by Suzanne Benner
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).
The triumph prophesied in these verses is underscored by the events that followed – Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Jesus came to us, “righteous and having salvation”, but we didn’t realize what form it would take.
The prophecy in Zechariah continues, “As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you” (Zechariah 9:11,12 ).
We are no longer prisoners of evil, held hostage by sin.
As radical as it may sound, we are captives of hope. There is no escaping the hope Jesus brought us; it surrounds us on every side.
Because our king has come to us, righteous and having salvation, we are prisoners of hope.
Because of the blood of His covenant with us – Jesus’ death that takes away our sin – we are prisoners of hope.
Because He has freed us from the waterless pit – destroying Satan’s hold on us – we are prisoners of hope.
God is our fortress. He calls us to return to Him, to trust in Him, to find refuge in His commands, to seek Him with all our hearts.
Return to your fortress, you are a prisoner of hope!
As prisoners of hope, we eagerly await the day of Christ’s return.
~God, You are our refuge; You are our fortress. Help me to comprehend that I am a prisoner of hope.
About the Author
This devotional was written by Suzanne Benner. Read more about Suzanne: http://www.talk.thelife.com/authors/suzanne-benner/
Going Deeper
Consider these questions: How have you found God to be your fortress? What is your personal reason to hope, since God is your fortress?
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When my boys left home, Jesus whispered to me, “You have led them this way and that…now it’s My turn to lead them.” I have more peace, knowing they are in the Lord’s hands, when they run into snags in their lives. My hope in their futures is strong, knowing they are in His care. (And that’s not easy, having already witnessed some of those snags!)
When the daily cares are put in God’s hands, I am in His fortress of hope . . . When the upsets come and they are put into God’s hands, I am calm in His fortress of hope . . . when the unexpected happens and I am scared and it it put in God’s hands, I am uplifted in His fortress of hope . . . Thank you, Lord, that when I come to You with anything in my life, you are my calming salvation and guide. Annie
When everything seams hopeless and I am in so much pain, i don’t know if I will ever get rid of it, I know JESUS is there holding me while I cry. Times like this I think of the Thing called “FOOTPRINTS”. JESUS SOMETIMES carries me forever. I am so forturate that HE is there for me and everyone else to guide me and everyone who finds salvation in HIM.
Chris
Praise God. It is wonderful to be able to put all of our faith and hope in Jesus.
Have a blessed day everyone
When I’m oppressed about the evil all around me, I focus on Heaven which is my hope because of the salvation of my Savior whose blood has washed me clean, and gave me a ticket to my future home. Jesus said “Be not afraid”. Praise Him! May all reading this feel the joy of His presence in a SPECIAL way today!!
God I thank You that You are my fortess, that I am safe in Your presence.I “may be in difficulties on all sides ,but never cornered;see no answer to my problems but never despair;have been persecuted,but never deserted;knocked down but never killed;always, wherever I may be, I carry with me in my body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus ,too, may always be seen in my body”(2 Cor 4:8-10)
Thank you Lord that I am a” prisoner of hope.”
I’ve overcome a lifetime of abuse and rejection from the people that are suppose to love me the most, my family, and right now I’m going through it with my own 22 year old son.
If it were not for Jesus and the hope in his promises that I know he promised me will come to pass I wouldn’t be where I am today. I was raised in hell, and felt so unloved for so long, but Jesus renewed my life, my soul, my mind, my spirit, and has given me hope, without hope and without faith in the hope of Jesus’ promises, life is empty, life is lived in vain. I am a overcomer because the hope I did not have, Jesus has given me and it has come to pass so I no longer see myself as a prisoner of waiting for these hopes to come, it has come, and now I am living in joy and peace of what the Lord has given me thus far… The hope I have now is not for myself, but for others, like my son, and those who are running from the hope and love of Jesus Christ.
Thank Jesus for this comforting thought…. We are surrounded by hope. At 22 years of age i became pregnant, this was hard for my family because of our strong religious background, and even harder for me after my boyfriend left. I was about to become a single parent, why me. But thank Jesus for His hope his blessed assurance that no matter what he would be there and that our shortcomings are His opportunities to make us a success story. Today my daughter is seven months old and is loved by everyone of my family members, her presence is indeed a blessing in my life. Thanks be to God.
We have a mountain of debt from school loans to credit cards which we aquired while raising our 3 children, while I was in school. I am now teaching for 5 years and we both have decent incomes, but live from paycheck to paycheck. We need relief. We checked into refinancing our home, but not enough equity to give relief (found this out today). I have prayed for a long time and I just don’t know what to do anymore. We are in early 40’s and would like some suggestions. Credit Counseling is not an option. We have good credit scores and do not want to jeopardize that. My husband just found out that his job is going to 4 days a week. I am afraid with that loss of income and the financial strap that we live under, we may become late on payments. Prayers, are what I most request. I know God will open a door, but I am growing weary.
Violet,
Read Jeremiah 29:11 and write it upon your heart. God never goes back on His promises. He is our hope!
Gloren, you are a success/hero in my book. You faced the storm with God’s help, and now you see His beautiful rainbow. My son and his wife have adopted two precious children. I thank God for the strength and courage of their birth mothers to choose life. Those sweet children have blessed our family with great joy.
I was raised with the admonition, “Don’t get your hopes up.” (Don’t expect too much.) Ron Hutchcraft’s devotional for today was about how Jesus could not do big miracles in Nazareth because of the people’s unbelief (Mark 6:1). He says that Bible-believer’s today know alot about Jesus, too (just like those Nazareth neighbors). We settle for the natural (spiritual mediocrity), and miss the supernatural. We don’t embrace big(God-inspired)plans that will surely fail… if God does not step in and take over. I have to remember, Peter had to get out of the boat before he could walk on water. Jesus, I trust in You. Lord, help me trust in You even more.
Violet – i don’t know if you have every heard of Crown Financial Ministries. They can help with the resources to get you and your husband started with a budget and help you map out a plan to pay off your debt, it is a great ministry and would be a great place to start. They have a web site http://www.crown.org
Violet – i don’t know if you have every heard of Crown Financial Ministries. They can help with the resources to get you and your husband started with a budget and help you map out a plan to pay off your debt, it is a great ministry and would be a great place to start. They have a web site http://www.crown.org
Just don’t give up, this is when God shines!!
This word has truly been a blessing and inspiration. It came alive and gives comfort knowing that the God of Jacob is our refuge. We will not be afraid for He has given us peace.
We can rest in this assurance that He is our Lord!!!!!
Violet, I want to respond to your request for suggestions. I hear the heavy burden you have been carrying for a long while now. It’s unlikely that any financial suggestions I make would be of much help, since I don’t know the whole situation or understand all the circumstances.
So, instead let me offer encouragement and instruction from God’s word. Money is a big control issue for many of us. Have you surrendered this area of your life to God? Have you asked Him where and how you should spend your money? Have you given back to God the first fruits? By first fruits I mean this: In the Bible God instructs us to give Him ten percent (a tithe) – the first ten percent – of everything we earn (Genesis 14:20, Genesis 28:22, Leviticus 27:30, 2 Chronicles 31:5, Matthew 23:23). This is a gesture we make to God to show that we understand that everything we have comes from Him and belongs to Him. God doesn’t need our money, but we need to demonstrate that we believe He is in control and obey this command. The best place to give that money would be your local church.
The Bible says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:10 NIV)
This isn’t a blanket promise that as long as you tithe you’ll never have any financial difficulty, but God honors obedience, so if you are not already tithing, it would be a good place to start.
Please allow me to pray for you.
~God, You know the long and difficult struggle that Violet and her family have experienced. You know her fear that things may get worse with her husband’s job being cut back. I pray that You would help Violet surrender all her anxiety and fear to You. It is too great a load for her to carry. Search her thoughts and motivations when it comes to money and point out anything that is not honoring to You. Give her wisdom to make the decisions that are set before her each day and strength to obey Your commands. Make Your presence and Your unfailing love known to her today. Amen.
In Christ’s love,
Suzanne
I like the responce from Suzanne concerning Violet’s care-
ful concern reguarding finance. I to am struggling in a
very bad way. I lost full-time job, my house, my one and only companion (spouse of 31 years) as well as a very close relationship with one of my children due to my life-long inability to connect with people. I had an anger problem. Like an alcoholic, I struggled with relationships with out knowing that it was I who was the major problem. With counseling, I have learned that even if I chose not to drink, growing up with it in my parent still had an adverse affect.
I have never learned to rely on God first. It was always
my father, then later my spouse. After he wanted a divorce, I failed miserably attempting to rely on my self. I had never done that before – I’m 50 years old too!. I now know I am to be God’s bride and to not rely on any one human (man or woman) but to put Him first. I have completed a 9-month education in massage, but am currently unemployed. I have limited funds left over from the sale of my home. I feel that God is teaching me to make do with so much less than what I used to have. (Imbarrassingly, even that at the time wasn’t enough!) To become a valid person of society, I need a job, then a car! Yet I have great fear in doing a small task, like making a resume, calling for appointments for interviews, getting out of bed!
Finances are a HUGE worry, but I need to make small steps first! My simple 10% tything is getting me what I need so far. But I want to much more! My attitude/graditude has smoothed out, thank you God! I want to flourish as God promises. By that I mean, become a functioning, active,
viable person of society as well as a shining Christian!!
Talk about abundance!!! Come get me now, Lord! :)
I have been praying like crazy, Any more couldn’t hurt!
Drench me, I’m so parched it seems. . .
thank you!
Thank you Suzanne. I know you are right. We tithe great for a while, then we get scared and quit for awhile.