know About the Resurrection of Jesus

Should We Celebrate Easter?

Yes, we should. I read an article from Got Questions that I think sums everything up pretty perfectly, “Regardless of what a day may once have meant, its observance today needs to be evaluated on the basis of what it means today. Christians celebrating Easter are no more pagan than are churches that gather to worship on Sunday (so named because it was the pagan “Day of the Sun”). The pagan origins of the names of the days of the week have nothing to do with the church’s weekly gatherings, and ancient pagan spring festivals have no real bearing on the modern Christian celebration of Easter.”