DAY 8: Hope MORE or less

HOPE...that glorious four-letter word that most of us look forward to seeing and experiencing. Hope is so big and yet so little. It's those moments in our hearts that we can begin to look past the current situation that we find ourselves in and see even just a glimmer of the light on the other side of the tunnel. It's those moments in our minds that have stopped trying to figure out life and started resting on what we know to be true--God is in control. It's those moments in our spirits when our trust of God far outweighs our fatigue at waiting on Him to deliver whatever He has promised. Hope sweet hope... It's a beautiful thing.

Thus, the absence thereof is treacherous. As we reflect on those negative emotions and behaviors that God wants to rid our hearts of minds of, hopeLESSness is right at the top of that list. No matter what you are going through, no matter where you find yourself in life, God needs you to know that you know that you know that there is always hope. One sign I read said "Hold On, Pain Ends" as a good way to remember what the essence of hope is. Being hopeless means that you have let go of faith and decided to believe that the pain of circumstance and the pain of not seeing God's promises come to fruition will never end. But today I wanted to encourage you with the reminder that Jeremiah 29:11 always gives us. 'God knows the plans he has for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a HOPE and a future.' The question is what are you going to hold on to?

Are you going to hold tight to the Creator of the universe who spoke and light came into existence, or the lies of the enemy whose goal is to keep you bathed in darkness? Are you going to hold tight to the promise of HIS plan and stop trying to create your own? Are you willing to continue to let the perfect time for your promise to come to pass be set by God's plan and not your watch? You and I both have choices.

Every day, I watch as others live out parts of the dream I have for my life--family, children, love and so on. Every day, I hear of new people walking into those very things that I desire. Every day, my situation doesn't necessarily seem to grow any closer to what God said. Yet every day, I make a decision to believe that what God has in store for me is so great and so worth the wait that I decide to air on the side of MOREhope than hopeLESS. Today, be encouraged that God has not forgotten you and He is worth believing in. Today, refuse to allow the enemy to steal the song in your heart that believes and wishes and dreams--allowing you to dance to the rhythm of what is to come in the midst of silence. As with most things, you have a choice. What are you going to choose?

Lord, today, I pray that Hope will resound and hopeLESSness will fail in the minds and hearts of your children. Keep us deciding today to believe YOU. Help us to stay focused on what YOU've promised and not the bleakness of our circumstance. Help us to block out the the 'no' of the world and rest in the anticipation of your 'maybe' and 'yes'. Let Jeremiah 29:11 reverberate through our minds and spirits as a constant reminder to Your promise; and help us to know that we know that we know that You're not a man that You should lie and You make good on Your promises. Amen.

Be encouraged.
Blessings,
Pastor Andrea