Not long ago I ran into a gal who confessed, “Right now, in the midst of raising two small children and struggling to figure out how to keep our marriage happy, I’m desperate for some hope, and most of my friends are, too.”
Hope. We all need it, don’t we?
Lack of hope causes women (and men) to stop trying, stop trusting, stop believing, and stop dreaming. Hopelessness causes people in every state, every town, and every street to live quiet lives of despair.
Most of us can keep trudging through even the most difficult circumstances as long as we have hope. But take away hope, and despair presses in, squeezing out any glimmer of better days. It’s a desperate scene, a life without hope.
Maybe you’ve been struggling with a little bit of hopelessness lately…
This will never get better.
Things will always be this way.
I’m stuck.
What’s the point?
I can’t do it anymore.
Listen to me, sweet friend: your enemy wants you to live without hope. The voice of God never speaks hopelessness into His children’s ear. That thought, that feeling, that dulled sense of positive expectation–none of it comes from God. Not even one teensy bit.
So call it what it is. A lie.
You do have hope.
In fact, at its core, Easter is really all about hope; the hope of being completely loved. The hope of a fresh start. The hope of forgiveness. The hope of purpose. The hope of eternal life. The hope of an abundant life. The hope that God can take your mess and mold it into meaningful.
Hope-real hope–the kind that gets us through the highest highs and lowest lows, comes from one source. God, and God alone.
So today, if you’re in need of a big dose of hope, let me throw you a lifeline. Allow these words of scripture give you perspective, comfort, and most of all….HOPE.
I cried out, “I am slipping!”
but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.
When doubts filled my mind,
your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. (Psalm 94:18-19)
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God! (Psalm 42:5)
They plan to topple me from my high position.
They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face
but curse me in their hearts.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken. (Psalm 62:4-6)
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Where do you need hope today? Look at the cross, then consider the empty tomb. When everything seems hopeless our resurrected Savior reminds us that it is not.
The empty tomb pronounces HOPE over your life, if you’ll believe it.
You are loved,
Donna
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Here’s where you can find Healthy Conflict, Peaceful Life on sale:
PSS. If you’re reading this post before Easter, go to church! Then go again the next week. And the next. The community of Christ is a great place to find hope.
