Hopefulness

"We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized." -Hebrews 6:11 There are situations in life that can knock the wind out of us. Obstacles get in the way of our hopes and dreams and keep us from seeing the fulfillment of them. When all seems dark and the light has grown dim, we need to put our hope in something. When we lose hope, we lose desire - we lose our ability to fight for what's important in life. When this happens, it is easy to get stuck in a place of doubt. But, the good news for us is that we can always put our hope and trust in our unfailing heavenly Father, by focusing on His love and promises for us regardless of what is happening now. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Abraham and Sarah had been promised a son. They were both getting very old, (90 and 100, respectively), and began to wonder where God was on fulfilling this promise. When Sarah overheard a visitor saying she would have a child at her age, she laughed. She didn't realize it was God speaking to Abraham. A year later she birthed the promised son. "Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him." -Genesis 21:2 Sometimes we lose hope in what God has promised. We can get bitter. But it takes incredible situations for God to do the miraculous on our behalf, something only He can do. It may happen differently than we expect. During these times of testing, we need to be sure we don't falter in our trust in Him! Do you have hope for your situation? If you don't, pray today that God would give you hope to bring you to the next step. It could be hope for a dream, a goal, a relationship, or even a new job. When there's been nothing for so long, we need to have hope and focus on the positive - because hope is the place where faith can grow. We have to have true hope first if we are ever going to live in true faith for our situations. (Hebrews 11:1) "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 Related resource: Rescuing Hope by Susan Norris

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