Three Things That Give Me Hope – Part 1
So how hopeful are you feeling today?
As I mentioned in last week’s article, hope can be a fragile thing. In my case, it’s not usually just one big thing. I can typically push through if it’s just one thing. I focus on what needs to happen and take that next step forward. No, for me it’s typically a cumulation of things. They can be either big things or small. I get to the point of feeling overwhelmed and can’t see the progress that I expected or hoped for.
How about you? What brings you to the point of hopelessness?
When I get to this point and sometimes I get there more frequently than others, one of the first things I do is pause to look back.
I look back both in my life and in scripture.
I look back at other challenging times in my life and see God’s faithfulness. Sometimes it is easier to see His faithfulness after you’ve been through it, than when you are in the midst of it. By reflecting on His past faithfulness, it helps me to refocus. I no longer just see the problems that I am in the midst of but I see the one who has been with me through the entire journey. When I look to His word, I see the Creator. I see the One who lead the Israelites out of Egypt and parted the Red Sea. I see the One who loved me enough to send a savior.
When I see these things, it helps me regain perspective. It helps me regain hope.
One way that our family commemorates God’s faithfulness is with a jar of rocks. When we clearly see God’s hand, we write that God sighting on a rock and place it in the jar.
For example, there was a period in our youngest son’s life when we had to hand make nearly all his food. This meant grinding our own flours, making special smoothies and many other specialty items. Sarah was having to do this with a blender that just was not up for the task. In researching, there was a special tool for the kitchen called a Vitamix but it was way out of our price range. In the whisper of a prayer, that wasn’t really even a prayer, Sarah asked God to provide a Vitamix. Not only did God provide this for her, but He provided it in the color she wanted…a nice cheerful red color!
This is just one example, of God’s faithfulness and it serves as a reminder to us during those hard times when hope is hard to come by.
When we look back, God’s faithfulness becomes apparent and our hope becomes less fragile.
What is one story from the Bible or one scripture that serves as an encouragement to you? What is one way that you have seen Him come alongside you in the past?
Written by Jonathan McGuire
