God has filled the heart of my “Old Kentucky Home” with revived hope during the recent grass roots revival at Asbury University in our bluegrass state. What ignited my hope most? It was the way God sprouted His spirit-filled outpouring through our Gen Z and Gen Alpha youth! You see– the Heart of Womanhood Ministry is rooted in fertilizing the faith of our next generation through the powerful study of God’s Word. To see holy HOPE in full bloom leads us all closer to Jesus! Our blog writer this month is a “power seeding” ministry partner and children’s pastor in our city. As you spend a few minutes today with Judith Grazette in God’s greenhouse, don’t be surprised if His HOPE Springs Forth in your heart too!
I love Spring!
Not only because it comes on the heels of the season I dislike the most, but because of all the things it represents ~ renewal, growth, new life, and HOPE! For this island girl, spring brings warmth and an expectation that my favorite season is on its way!!
Saturday mornings in spring usually find me at a home improvement store near my house, in the section where all the rejected, flawed, and the least likely to grow plants and flowers are left with the 50% or 75% off tags plastered on their pots. Now I don’t have a green thumb, but I do like to take a chance on the least likely to emerge looking like the picture on the sticker. I convince myself that there is always the potential for growth and beauty with a little love and care.
Two years ago I went home with one of those plants and took time to talk to it, water it, put it in a location that the ‘plant lady’ told me would be most advantageous for its growth, but in spite of the attention, the few flowers it had fell off and the stem looked dried up and sad. I was going to pull it out of the garden, but I must have been distracted or forgot, because that plant stayed in the dirt for the rest of that year….
But before I tell you the outcome of my plant, I want to share something that happened at a Children’s Pastors Conference that I recently attended. During one of the main sessions, the speaker shared a word that I had not heard before, but the Lord has used since to reignite my HOPE and encourage others.
It’s the Hebrew word ‘Tikvah’. The word is a powerful reference to God’s promise of HOPE in the midst of adversity or seeming impossible situations.
Tikvah Hope
I am not a Hebrew scholar, and don’t usually explore the Greek or Hebrew translations when studying the Word, but the power and context of this word really stuck out to me. Tikvah is not meant to convey a feeling that something good might happen, but this HOPE implies that we have an expectation of obtaining what is desired if we WAIT on God.
The Hebrew definition of “Tikvah” sometimes uses the example of a woven cord, rope or thread which means it is also something you can grab hold of. It is real enough that we can cling to it, so therefore it is not out of our reach.
The example of ‘hope’ Tikvah this speaker taught on was Joshua’s account of the two Israelite spies and the woman Rahab of Jericho. (Joshua 2:17-18) Rahab tied the scarlet cord in the window. (Jos. 2:21) While this is the literal Tikvah a “cord or thread,” it also gives us the figurative picture of Hope. The red cord was Rahab’s hope. It was her only guarantee that her household would be spared by the Israelites but Rahab still had to WAIT for the realization of the spies’ promise.
Hope is rooted in Waiting
We often forget that HOPE is rooted in waiting. Being patient and waiting for an expected thing or outcome is very difficult for the majority of us.
What are you waiting for?
What I am waiting for is based on God’s promise in Acts 2:17-19. It is what I pray for and anticipate for myself, but especially for those who might not be considered the most likely – our youth and kids – the next generation, who are constantly bombarded by sin in these last days. I HOPE and WAIT and hold on to the promise found in these verses:
“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on ALL people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below
Tikvah for this TikTok generation
Those verses do not say that God is seeking to only pour His spirit out on adults but on ALL people – so my expectation is for our kids to be a part of fulfilling this promise. Maybe we might consider them to be the least likely, the ones that we might think are impossible to reach because they seem too distracted with tiktok, facetime, social media influencers or deconstructing their parents’ faith. After all, they are just kids and some come from situations that hope for receiving an outpouring of God’s power looks unlikely. But in the context of Tikvah, this HOPE is more than a feeling or a dream but it is our strong confession of Faith. It is for us to hold fast too and rely on it becoming a reality for our children.
That reminds me to finish telling you about my plant. The next year in the Spring I walked out on my deck about to plan my first Saturday trip to the store, and the plant that was left for dead wasn’t only shooting up through the earth but it had spread with other tiny blooms coming up all around it.
What is your HOPE?
We are all hoping for something. Maybe you’re hoping for a change in your finances, your health, hoping for a better job, to get married, to move house, perhaps hoping for a baby, or the salvation of your children.
In Jeremiah 29:11, God promises us that His plans are not meant for evil, but to give us “HOPE [tikvah]” and a future.
Cords of HOPE
As you hold on to that ‘cord’ of HOPE, remember the bible is full of examples of hope – Hannah’s hope for her son, Job’s hope through hardship, and countless other examples. Be encouraged as you wait that God has something greater and better in store and to look with faith to the future. Like when winter changes to Spring, something greater is ahead.
Let us hold fast the confession of our HOPE without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)
That’s why I love Spring! It’s the HOPE of Resurrection, new life, and revival that God has in store for His children as He pours out His Spirit on ALL people.
May you and your children experience a renewal of your HOPE this Spring.
HOPEfully,
Judith Grazette
The Heart of Womanhood Ministry Team HOPES these monthly blogs and our Heart of Womanhood intergenerational Bible studies help you plant holy seeds and eternal “Tikvah” HOPE in the hearts of your daughters while they are still in your greenhouse. Check out our resources @ http://heartofwomanhood.org and let’s GROW FOR IT!