A story was sent to me about a man who was imprisoned during Napoleon’s reign. While sulking in his dungeon one day, he etched on the wall the words “Nobody Cares”.
A few weeks later, through a crack in the dungeon floor, a little green shoot sprang forth, reaching toward the tiny ray of sunlight that came from his small prison cell window. The prisoner began giving a portion of his daily water to the little shoot and it began to grow. One morning the man awoke to a beautiful flower. A tear rolling down his face, he crossed out the words, “Nobody Cares” and replaced them with “God Cares.”
The story goes on to tell that His devotion to the flower was reported to the Empress Josephine. She was so very moved that she convinced Napoleon to set the man free.
How many times do we feel like “Nobody Cares”? God has planted little shoots of hope in each and every one of our difficult circumstances — do you know that? Perhaps we’re stepping on them, not even noticing they exist. Perhaps we’re pulling the shoots before they spring forth into beautiful flowers.
God wants us to be released from our prisons of despair. Look around! Be encouraged and see what God has planted since the beginning of time especially for us today.
He knows what we’re going through; He knows what trials we are facing; He knows that we make mistakes, we falter, we fall, we really make a mess of things sometimes.
The thing is He has always known, yet He never stops loving us.
“ 3Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” –Romans 5
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” –Romans 15:13
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” –Romans 15:4
“The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” –Psalm 147:11
God Cares.
THE RIGHT RENDITION 