God is a God of Hope
This is true despite whatever you’ve been taught or told from religious institutions, other people, or even our enemy Satan (who uses lies in order to keep us from God and His truth).
This is also true despite what you’re experiencing or feeling.
However, in saying that, please know thatI am NOT glazing over whatever situation you’re physically or emotionally in.
I, too, have been in situations that, from a purely human perspective, seemed utterly hopeless.
For example, back in 2011, my (then) husband announced that we were getting a divorce. Suddenly, I faced starting my life over from scratch with a degree but no job; only a few thousand dollars in the bank; what possessions fit into my CR-V and my mother’s minivan; and my dog at the time who was named Happy.
Yet, the morning after my world started crashing down around me, I woke up with the song “Hope Now” from Addison Road playing in my head. It’s an older song now, so feel free to Google the lyrics. (The video is also still on YouTube.)
Essentially, the song talks about those times when we’re in the middle of a stormy season of life. Or when life has just beaten us down to nothing. And all we have to sustain us is God’s hope and love - which sets us free from what’s happening around us.
Case in point: When a friend called me later that morning - after I woke-up to that song playing in my head and a supernatural sense of calm - she was surprised at my state. She and my mom were on the way to my house. She had called to check-in, clearly expecting to find me in pieces. (Or at least not doing so well.)
What she found, however, was God at work, giving me peace and hope as soon as my eyes opened to a new season of my life. One that, by all accounts, should have had me curled up in a ball, crying my eyes out. Or quivering with fear at the unknown.
Instead, God was already sustaining me. He was already reminding me of my true source of hope: Him. The God of hope. My circumstances - as bleak as they were - had nothing to do with it.
And it’s not just this experience - and others that I’ve had over the past 20+ years - that speak to this truth.
The bible clearly states that God is a God of hope. (Note: All italics mine.)
Romans 15:13 (NLT) says, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Note: This is what happened to me on that day in 2011.
Psalm 62:5-6 (NLT) says, “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.”
Isaiah 40:30-31 (NIV) says, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Romans 12:12 (NIV) says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) says: 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.”
Note: God actually gave me this verse a few weeks later, after I had moved back in with my mom. From a human perspective, it seemed crazy. I had no idea how I was going to pay my bills, let alone what my life would look like. But He did do what this verse says - and still is.
So, friend, wherever you are today, here’s what I want to ask you….
Exercise: Re-Imagine Your Life with the God of Hope
Again, some of you listening to this episode might be in very challenging, dark, or horrific circumstances. Please know that I’m not making light of those or ignoring that reality and everything that comes with it.
Still, for every woman listening to this, I want you to start re-imaging your life with a God of hope. Not of despair. Not of hopelessness. Of hope. Real, true, solid hope.
The kind that, according to the verses we looked at, also come with things such as confidence, peace, and joy. (Not from the world - but from our God.)
Exercise:
Over the next few days or weeks, make a list (or jot down some notes) about how your life would be (or can be) different with the God of hope in your life.
Think about dreams fulfilled or situations changed, of course.
But also reflect on how YOU can change internally. Remember, most of the verses we looked at today focused on internal things such as renewed strength, peace, and joy.
I’m not saying that you can’t change for God to work on your behalf when it comes to logistics or the situation you’re in.
But in the meantime, as you await His answer or movement, you can ask Him to change and strengthen you. To give you hope, peace, and joy in Him as you deal with the world around you.
This is what He did for me in 2011. I moved back in with my mother in my early 30s - which also required moving two hours away to another state. My entire world completely changed.
But God gifted me with hope, peace, and joy in the midst of the storm, as I waited to see what was next and how I was going to rebuild my life.
He can do the same for you, friend, no matter where you are.
So, start by processing the truth that God is a God of hope. Allow yourself to re-imagine your life based on that new truth. And ask God to meet your needs - both logistical and internal.
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This post helped you to understand God’s desires more clearly when it comes to hope and hopelessness.
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