2 Steps to Accelerate Hope and Feeling God's Love In This New Year

January 7, 2025 Jenn Murray

There is a huge difference between where real hope comes from and where the world has taught you to find it.
The world (meaning culture, the media, etc.) have taught you that hope comes from people, experiences, and material things.
A few examples:

Having a certain person in leadership
Being in a relationship with someone
Buying certain material things
Waiting for circumstances or situations to change (or for you to change them without perhaps using wisdom)

The dictionary defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”
And the world says, “Hey. That feeling of expectation or desire that you have? That thing you really, really want to happen? Place that expectation on the presence or acts of sinful, fallen people and situations that you can’t completely control.”
In other words, place your deep, fragile hope on something unstable. Almost like trying to build a home on a beach of ever-shifting sands.
Now, that’s not to say that hope can never be found in other people or experiences. (Especially if God is working through a fellow Christian to provide real hope to you. For example, you might be receiving hope by listening to this episode.)
But real, true hope? The kind that you can always bank on? That kind of hope is only found in God.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Isaiah 40:31 says, “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 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Now, you’re probably thinking something along the lines of: “How can God be the source of real hope? Especially considering what I’ve been taught about Him? Or seen from those who call themselves Christians?”
Those are valid questions.
The answer comes down to two things:

Your questions really come down to God’s character. Or, to put it another way, that’s the bigger question encompassing all of the other questions.
What is God really like?
And, related to that, is your concern of whether this year can look any different compared to last year when it comes to feeling loved and accepted by God.
Even if you’ve been trying to earn His love, that also carries up to this bigger question of what He’s really like.
So, let’s chat about that for a minute.

As you enter into 2025, make it a priority to focus on God’s true character.
The more you learn about His biblical character, the more hope you’ll naturally gain.
Because your real hope (the kind you can bank on through any storm) only comes from the God who loves you - not the world or anything within it.
Which is why digging into God’s character is so important.
This is what’s going to start freeing you from the hopeless cycle you’ve been in - and propel you into real hope and transformation.
So, how can you do that? (Practically speaking.) Because that’s been part of the struggle, right? Finding genuine biblical knowledge about who God is.
You have two resources at your disposal:

This show (which currently has 160 episodes in addition to this one), is a FREE power resource for you!
The key is to make it a priority to utilize it.
One of the main focuses of this podcast is God’s character.
I’ve also done episodes that specifically focus on hope which, as we’ve discussed, links back to God.
There is so much material that you can listen to, take notes from, and use as exercises to help you experience breakthroughs!
In 2024, I did 34 Truth & Dare episodes that focused on providing a biblical truth and a related exercise for practical implementation.
The even numbered episodes from Episode 92 to Episode 160 are the Truth & Dare episodes.
Whether you’re a Type A lady or someone who’s more loose with her days, make it a priority to use the FREE resource of this podcast. It’s here to equip you!

Relate Escape Place is something that I literally just launched last week!
Note: If you want an easy way to find the Truth & Dare episodes that are the most helpful to you, I’ve included a categorical list, complete with episode links, within Relate Escape Place! It couldn’t be any easier!
The main reason I am recommending Relate Escape Place, however, is because it currently has three mini courses that will teach you - in a very to-the-point and digestible way - about God’s character:

All three of these mini courses come with a workbook so that you can apply what you’re learning to your own view of God and your relationship with Him.
Both the course content and the workbooks are going to help you go from feeling hopeless to hopeful. Because you’re going to learn - within weeks! - who God truly is and why He is your source of hope.
Not to mention why He loves you so much!
There are also some amazing community features - because community is at the heart of Relate Escape Place - as well as additional resources.
Click here to join ASAP!