Hope Believes

When I face a hard time - any kind of hard time - I immediately go to prayer.  And with that prayer, I have hope for answers!  I've been thinking a lot about hope.  Hope is not passive - it's actively asking and trusting for change.

I read a quote from Jeff Fountain in one of the weekly letters he writes:  "Hope is not the same as optimism.  Optimism expects things to go well.  Hope holds on even when they do not.  It is not dependent on circumstances.  While it sees reality clearly, hope chooses to trust anyway."

That sums up a lot of what I think and feel about hope.  Many of the things I'm praying for - I see clearly the need, the impossibility even - but I choose to trust God for answers, impossible ones, and to fill my heart with hope.

Hope is powerful!  A heart of hope can carry us through so many hard things.  Proverbs 29:18 says "without vision, the people perish."  I would say the same thing about hope.  Without hope, we would shrivel up and die.  Hope keeps us going in the hardest of circumstances.  Hope believes for change, for answers.  Hope gets us through a hard day, believing that tomorrow will be better.  Hope helps us see beyond problems to possibilities.

Hebrews 6:19 tells us that "hope is the anchor of our soul, firm and secure."  In hard times, hope carries us through.  It understands that, in the end, God will prevail.  His goals and purposes, His plans will be worked out.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us.  "Plans to prosper us - and not harm us, plans to give us hope and a future."

In difficult times, we need to:

-  believe that things will get better

-  be careful not to give up and quit

-  not blame God for what's happening

-  be careful to make right choices in the hard time

-  keep hope alive through prayer and worship

-  keep praying for the answers 

"Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer."  Romans 12:12  That's a good formula!

"Those who hope in me will not be disappointed."  Isaiah 49:23

"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."  Romans 15:13

"Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence."  Psalm 42:5

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."  Revelation 21:4

Keeping hope alive in my heart is one of my daily "exercises."  Without hope I would be lost.  But, with it, my heart is expectant of what God is going to do.  I anticipate answers to my prayers.  I speak out my trust to the Lord - because He is so good and so faithful!  Hope springs eternal!