Where Is Our Hope?

We are living in times of unprecedented stress.  Our families, society, and world are in a constant state of upheaval despite our best efforts to restore control and stability.  Many of us feel betrayed by our government, abandoned by our loved ones, and fearful of all the circumstances we cannot control.  The stress of it all is debilitating and the burdens have become unbearable.  Why is all this happening?  Has God finally turned his back on us?  These questions are as old as time.

Most of us have felt abandoned by God at one time or another.  We have tried—and failed—to control situations we were never meant to control.  Even though we might be saved, many of us find it hard to fully surrender every aspect of our lives to God and to give him control of the heartbreaking circumstances in which we find ourselves.  We have become slaves to sin, believing that “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.”  How arrogant of us to think that we know better than the One who created us and sent his one and only Son to die on a cross for our sin!  How might our pride and failure to surrender ourselves, problems, and loved ones keep God from accomplishing his will in our lives?   

The apostle Paul wrote, “We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren’t crushed.  We are confused, but we aren’t depressed.  We are harassed, but we aren’t abandoned.  We are knocked down, but we aren’t knocked out” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, CEB).  As a Christ-follower, he knew that his hope could be found in Jesus Christ, the power of God, and the truth of God’s Word.  He knew that God can turn our trials into testimonies so that others may come to know him.  He goes on to write, “We always carry Jesus’ death around in our bodies so that Jesus’ life can also be seen in our bodies.  We who are alive are always being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that Jesus’ life can also be seen in our bodies that are dying…So we aren’t depressed.  But even if our bodies are breaking down on the outside, the person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day.  Our temporary minor problems are producing an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison.  We don’t focus on the things that can be seen but on the things that can’t be seen.  The things that can be seen don’t last, but the things that can’t be seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:10-11, 16-18).

“It is for freedom that Christ set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).  God only wants his best for us, yet we live as if we know better than God.   True freedom comes from being fully surrendered to God.  

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:8-12, NIV).

Jesus is our ONLY hope!  Will you trust him enough to surrender your life to Jesus, who died for your sins, and begin your life of victory through a personal relationship with him?  He is waiting.  He has promised never to leave or forsake you, but you must take the first step by inviting and placing your trust in Him.

Copyright 2025 © by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

What If Things Don’t Change?

As we sit on the cusp of a New Year, most, if not all, of us are longing for positive change. Whether we long for a change in stressful circumstances, our health, finances, or social status, we pin our hopes on the possibility that things will improve as we say goodbye to the woes of days gone by and step into what we hope will be a bright new future.  

To be real, what if things don’t change?  What if the inauguration of a new president doesn’t bring about economic prosperity or social justice?  What if wars don’t cease and gun violence and natural disasters continue to plague our society?  What if life gets more difficult and we find our circumstances even harder to handle?  

The only real hope we have is if we allow Jesus to change us by receiving his salvation for our sins and surrender every aspect of our lives to his control.   Jesus knows, far better than we do, what is best for us, so don’t be afraid to surrender your heart and your life to him.  He is faithful and true, loving and kind, and has promised to work all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).  

A personal relationship with Jesus opens the way to intimate fellowship with God—our loving Heavenly Father—and the grace, power, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit which we so desperately need in order to face the challenges and difficulties of living in a fallen world.  God’s Word, the Bible, provides the truth and instruction we need to understand how to live in relationship with God and others.

Jesus loves you so much that he suffered a brutal death on the cross to save and redeem you (John 3:16).  You don’t have to do anything to earn his salvation except to ask that he forgive your sins and live in your heart, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬-‭10‬, ‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

Jesus is faithful and his mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  I don’t know about you, but I need God’s mercy every single day!

Jesus himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14) and he promises to keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on him because we trust in him (Isaiah 26:3).

If you have never received Jesus as your Savior, or if you have fallen out of fellowship with him because of sin and circumstances, I pray you will start the New Year with REAL HOPE by placing your faith in him and surrendering every area of your life to him.  Trust me, you need him.  I need him.  Life is hard.  In fact, Jesus himself said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Luke 16:33, ESV).

Copyright ©2024  by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

A Prayer for More of God

Lord, as we close the book on all the sorrow and sadness of 2020 and anticipate with hope a better year ahead, give us more in 2021.  Not more stuff.  Not more happiness.  Not more money or jobs or security.  Give us more of you.

Without you we are nothing but hopeless, miserable creatures struggling to get through the challenges and heartaches of living in a fallen world.

With you all things -- even impossible things -- are possible.  Because of you we have hope.  You are Immanuel, God with us, not just during Advent and Christmas but throughout the year, in good times and in bad.

You are our Provider, Protector, Peace, Healer, Savior, Redeemer, Strong Tower, Deliverer...the God who works all things together for good for those who love you and are called according to your purpose (Romans 8:28).

You forgive us when we sin, weep with us when we are sorrowful, and rejoice with us when we are happy.  You get us, because you created us.

The greatest thing we can pray for in the coming year is to know you more.  In knowing you more we will love you more, and in loving you more we will love others more.

Lord, open the eyes of our hearts to see others as you do and more importantly, to see ourselves as you do -- holy, pure, and beloved because the blood of Jesus has made us so.

Lord, give us more in 2021.  Not less heartache, not less stress, not less illness, but more faith in the One who will never leave us or forsake us, no matter what may come.  Lord, give us more of you.  

In Jesus' name and for your glory, amen.

Copyright © 2020-2021 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

Prayer for Empty Nesters

Once upon a time my babes were small, little ones who needed parents to love and protect them.

Earlier this year our firstborn left home to spread his wings and gain his independence.  We all knew it was time.  I couldn't be more proud of him for taking on the challenges of adulthood with such courage and determination.

Our daughter is soon to fly and leave our nest, eager to see the world beyond our home and to make her way in this world.  My heart is breaking... I'm not prepared...yet I am confident that she is ready.

How to make the most of the time we have left is an overwhelming thought.  With so many details to attend to over the next few weeks, I know time will slip away and the day will come that I have to let her go. 

Soon our nest will be empty...so empty...yet I know I will not be alone.  Nor will they, for our heavenly Father has promised to be with them wherever they go.

Lord, keep our children in your care

Protect and guard them everywhere

Be their Provider, their Peace, their Friend

From now until the very end

God, thank You for the precious gift

Of parenting these kids of ours

They're in your hands now, lead them well

And be our Comfort in the quiet, lonely hours

Copyright © 2020 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

New Normal -- Same God

I'm not one to cry easily, except at happy endings or when I am angry about something. However, I have had a couple of moments recently when tears just came out of nowhere -- no particular stress trigger or depression, just intense momentary sadness. As I prayed this morning for God to reveal why, I realized that like so many of you, I am GRIEVING. As blessed as I am -- as we all are -- we are each grieving, on some level, the loss of our lives and the reality that our "normal" is forever changed.

Some of us have lost jobs, loved ones, and the sense of identity that comes from being employed or in the company of those whose presence we can no longer enjoy due to social distancing and stay-at-home orders. ALL of us have lost the freedom to come and go and do as we please without fear of becoming infected or infecting others.

We have seen the best and worst of humanity during this crisis and learned hard, hard lessons. Many of us have risen to serve, some making the ultimate sacrifice to care for those who have been sickened by the virus. Some of us have sunk into despair because of loss and loneliness. All of us have been changed in some way.

Despite all the changes we have seen and the reality that life will never again look like it did on January 1, 2020, we can still enjoy LIFE and walk in FREEDOM because of what happened on Easter -- not this Easter, but on that first Easter when Christ, who IS our FREEDOM and our LIFE, forever conquered death through His Resurrection.

For those who know Christ:
He is our Life. -- John 1:4
He gives us Freedom. -- Galatians 5:1
He himself is our peace. -- Ephesians 2:14
He is our hope. -- Colossians 1:27

If you don't know Christ -- if you have not asked Him to save you from your sins and entered into a personal relationship with Him -- I pray this will be the day you ask Him to be your Savior and Lord and begin walking in the freedom, hope, and peace that can be yours as a child of God. The Bible tells us:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:16-17, ESV).

Life will never be the same again, but "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

This world -- this broken, sickened, saddened, decaying world -- is not our home. Jesus himself says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:1-3, ESV).

"Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear away from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new" (Revelation 21:3-5, ESV).

Praying for you,
Dee Dee

Copyright © 2020 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

Words of Hope for Hurting Hearts

One of the hardest things to do is to pray and wait on God to act.  When faced with a difficult decision, a challenging circumstance, a despairing heart -- it seems God is never in a hurry to make everything better for us.  That's because we look at things through the faulty lens of our human eyes, forgetting that God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to his power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).

Today I found myself despairing over things I cannot control and wondering if there is anything God would have me do differently than I am already doing.  As I sit here thinking about it all, I wonder why I spend so much time fretting about these things when I know that God is quite capable of handling it all.  No matter the scenarios that I play in my mind, only one thing ultimately matters to me -- being in God's will, even if at the moment it is a difficult place to be. 

Friends, when will we ever learn that God is good, his ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9)?  When will we learn that today has enough trouble of its own so we best not be anxious about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34)?  Will we ever trust that God's plan for us is a good plan, one to prosper and not harm us, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)?

No matter how difficult things may seem, or how long the wait, may we learn to trust in the LORD with all our hearts rather than lean on our own understanding.  And may we trust him to keep his promise that if we acknowledge him in all our ways he will make straight our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I don't know what you may be dealing with right now but I do know that God cares deeply about you and the pain you bear in your body, heart, and soul.  He cares about your grief, as surely as he cares about mine.  This life is not all there is, and if you are his child, you already know that there is coming a day when "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4, ESV). 

When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, thank God for his blessings.  God knows the way that you take and when he has tested you, you will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

May we sleep in heavenly peace because God himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).



Copyright © 2020 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com