Realization of things just not being where I desire them to be, on many fronts, leads to feelings which can turn into despair. It’s when I want to give up the most that I know I must find solace. Somewhere.
Often, I turn to mind-numbing web surfing or endless binge watching from Netflix. It’s an escape from the pain & reality which I must still face. It hasn’t gone away.
How do you face those hard days then? How do you keep going when you just want to crawl in bed and watch the thousandth BBC murder mystery episode you can find? Or, maybe for you it’s a reality show or the latest comedy.
Every one of us is looking for something to fill the emptiness we feel. Believers too.
We may ascend to the belief that only Jesus can fill the vacuum of unmet needs and the hole of pain wrought deeply on a soul, but what does that look like? How does that work in real life?
In the back of my mind the lyrics from a song keep playing, “Everything rides on hope now. Everything rides on faith somehow.” Maybe because I know there’s nothing I can do to fix the brokenness around me. I can only do so much and after that, it’s just not in my hands anymore.
Sometimes fear grips a hold of you when there is nothing left you can do. In the eye of fear is the vacuum of hurt looking for something to fill it.
When you have nothing left to hold, you can still hold on to hope.
A hurting, battered world needs hope. Real Hope is the light of redemption for the scared, the downtrodden, the weary and even the self-serving and self-reliant.
Hope is not a simple matter of wishing for things to be better. Hope is a sacred offering poured out to shattered souls.
We say, “I hope I get the job.” “I hope this and that thing works out.” “I hope you feel better soon.” “I hope my children turn out OK.”
“I hope my circumstances change soon.”
If it was up to us we’d grant our hopes & wishes on the next falling star. And everything would be better. We would make it so.
Yet, all the wishing in the world hasn’t the power to change a thing. Despite the power plays in words, or our attempts to control the outcomes of others, or our attempts to self-soothe & escape it all, or even our hard work & determination, not a one of us can fill the gaps our hearts really need, not for ourselves.
Only in Christ is there real Hope for help. Hope for healing. Hope of a future beyond today.
Because He IS hope. And in Him we have hope. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
I don’t write about pursuing hope & inspiring faith just for the fun of it. I write about it because I must.
From an early age I knew the disappointment of others and the disappointment others had in me. It led me to years of seeking approval from God, which seemed like the best thing to do.
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? ~ Galataions 1:10a
But I was missing something. I began to carry the weight of “if it is to be, it’s up to me” in my relationship with God.
Even when I could look past the hard challenges of peer pressures, date rape, sexual harassment on the job, date rape & pregnancy, an eating disorder, single parenting (and the list could go on), I turned to the hope of doing a better job – for God.
I didn’t hope in God. I didn’t have hope IN the finished, completed work of Christ.
I thought I had to do for Him in order to get things, but the good news about my hope in Christ lets me know I can never earn His approval.
Oh, dear one, we already have God’s full approval because of Jesus shed blood. It is finished, and that will never change. God sees us covered by His son, who was fully approved.
We need to believe in hope beyond the circumstances of life. We have that hope available to us every single day, and when we put our trust in that kind of hope, we can see Hope beyond all-the-things, every single day.
Believe.
Thank you for joining me in #31DaystoBelieve as we pursue what we believe and how it impacts our lives.
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May we learn to #livewell.
with love,
Jolene
Hope is such a gift. I’m so thankful I can trust in Christ.
Great thoughts! Thank you….we say we believe a lot of things, but our hearts truly struggle to believe! What we do flows from what we believe….and as I believe what He says about me, in Christ, there is true hope and freedom! Thank you!
Yes, yes and yes Mandi! Amen, sister. Here’s to believing who He says I am and who He says He is. Every day.
Hope is the Anchor of our souls. Encouraging words on hope and belief, Jolene, you speak straight from the heart, to the heart, my friend.
Thank you dear June. It’s helpful to hear that my words come across as encouraging. I appreciate you saying so.