Max Lucado

Hope is an olive leaf

Noah pulled a dove out of the bowels of the ark and ascended the ladder. With a prayer he let it go. All day he looked for the dove’s return. You’ve known your share of floods. Flooded by sorrow at the cemetery, stress at the office, anger at the disability in your body or the inability of your spouse. You’ve likely seen the sun set on your hopes as well. You’ve been on Noah’s boat.

And you’ve needed what Noah needed; you’ve needed some hope. “That evening it came back to him with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth” (Genesis 8:11 NCV). The bird brought more than a piece of a tree; it brought hope. Hope is an olive leaf—evidence of dry land after a flood. Proof to the dreamer that dreaming is worth the risk.

Receive God’s Great Promises

According to Peter, God’s promises aren’t just great, they are “very great.” They aren’t just valuable; they are “precious” (2 Peter 1:4 NIV). It is God’s great and precious promises that lead us into a new reality, a holy environment. They are direction signs intended to guide us away from the toxic swampland and into the clean air of heaven. They are strong boulders that form the bridge over which we walk from our sin to salvation. Promises that are the stitching in the spine of the Bible.

Receive them. Allow them to soak you like a spring shower. Let’s be what we were intended to be—people of the Promise. Fill your heart with hope, and let the devil himself hear you declare your belief in God’s goodness.

Because God’s promises are unbreakable our hope is unshakable!