Tag: barrenness

Staying Inside of God’s Circle of Blessing

Posted on by Evangeline

Do you sometimes feel that going through infertility is like experiencing famine in the land? Today, I’m sharing an excerpt from my devotional, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, that addresses that issue.

This devotion is entitled “God’s Circle of Blessing“–

circle of blessingThe Living Bible Translation of Psalm 25:13 says, “He shall live within God’s circle of blessing, and his children shall inherit the earth.” To whom is this passage referring? The previous verse tells us…the person who reverences God.

Living in God’s circle of blessing enables us to enjoy the best in life even when circumstances around us tell, and sometimes yell, otherwise. Isaac, Abraham’s son, was a great example of living in the circle of blessing. The Bible’s account in Genesis 26:1-13 tells how there was a famine in the country where Isaac lived and he wondered if he should leave like so many others and go to Egypt where there was no famine.

God told Isaac to stay and that He would be with him in his obedience. God promised him increase in all areas of life, including children. So in the midst of his country’s famine, despair, lack, and death, Isaac was blessed with extreme abundance because he stayed where God wanted him—in His circle of blessing. Infertility is like a famine—extreme hunger and despair—except it’s for a child. Just as Isaac experienced great bounty in the midst of famine, so can you, when you choose to remain in God’s circle of blessing even as your circumstances scream “famine.”

How to Stay in the Circle of Blessing

You can live in God’s circle of blessing by keeping the ears of your heart open to His Word. Hear Him as He speaks to you through it. Receive the Word by faith, as personal promises from God to you. Receive His wonderful blessings by saying “thank you” to Him for the promises you find in his Word for your child. Repeatedly speak His Word, His Truth, over your life. When we speak the Word, we’re in agreement with God. Receive His blessings by living in His Word and resting in His grace.

No matter what the doctor’s reports say, you don’t have to be stuck in the famine of infertility. Declare that you live in God’s circle of blessing because famine can’t exist there. Jesus is God of abundant joy! Nothing is too hard for Him to change; therefore He can change your circumstance of infertility. His Truth, His Word, can bring extreme abundance in its most wonderful form—the blessing of a child.

Speak the Word: I choose to stay in God’s circle of blessing.  He is my source of everything good.

More Encouragement: Galatians 3:14; Hebrews 6:14

If you’d like to have more devotions like this at your fingertips, so that you can encourage yourself on a daily basis,

click here to order A Seed of Hope.

A Seed of hope

feeling hopeless choose hope

Here’s Help if You’re Feeling Hopeless About Your Fertility (or Anything Else)

Posted on by Evangeline

If you’re feeling hopeless about the status of your fertility, you can find help in many ways and from many sources. Sources like your gynecologist, a fertility doctor, a close friend, your parents, books, online forums, etc. But one thing I’m sure of (from personal experience)– the best help will come from God. When you address the spiritual aspect of infertility, you are increasing your opportunity to overcome infertility. And that’s reason to be hopeful!

If you feel hopeless, it’s not because there’s no hope available in your life. It’s because you feel there’s none.

Put an End to Feeling Hopeless

When it feels hard to find hope, look for ways to change things. In the Bible’s account of Abraham and Sarah’s infertility, we see how in spite of hopeless circumstances, Abraham chose to maintain hope.

When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. Romans 4:18 MSG

There are always actions we can take to move past hopelessness and feel better.

  • If a hopeless thought comes to your mind that things are never going to get better, remember a situation in your life when things looked hopeless but did improve. Doing this simple exercise will remind you how feelings will typically pass over time.
  • Express gratitude regularly. Appreciating the present moment will take your attention off of feeling hopeless.

So it boils down to making a choice. You can choose to pay attention to your feelings and have an attitude of hopelessness or, you can choose to focus on God’s love for you and what He has said in His Word. Yes! God has spoken about infertility. He’s even made promises about fertility. Here’s a good one to know:

And He will love you, bless you, and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your body…there shall not be male or female barren among you. Deuteronomy 7:13-14 AMPC

Therefore, choose to remember these thoughts when you are feeling hopeless: You are deeply loved. You are empowered by God’s Word. In Jesus, you are a recipient of the outcome of His promises.

Those are all reasons to be hopeFULL! 🙂

Feeling hopeless about your fertility? Focus on God's love for you and what He has said in His Word. Yes, God has spoken about fertility! Click To Tweet

Delayed Does Not Mean Denied – RELOADED

Posted on by Evangeline

This blog post initially appeared here in 2014. The version that you see here is RELOADED…I’ve added a few key insights that I hope you’ll find helpful.

A promise of God may be delayed but His Word tells us it is not denied (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Waiting is difficult but when you wait with an attitude of confidence in God’s love for you, maneuvering through the wait can be easier.

Have you prayed for a child for a LOONNGG time? Do you feel like God is ignoring your request or is somehow holding back the one thing that you desperately desire with all of your being? Today, I want to encourage you to not give up while you wait.

Daniel’s Experience of Waiting

Take a look at the Bible’s account about the prophet Daniel and the delay he experienced in the manifestation of his requests to God (Daniel 10:1-12 NLT):

In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.

2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. 3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

4 On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, 5 I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. 6 His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. 8 So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. 9 Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

10 Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. 11 And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. (emphasis added)

Daniel was a man of boldness; he was not afraid to pray and trust in God, even when it was illegal for him to do so.  Daniel prayed earnestly. He had “set his heart,” that is, devoted himself, to this thing he was praying about.

The Scriptures give the account of how the prophet lamented for 21 days. He did not understand why he had not yet heard from God. He still had not seen the manifestation of his request. He mourned during that time, not eating, not anointing himself. Had the waiting become a distraction to Daniel? Could it be that in the waiting his focus had changed from the faithfulness of God to the troublesome circumstances surrounding him? Not necessarily. There could be something else working behind the scenes to cause the delay in manifestation.

When God, When?

Do you sometimes wonder WHEN God’s promises will manifest in your life? Delays are a strategic tactic of the devil. It’s during the delays that he seeks to fill your mind with fear and doubt. He wants you to ever so slowly lose your trust in God’s love for you and His willingness to answer your prayer.  He wants you to become hopeless, thinking that having a baby will never happen for you. delayed but not denied

The devil wants you to believe that God’s promises of fertility are not true for you. He wants you distracted, stressed out, and anxious about your future. The enemy of your fertility does not want you resting in knowing that God is for you and not against you. He doesn’t want you to trust God to come through on His promises.

But, when you choose to look up and see Jesus in the midst of your situation, you see more clearly that He is right there with you, loving you and wanting to give you the desires of your heart. In Daniel’s case, when he looked up and saw God’s messenger, the messenger acknowledged, “I have come in response to your words” (Daniel 10:12 NASB). He had been dispatched to bring the answer as soon as God heard Daniel’s request.

What had caused the delay? It wasn’t anything that Daniel had done. It wasn’t anything God had done. Evil spiritual forces had interrupted the dispatch and caused the delay. Have you considered that those spiritual forces are possibly causing the delay in the manifestation of God’s promises in your life?  The delay is meant to make you give up, to become hopeless, and to no longer expect that God’s promises will come to pass in your life.

How can you deal with this delay?

The best way to deal with delay is to continue to hold on to God’s promises of fertility by speaking them daily. Speak them with gratitude, as if they have already been granted to you. As you speak them out loud, you build your faith (Romans 10:17). When you repeatedly say them, your mind gets more focused on Jesus. You look at His loving power instead of the turmoil of your circumstances. As you speak them, you’ll find it easier to let go of the problem and let God solve it.

It’s important to realize that God loves you, that He has heard your prayer, and that He wants His promises to manifest in your life. While you wait, it’s critical to trust in God’s faithfulness, to never give up on His promises, and to express gratitude. Yes, you can be thankful in advance of the manifestation!

Remember, delayed does not mean denied when it comes to God’s promises. Address the spiritual aspect of infertility.

Scriptures to Speak and Believe

While you wait, here are some additional scriptures to consider, speak, and believe.

God answers YES to His promises: 2 Corinthians 1:20 HCSB – For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen” is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.

You are loved: John 17:23b ESV – that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.

God doesn’t withhold His goodness: Psalm 84:11 HNV– For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. The LORD will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

You’ve been made blameless (infertility is not a punishment): 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV– “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

Trust Him: Jeremiah 17:7 NLT– “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Mark 11:22-23 NIV – “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

God’s word is true and final: Psalm 119:89 NLT – Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. Matthew 24:35 NIV – Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

It’s a spiritual battle: Ephesians 6:12 NASB– “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”.

Delayed does not mean denied! Trust God's promises of fertility. His answer is YES to all of His promises. #ttc #infertility #Borrowed Hope Click To Tweet
overcoming infertility

Overcoming Infertility: A Real-Life Story (Part 2)

Posted on by Evangeline

Amanda is a 21st century overcomer. Last week, many of you were so excited by her story of overcoming infertility that you couldn’t wait to read “the rest of the story.” Well here it is! 🙂  And in case you missed Part 1, you can read it HERE.

I know her experience in coming out of the season of infertility will encourage you!

Overcoming Infertility: Amanda’s Story (Part 2)

I had the opportunity to attend a fertility retreat hosted by Evangeline and meet her in person. I had been trying to figure out the scripture from Exodus 23:25-26 for months by the time I attended. The part I got stuck on was, “You shall serve only the Lord.” I felt like I was already serving “only” the Lord, so then why did the promise of “no miscarriages”, not apply to me? Evangeline shared a picture that hit at the truth. She said, “you have truths in your head that you read or hear and believe, but they don’t connect with your heart and thus don’t “feel” real. But the thing between your head and your heart is your mouth. You’ve got to speak His promises.”

Speak God’s Promises of Fertility

God wants us to partner with Him. That’s why He gives us promises that belong to us because of what Jesus did for us, but He wants us to own them by speaking them. Equally true, we can speak lies that feed our hearts as well. I started this journey by speaking over myself the lie that “I’d be better off not being a mom, because I’d screw them up” and later agreed with the lie that I had “bad eggs.” To answer my above question, the truth was I probably wasn’t serving “only” the Lord, because I was doing things (seeking answers) in my own power, but more importantly I wasn’t standing on His truth. There were things that I knew about His character, His love, His plans, His timing, but didn’t “feel” them as real and thus I turned to worldly science instead of Him.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. ~2 Corinthians 1:20

If He has made a promise, His answer is “Yes” in Christ, but we have to agree. God has promised us our hearts desires if we take delight in Him (Psalm 37:4). What better way to do that than to agree with Him? If you haven’t already, look at the number of times that God promised that we won’t be barren and the number of women throughout history who stood on these promises and overcame infertility. It is truly amazing!

Armed with New Weapons for Overcoming Infertility

I left the retreat with a new arsenal of weapons to use against the enemy. I started seeking out God’s promises and speaking them over my life. Instead of questioning Exodus, I just started declaring that the promise of no miscarriages was for me. I fired the infertility clinic and found a new believing doctor that heard my story and the first thing he said was “well it looks like we’re getting closer each time”, a shockingly hopeful statement. I took a full-time job, because I figured based on my previous track record, it would be a while before I got pregnant. God had different plans.

The Blessing Manifested

I tested positive at the beginning part of August 2014 and fear set in hard. It’s easier to speak out truth than it is to walk it out and I entered into a full on war with the devil. I stood on Exodus, shaking, tears flowing down my blubbering face on more than one occasion. We held off on blood work and ultrasounds until 9 weeks, because we didn’t want any “fact” to interfere with God’s truth. If there was going to be life, there would be evidence without doubt by 9 weeks. That was the longest 5 weeks of my life, but on September 10, 2014, there was a beautifully strong, pounding heart beat and a little bean with nubs wiggling away on the screen. Four weeks later he had grown full arms, legs, hands, fingers, feet and toes and the reality finally kicked in, this was my promise. On April 13, 2015, Samuel David Roberts was born  8 lb.-11 oz and 21 inches long.

He has since blossomed into a gentle, joyful, and BIG boy. He just turned one, is weighing almost 30 pounds, and is just shy of 3 ft. tall.

He is amazing. My husband and I are repeatedly lost for words about how awesome he is. He gives us a reason to be thankful every single day and now we get to be thankful for his sister who is due in September. 🙂

Overcoming infertility-Amanda's ultrasound
Evangeline’s reaction: “Baby Girl looks like she’s being cradled in Jesus’ hands!”

Final Thoughts of Encouragement

I’ll leave you with this: I know the choke hold that the lie of infertility can have on your faith, your trust, and your ability to fight. I know there are times when you think there is no fight left, but if I can encourage you with one thing, it is that God knows and He’s not done! The enemy might get to have this season for a time, but if you have a desire to be a mother, God gave it to you and He has a plan to make it a reality. Stand on and speak this truth over your life!

Many blessings to a home filled with the pounding of little feet and squeals of laughter throughout.

Overcoming infertility-family pictureWith Love-

Chris, Amanda, Samuel and Baby girl Roberts

 

Overcoming infertility is possible! For more encouragement so that you can stand on God’s promises, read
A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility. 

Overcoming infertility-A Seed of Hope

3 Things to Do About Perpetual Pain

Posted on by Evangeline

PainThe pain of infertility can be excruciating. As I stated in my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, I found the pain of infertility to be worse than the pain of birthing a long-awaited baby via vaginal delivery! For some of you, infertility seems to be perpetual. It’s something you’ve lived with for so long and you don’t see the end in sight. The pain of it never fully goes away and is influenced by what (babies) and who (pregnant friends) you see daily. Well, I want to encourage you with something that you may not have considered before.

Yesterday, during my morning quiet time, I was looking for a scripture about healing and came across Jeremiah 15:15-20. This passage turned my quiet time an eye-opening and exciting experience in the Word! The scripture is not one that directly addresses infertility but it definitely can be applied to it. That’s what I love about God’s Word– it is so organic, malleable, and powerful. It’s able to bring LIFE to any situation we’re facing.

In this passage, Jeremiah is complaining to God about how long he has had to face an enemy, seemingly without any help from God. He even accuses God of failing him in his time of need. Sound familiar? But guess what God’s response was to Jeremiah… “Trust Me.” I know that seems like such an extraneous instruction, one that we hear often, especially when we don’t understand what God is doing. But trusting His faithfulness is the golden ticket to what ever we need from Him. No effort is required on our part. He simply wants us to trust that He loves us and will deliver us.

This particular passage of Scripture is best digested as a combination of various translations. Below, I’ve paraphrased the verses from a few different Bible versions. I hope they open your eyes to what God  has to say about perpetual pain in our lives.

[Jeremiah says] You know where I am, God! You know, understand, and care for me. Remember what I’m doing here! Visit me and avenge me. Take my side against this enemy of mine. Don’t stand back while it ruins me. Just look at the abuse I’m taking! Don’t let my joy slip away while I wait on You.

When I found Your words, I devoured them. Your words made me glad. Your words are what sustain me; they are food to my hungry soul. They bring joy to my sorrowing heart and delight me. How proud I am to bear your name, O Lord. 

Yet, You have failed me in my time of need! You have let this issue continue far too long. Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will this never stop hurting me? You are like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail and are uncertain. Your help seems like a seasonal mountain brook—sometimes a flood, sometimes as dry as a bone.  

The Lord replied:

“Stop this foolishness and talk some sense! Return to trusting Me. If you return and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair, then I will give you again a settled place of quiet and safety. And if you cleanse your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning My faithfulness, I will make you like a fortified, bronze wall— strong and impenetrable by troubles. Speak worthy, not worthless, words! You are to influence those troubles by speaking to them; by speaking what I have said.  Do not remain silent and thereby let troubles influence you. They will fight against you, but they will not prevail over you, for I am with you to save and deliver you.”

[Paraphrased from Message, Amplified, Living, and NIV Bibles]

Here are three things that I gleaned from this passage that you can implement in dealing with perpetual pain:

  1. Make a decision to trust God, no matter what. Get rid of the attitudes and words of distrust and despair. (Philippians 4:6-8)
  2. Determine to view God as always being faithful. As a friend once told me, being faithful means you always say “Yes.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)
  3. Choose to ensure your conversations with others reflect what God has said about your deliverance. Speak worthy, not worthless, words! (Proverbs 4:20-22)

Now that you’ve read how God corrected and encouraged Jeremiah about his pain (and gave him hope!), what will you do to address the pain you’re experiencing today? I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a note about what you’ll do!

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How God and the Power of Good Grammar Can Give You Good Success

Posted on by Evangeline

There’s a powerful connection between grammar, God, and your success. In elementary school, or in junior high school, you probably learned about the grammatical impact of using the word “but” in a sentence. It is a conjunction, joining two phrases. It is a powerful word because  “but” essentially negates the idea in the first phrase and implies that something else should be considered. Here’s a quick list of what “but” can do:

  • suggests there’s a chance for a different outcome
  • implies there’s something which should not be forgotten
  • serves to redirect your attention
  • implies doubt in the preceding phrase and a more confident expectation in the phrase that follows
  • marks an opposition to the preceding phrase

As I was writing my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, one of the things that Holy Spirit whispered to me to include was how to use the “Holy But.” I laughed when I heard that– the Holy But. However, I began to understand how using it could bring godly results to our ungodly circumstances. You’re probably wondering what makes the “but” holy. The use of God’s Word following the “but” is what makes it serve a holy purpose in your life. When you find yourself saying some negative things about yourself that you know you should not have released from your mouth, use the Holy But by stating a promise or truth from God’s Word that addresses the circumstance that you previously stated negatively.

God’s Truth is stronger than your facts.  Tweet this!

God’s Truth is stronger than your facts. It is powerful and never changes. God’s Truth never fails. When you believe it and speak it, it can actually change your facts of life. What’s God’s Truth? It’s His words of love and grace toward you (John 17:17). God’s Word doesn’t change– it is powerful and eternal. Use it to pressure your circumstances to line up with what God has said. For example, you may have said in a moment of exasperation, “I feel like I’ll never be pregnant!” Quickly follow that up by saying, “BUT, God said that none shall be barren and that includes me” (Exodus 23:26). Maybe you’re experiencing some financial challenges and you might slip and say, “I’m always broke.” When you catch yourself, say something like, “BUT, Jesus is with me and He prospers me (1 Chronicles 22:11). The key is to negate your negative statement by stating what God has said about the matter using the word “but”. Good grammar really can bring godly results and good success, when you combine it with what God has said about your circumstances. Proverbs 18:21 points out that the words we speak carry the power of life and of death. Do a self-check on your conversations and start using the Holy But when you’ve spoken negatively. Use the Holy But in your everyday conversations to:

  • Express belief about the outcome God has planned for you
  • Remind yourself of God’s viewpoint of the matter
  • Redirect your attention to Jesus’ love for you
  • Erase doubt and affirm your confidence in God’s words
  • Declare your opposition to the negative thing you’ve previously said

It is applicable in any circumstance. It is a simple exercise that will redirect your focus and strengthen your faith. In the midst of negative circumstances, what do you do to redirect your focus to Jesus’ words, love, and viewpoint? good grammar - words of life

Sarah’s DUI

Posted on by Evangeline

Sarah's DUI

Did you know that Sarah had a DUI thousands of years ago?  Her DUI was, of course, not driving while intoxicated/under the influence; it was “Deciding Under the Influence” – of doubt. Sarah made some life-changing, not-so-good decisions under the influence of doubt. Her strong incredulity about God’s promise of a son came back to bite her. Because it was taking so long for her to see the manifestation of the son God had promised them, doubt started to cloud her judgment. She made a doubt-influenced decision to help God keep His promise.

The details of Sarah’s DUI and the consequences of it were not pretty. You can read her story in Genesis 16. Doubting God’s goodness and His faithfulness to keep His word influenced her to offer her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abraham. Sarah decided to have her husband to take Hagar as a wife and have sex with her so that the slave could produce the heir that Abraham so desperately wanted. And of course, Abraham gladly cooperated! He probably thought that he was winning all the way around—sex with a “pretty young thing” AND producing the son he always wanted. But that was not God’s plan. As a result of this DUI, Sarah did not experience God’s promised gift as quickly as she thought.

God’s plan was for Sarah to birth a son. A surrogate was not going to bring forth the child of promise that He had planned for Sarah and Abraham. Even though it looked impossible, even though it took a long time, God’s plan was still the best plan and He did not need Sarah to run interference and attempt to force His plan to come to fruition.

Have you ever had a DUI like Sarah’s? Are there times when you struggle because you’re making a decision under the influence of doubt?

Decide to rest in God’s promise. Decide to be still and know Him as God of your circumstances. Your best efforts can never measure up to what He can do to bring good things your way!

 

 

Image from Springfield News Sun

Mother’s Day and Infertility

Posted on by Evangeline

mother's day infertilityMother’s Day and infertility–they just don’t seem to go together. If you’re in the throes of infertility, is this a difficult time for you?

I remember some years ago when I dreaded Mother’s Day because I was struggling with infertility and it was difficult to get through that Day without feeling inadequate. Despite all the “trying” my husband and I had been doing, nothing was working and I felt like so out-of-place on that Day.

I wanted to experience pregnancy and it seemed that I couldn’t.

I wanted to watch my tummy grow and it seemed like that could very possibly be impossible.

I wanted to feel the baby kicking and moving inside of me and it seemed that I wouldn’t.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With infertility, the finite disappointment rolls around on a monthly basis, but don’t allow it to make you lose hope in Jesus’ for love you. Don’t let the doctor’s diagnosis make you lose hope for having a child. There’s a spiritual enemy, the devil, that would love for you to give up on Jesus–don’t let him win. Hope is what gets us through the tough times. I overcame infertility because I did not lose hope…I did not give up on God promises.

Reinforce your hope this week by digging more deeply into God’s promises of fertility. Let them give you courage to rest in His unfailing integrity, His covenantal willingness, and His omnipotent strength. Placing our hope in Jesus is the only sure thing. He desires to be our anchor, especially in times of raging storms.

“We have this HOPE as an anchor for the soul.” ~ Hebrews 6:19

Stay in the Word this week…allow Jesus’ love to speak to you through it. Need some suggestions for some applicable verses to read? Check out the appendix in my fertility devotional, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility for lots of encouraging passages.

How will you cope with Mother’s Day 2015? Please share with us your ways of maintaining hope!

 

Image courtesy of 89studio | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Fertility Retreat 2015

Posted on by Evangeline

iHope Fertility Retreat

The iHope Fertility Retreat is fast approaching!

Get all the details of this fabulous weekend HERE. 

You’ve struggled long enough…

Feeling like infertility has taken over your life?

Want to address the SPIRITUAL aspect of infertility? 

Pull away from the daily stress of infertility and hear what God has to say about infertility (He doesn’t like it). Receive personalized prayer and encouragement for overcoming infertility.

Get new Word-based tools to help you maintain hope.

Workshops at the iHope Fertility Retreat will be based on the content of my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility. We’ll have discussions that help you with increase your trust in God’s lavish and unending love for YOU, and in His faithfulness to always follow through on His promises. The weekend will be filled with revelation centered on God’s promises of fertility.

This 3-day retreat is tailored to help you nourish your spirit and to draw closer to the One who has the solution to your every problem.

ihope retreat theme - largeYour registration fee includes your lodging, meals, workshop materials, and a signed copy of A Seed of Hope.

It’s time for some R&R … Rest and Receive at the iHope Fertility Retreat!

Enjoy a time of fun, pampering and recreation.

YOU NEED TO JOIN US AND RECEIVE THE BLESSING!

Reserve your place now at  www.EvangelineColbert.com/retreat-registration

How to Have Ridiculous Hope Like Abraham

Posted on by Evangeline

Abraham firmly believed God’s promise. Romans 4:18 (NLT) tells us how Abraham had ridiculous hope—“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations.”

I recently read how Jewish tradition promotes that Sarah actually had no womb:

Sarai was barren, she had no child.

[Why the double phrasing?] To teach that she did not even have a place for offspring – i.e. a womb. (Rashi, citing Talmud – Yevamot 64a)

[This is an interpretation of Genesis 11:30.]

Ridiculous hope
Photo courtesy of Michal Marcol/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

But even when there was no reason to hope — Sarah had been barren for decades and he was nearly 100 years old — Abraham kept believing that they would have a child. Their predicament made hope seem nonsensical, even laughable. But Abraham kept hoping.

This wasn’t the first time Abraham had experienced and maintained ridiculous hope. God told him to leave his extended family (very unusual in that culture) and go to a different land, promising him that he would be blessed and become great.  Abraham made a decision to step out and find out. The promises came true as Abraham trusted God.

I think Abraham was an outstanding example of how to have ridiculous hope in the midst of infertility. He opened himself to hear from God. He trusted what God said. So much so, that he changed his name from Abram, which means “exalted father”  , to Abraham, which means “father of many nations.” Imagine hearing other people call him father of multitudes when he and Sarah didn’t even have one child!  Think of the ridicule he must have experienced.  His ridiculous hope required having faith in what God had promised, trusting that what God had promised would indeed come to pass. Repeatedly hearing that description of himself , through others calling his name, surely must have built Abraham’s faith (faith comes by hearing–Romans 10:17).

There was another factor that increased Abraham’s hope for a child and faith in God’s promise. We learn in Romans 4:20  (YLT) that he “was strengthened in faith, having given glory to God.” The act of praising God, acknowledging His power and honoring Him by the words that Abraham spoke, helped to build up his faith.

Abraham had ridiculous hope in God, viewing Him as the only One who could give him all that he desired.

What will it take for you to live each day having ridiculous hope?