I love what 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.”
Likewise, in Psalm 139:14 we are told,
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
I would encourage you to find verses that you can cling to in every season you walk through and allow God’s word to define who you are and cling to those promises.
Its crazy to me how life has a funny way of reminding us of everything wrong going on around us during the moments we need hope the most. In the moments we are looking for answers and hope, all we seem to find is more questions and discouragement.
I remember when I was young setting on the front porch of my grandmother’s house listening as she described what it was like growing up in a small town, and all the struggles of growing up with little, yet not once did she say she wished her life would have been different. I learned a very important lesson from my grandma that day. It’s not about what you have and what you don’t have, how you live your life is what really matters. How we live our lives all revolves around what we believe.
Before we get too deep into this subject, I want to pose a question; where do you place your hope? Do you place it in your family, friends, leaders, or do you place it in the capable hands of our heavenly father? As you continue to read, I pray you’ll think about this question.
Psalms 71:14 reminds us where are hope should be placed,
“As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”
Hope is such a precious gift; it is important to know what we hope in and why we hope in it. If you look up the definition of hope it says: to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true (Merriam-Webster).
I think more often than not we look for places and things to place our hope and faith in, whether those areas are the appropriate places to place our hope or not remains in question. That thing that we think will never change or go away, however, earthly possessions never last, they fade with time just as quickly as the changes of the wind. Just when we think we have found the right thing to hope in our hope is ripped away as if it never existed.
That’s the funny thing about hope though, it requires us to place faith in the hands of the unknown. I love what the book of Isaiah tells us,
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).
I whole heartedly believe that it is only when we place our hope solely in the care of Christ that we will see change within our own lives and our communities. So, here's the thing about hope, when you place your hope in the right thing or in this case person everything changes.
Think of hope like an anchor on a ship if you throw the anchor out into a bottomless ocean it will never catch and hold firm. However, if you throw out the anchor and it finds, and grabs hold of the firm bedrock it will be firmly grounded against the onslaught of crashing waves. Our hope and faith can be seen the same way.
When you place your hope completely in Christ no matter what gets thrown your way you will stay anchored to the rock that cannot be shaken.
Much love friends,
Alianna