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Trusting God’s faithfulness can dispel our fearfulness.
相信上帝的信实能消除我们的恐惧。
In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
祢以忠信诚实行过奇妙的事，成就祢古时所定的。-以赛亚书25章1节
Since she suffered with cancer several years ago, Ruth has been unable to eat, drink, or even swallow properly. She has lost a lot of her physical strength, and numerous operations and treatments have left her a shadow of what she used to be.
茹思几年前罹患了癌症，无法正常吃饭、喝水，甚至连吞咽都有困难。她的体力衰退，无数的手术和治疗使现在的茹思和以往的她有天渊之别。
Yet Ruth is still able to praise God; her faith remains strong, and her joy is infectious. She relies on God daily, and holds on to the hope that she will recover fully one day. She prays for healing and is confident that God will answer—sooner or later. What an awesome faith!
但茹思仍然能够赞美上帝，她保有坚强的信心，她的喜乐总能感染身旁的人。她每天都倚靠上帝，抱持着总有一天能完全康复的希望。她祈求病得医治，并相信上帝迟早会有所回应。这是多么美好的信心啊！
Ruth explained that what keeps her faith strong is the secure knowledge that God will not only fulfill His promises in His time, but will also sustain her until that happens. This was the same hope that God’s people had as they waited for Him to complete His plans (Isaiah 25:1), deliver them from their enemies (v. 2), wipe away their tears, remove their disgrace, and “swallow up death forever” (v. 8).
茹思说自己能保有坚强的信心，是因为她深知，上帝不单会按着祂所定的时间成就祂的应许，而且还会扶持她，直到这应许得着应验。上帝的子民在等待上帝完成祂的计划时，他们也有相同的盼望（以赛亚书25章1节），相信上帝能救他们脱离仇敌（2节）、擦去他们的眼泪、除掉他们的羞辱，并“吞灭死亡直到永远”（8节）。
In the meantime, God gave His people refuge and shelter (v. 4) as they waited. He comforted them in their ordeals, gave them strength to endure, and gave them assurance that He was there with them.
在上帝的子民等候的同时，上帝保护他们，遮蔽他们（4节）。他们在苦难中，上帝就安慰他们，赐给他们力量能够忍耐，并向他们确保祂与他们同在。
This is the double promise we have—the hope of deliverance one day, plus the provision of His comfort, strength, and shelter throughout our lives.
这就是我们所拥有的双重应许：有一天终将得释放的盼望，以及一生一世都会得着祂的安慰、力量和保护。
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the wonderful gift of hope.
You have promised to save us and to walk with us every day of our lives.
What a comfort that is !
亲爱的天父，谢谢祢赐下盼望这份奇妙的礼物。
祢已应许会拯救我们，并在我们的生命中天天与我们同行。
这是多么大的安慰啊！
25 Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
9
In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
2你使城变为乱堆，使坚固城变为荒场，使外邦人宫殿的城不再为城，永远不再建造。
3所以刚强的民必荣耀你，强暴之国的城必敬畏你。
4 因为当强暴人催逼人的时候，如同暴风直吹墙壁，你就做贫穷人的保障，做困乏人急难中的保障，做躲暴风之处，做避炎热的阴凉。
5 你要压制外邦人的喧哗，好像干燥地的热气下落；禁止强暴人的凯歌，好像热气被云影消化。
6 在这山上，万军之耶和华必为万民用肥甘设摆筵席，用陈酒和满髓的肥甘，并澄清的陈酒设摆筵席。
7 他又必在这山上，除灭遮盖万民之物和遮蔽万国蒙脸的帕子。
8 他已经吞灭死亡，直到永远，主耶和华必擦去各人脸上的眼泪，又除掉普天下他百姓的羞辱，因为这是耶和华说的。
9 到那日，人必说：“看哪，这是我们的神，我们素来等候他，他必拯救我们。这是耶和华，我们素来等候他，我们必因他的救恩欢喜快乐。”
Are the hopes we have for ourselves and others realistic? Isaiah and the people he loved were living under conditions of social violence, economic injustices, and a looming Assyrian invasion. Yet God gave him a confidence that enabled him to look beyond conditions of inequality, insecurity, and disgrace. For the weak, the troubled, and the dying, he wrote as if the plans and promises of God are something worth living, waiting, and even dying for (Isaiah 2:1–5; 66:20)
我们对自己和他人的期望是否符合实际？以赛亚和他所爱的百姓正面临社会暴虐、经济不公，亚述大军入侵的凄凉境况中。但上帝赐给他信心，使他的眼光能超越眼前这些不平、不安和蒙羞受辱的境况。他在为那些软弱的、困苦的和将亡之人所写的书卷中，表明上帝的计划和应许值得坚信、值得等待，甚至值得为其牺牲生命（以赛亚书2章1-5节，66章20节）
整理：于姊妹
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