Don't Lose Hope!
My goodness, we’ve had a run on things, haven’t we?
The past couple years with all the stuff. Now the looks of yet another distant war. Economy and goods taking a hit—we have had our recent share!
I don’t know if you’re like me, but I sit and catch the headlines, and feel my anxiety rise and my heart break. It seems all too much.
And that’s just the global influence.
Bring it in close, and the personal hits even harder. Friends and family with inconceivable diagnoses, close ones with heartaches of loved-lost, families making hard decisions—the list is long.
Hope seems lost.
It feels lost.
It seems absent in the weariness of our lives. It’s as if there is a vortex that has taken root and sinks us down little by little, with no regard for what we need.
I’m not into platitudes. I’d love to tell you it will all be ok, but that’s not me. It’s not as simple as that.
Times will hit hard. Sometimes it is carefree, and other times we’re taking it from all sides.
I can only offer you this:
When Jesus Christ is your Northstar, the troubles that come, need not overcome. When the Word of God is your guide, truth triumphs over trouble.
Sometimes, it is as simple as that. It doesn't always have to be complicated.
Sometimes, it is navigating the bad, by digging into the good. That knowing the Words sent by God were designed not for a printed story, but for impressions on our hearts; during the hardest times of our lives, and the lowest points of our journey.
When the hard hits, we have another choice-
Fall upon the promises He gives.
Fall upon words that were given to comfort.
Fall upon truths when our souls are empty.
And then rest there.
Rest upon the words, as if they are the only things that can hold you up. Because words matter, when truth is defined. They are not hope-so's, or hope-maybes, or hope-suggestions--they are hope-definites!
If you need some lifting, may I offer a few?:
Friends, the toughness of life is hard enough on its own, but doing it alone—without God, without Jesus—is a place none of us has to be. I remember those years. I remember that emptiness.
Abraham, of old, eventually understood it, too. His weary and long life left much to be desired in being told he’d be the father of all nations. How possibly could a childless, 90 year old man, comprehend the promises of God? A bit difficult, to say the least.
But, it eventually came...the lightbulb moment. The promise believed. The decisions made. The fortitude into the unknown.
He gave up the turmoil, and grounded his faith in Hope. One of my all-time favorite verses!:
“Against all hope, in hope, Abraham believed.” Romans 4:18
Oh friends, can that verse just stir in you for a moment? Can it sit in your heart and resonate through all the muck that is swirling before you?
Against all of it!
Against all the doubting and despair that fills our senses minute by minute.
In Hope—believe!
Believe God will deliver. Believe God has a plan bigger than we can comprehend.
Believe all things will be made right. Believe there is a greater end to this miserable middle. Believe!
Believe friends!
Believe in everything that He says, with promises proven.
Then hope, again.
Don’t lose hope friends.
Don’t.
Lean in against that which robs hope, and in that space, grab hold of the Hope which won’t. Make the verse your own...Against all hope, in hope, I'll believe. Push the turmoil to the side, ground your faith in Hope, then believe in the promises given. Your Hope restored, will be your life renewed.
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