The One Thing You Need
When life kicks you in the gut, and the darkness of your hard path feels suffocating, though you long for the comfort of a loved one or friend, what is the one thing you need most?
This isn’t a trick question, but the thing you need most is often the thing you lose first: HOPE.
Sometimes in your pain, disappointment or hurt, you wake up, the sunrise merely a reminder of no relief, no longed-for answers.
The answer in your mind is not “where to go from here” or “what to do next”. Instead, you wonder IF you can move on with another day; you wonder if anything will overcome the hopelessness you feel.
With a mere two months remaining in my One Word journey, Hope lessons abound, speaking deeply into my life. I created a special page on my blog where all my Hope posts live, please take the time to acquaint yourself with the wonders of my journey with this magnificent word.
Lost Hope
I know these things because I have been there; I have felt the icy fingers of hopelessness tighten its grip on my heart. Having my hope criticized, mocked, deferred and even shattered, I slipped into a place where it was easier to give up on hope. Maybe you recognize the results of lost hope:
- Settling for the way things have always been, sitting in a rut because you fear risking hope for change.
- Accepting your current reality as permanent rather than hoping for a better future.
- Leaning on your abilities: what you can achieve and attain rather than placing hope in God’s supernatural power to do the impossible.
- Ignoring hope’s whispers within, choosing complacency instead.
- Becoming a prisoner of fear, doubt, unbelief, despair or cynicism, rather than choosing to become a prisoner of hope.
- Trusting the “facts” of your circumstances, instead of placing faith in the truth of God’s Word.
Though never truly lost, Hope feels illusive in the dark places of discouragement. Yet intentionally choosing Hope changes both our perspective and our circumstances.
Intentionally Choosing Hope
At times, I know I settled for all of the above things simply because they were easier to do. Giving up hope seems easier than risking an outcome I fear. You see, HOPE=FAITH.
““Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
We all trust something or have faith in something. Some people claim they will never trust anyone because no one keeps their word. Others claim they will never trust God because He let them down.
But what we are saying when we say we don’t trust anyone, not even God, is we trust ourselves instead.
As Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, faith gives us confidence for the outcome for which we hope AND the assurance for the unknown.
Through faith we intentionally choose hope, even when everything and everyone around us screams hopelessness. We can do this because Jesus is our hope. He is the steadfast anchor for our soul who will never leave us, and never fail us.
The One Thing You Need
If you walk along a hard path today, your prayers remain unanswered, and you feel alone and hopeless: by faith choose Hope today.
Don’t give up the one thing you need most right now, HOPE. God sees you, hears you, and loves you, trust His timing, trust His promises, trust His love.
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