“For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again” (Job 14:7)
If a tree is cut down, there is YET hope that it can sprout anew and begin to grow and flourish. Hope is the powerful Hebrew word, tiqvah. Its word-picture is that of a cord of attachment, such as the umbilical cord of a child growing in the womb of its mother. The umbilical cord is critical to the life and health of a baby. Through the umbilical cord the baby receives oxygen and food from the mother. Waste is also removed. Guarding our hope is as critical as the function of the umbilical cord is to the proper formation of the baby. The moment we lose hope, give up, we embrace unbelief and the devastation that often accompanies it. Spiritually we are cutting the umbilical cord before the appointed time.
Hidden in the root of the word tiqvah is another powerful Hebrew word, qavah. It means to be twisted together like a woven rope or cord. An example of qavah can be found in Isaiah 40:31. “They that qavah (WAIT) upon the LORD shall renew their strength.” Those whose lives are twisted together unto the LORD like the cords of a rope, will be like a once decimated tree and re-sprout. If a tree can sprout again from a stump, how much more can a man, even though his life may have been cut down due to circumstances beyond his control or even by his own previous bad choices. If he truly desires, and seeks the Lord as to how, he can rise from the stump of despair and be restored.
ABRAHAM AND HOPE
Many are suffering today because of delayed fulfillment of HOPE. Remember Abraham and be encouraged. He believed in hope against hope. (Romans 4:18) While Abram was still childless, God promised him that he would be the father of many nations. Abram was faithful, God’s friend, obedient to His every command, yet suffered through years of contradiction to God’s promise. He never lost HOPE!
EZEKIEL AND HOPE
Israel declared: “Our bones are dried, and our HOPE is lost: we are cut off for our parts” (Ezek. 37:11). They were saying that their hope had vanished and they were destroyed. God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, “I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves.” (Ezek. 37:12). Today, God is promising this to all who call on His Name. Though you may feel buried under confusion, disappointment or shame, God’s heart is to resurrect (re-sprout) you from this weighty condition of heart and direct you into proper action.
God can’t break His Word. And because his Word cannot change, His promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grasp His promised HOPE with both hands and never let go. He offers an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances and taking us right to His very presence, the presence of God. (Heb. 6:18-19 MSG)
“For there is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease” (Job 14:7). If a tree can be restored, how much more YOU.
