When you hope for something, a lot of forces must fight your hope, certainly to make your hope dwindle away to hopelessness. There is no effective hope without battle. If you hope for something without anything fighting your hope, it is either your hope is of little value or it is only but a mirage. When you see some forces, as we shall unveil herein, fighting your hope, believe it, your hope must yield a great result. However, you should note that if you cannot overcome the battle, your hope shall fail.

HERE ARE THE FORCES:

1. FEAR OF DISAPPOINTMENT:

There is a spirit that speaks to the spirit of someone that has hope. The spirit tries to discourage or demoralize the individual, making them believe they must be disappointed in the end. The spirit may also pass through fellow human beings to speak words of discouragement to the individual. If you are not careful, you may succumb to their tricks.

Let's consider the following analogies:

• We, Christians, hope for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, many people say Christ will not come again. They give copious reasons to convince the feeble and faithless Christians. They say Christ cannot come back because of the treatment and beating he received when he came the first time as a Messiah. Some say he cannot come because God is not wicked to destroy the earth that He suffered to create. That is an epitome of the battle against hope.

• When Elisha was following Elijah, the sons of the prophets began to make Elisha believe his hope would not yield a fruitful result. Thank God Elisha did not succumb to their discouragement. (Read 2 Kings Chapter 2).

• A certain lady was betrothed by a young man. While their courtship was ongoing, the young man traveled abroad, giving the lady a firm promise that he would come back to marry her and take her abroad. For over five years, the young man did not return. As the lady was still waiting for him, people began to tell her that the young man had already gotten married abroad. They gave her instances of many ladies who were kept at tantal by young men abroad. After many discouraging words, the lady got married to another man. It was just eight months after her wedding with a tricycle operator that the young man came back heavily loaded and prepared to marry her and take her abroad. What a disappointment. May your hope never dwindle away.

For more of this teaching, follow us in our next edition.

Rev. Miracle C. Onyenweaku Senior Pastor

Grace of God Christian Assembly Int'l

Uhum/Umuogwo, Isialangwa South L.G.A.,

Abia State.

+2348037588218