My HOPE is Alive

Where does your hope come from?

This is a question I frequently asked myself when I was lost in my past lifestyle. There was little hope.

When I finally came to my senses and let God help clean me up and forgive my past I still hung on to old things. God forgave me immediately, but it took time for me to forgive myself.

Time and faith in God became a promise which let hope become more familiar to me. And that’s when I realized something important – hope doesn’t just appear and stay. I must be understood and fought for. If I was going to keep hope alive, I needed to know what it really meant.

Hope had come into my life, and I liked it. I wanted more of it.  Yet getting to a place where hope outweighs despair has been a journey. Here’s a look into what I did when hope seemed hard to maintain.

My attitude had dwindled. I felt hope being squeezed out of me as feelings of emptiness entered the pit of my stomach. I balanced ever so delicately with discouragement that felt unsettling. I knew I needed to take action by taking authority over my mind, to place my thoughts firmly in God’s Word. Because feelings will lie to you if you let them lead you. I knew I couldn’t sit there and wait for hope to magically return. I had to pursue it.

I cried out to God, “Bring the HOPE back to me.” It was not pure hopelessness, yet it teetered on the edge.

I heard a quiet whisper, “My HOPE is alive.” God knew what He needed me to do. Study the word Hope.

The word HOPE echoed in my mind, and I began investigating what HOPE means. So, I did something simple but powerful – I looked up hope in the dictionary. If I was going to hold onto it, I needed to understand it.

First, HOPE when referred to as a noun, something that can be named and claimed. God needs us to use this type of HOPE, here’s an example.

God’s HOPE is alive in me as a result of my life being a miracle. It’s up to me to remind myself of what God has saved me from of my past behaviors and lifestyle.

HOPE as a noun =

• A desire for some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
• Confident in future events.
• That which gives me hope.
• An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty.

But definitions only take us so far. If hope is going to sustain us, we need to see how God defines it in the Bible.

• The Lord also shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. Joel 3:16 KJV
• 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 NIV 
• Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hopeon the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 1 Peter 1:13 NIV 

Hope isn’t only something we have, it’s something we practice. When HOPE becomes a verb, it moves from theory to action.  

Hope as a verb =

• To cherish a desire of good, with some expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
• To place confidence in, to trust in with confident expectation of good.

When we look at HOPE as a verb in the Bible we can find many scriptures.

• Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5 NIV
• Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. John 5:45 ESV 
• He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hopethat he will continue to deliver us, 2 Corinthians 1:10 NIV  
• I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. Romans 15:24 NIV  
• Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 1 Timothy 6:17 NIV

So, let me ask you again - where does your hope come from?

If it comes from your circumstances, it will have highs and lows.

If it comes from people, it will disappoint you.

But if it comes from God, it stays alive.

Hope is not wishful thinking. It is confidence rooted in who God is and what He has already done.

Let yourself be absorbed in His love. Remind yourself of what He has brought you through. Speak HOPE over your life. Set your hope on God.

It’s worth every bit of time and effort.

And I promise you, HOPE anchored in God will never leave you empty.

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