A Handful of Hope

It’s been a minute since I’ve written on this space.

Homeschooling three busy toddlers has left my eyelids heavy and my body weary.

Although, the same can be said for many of us, navigating our way through the nuisance of twenty-twenty.

It’s been quite a year!

There’s that beautiful scripture, at the end of Genesis, spoken by Jospeh. He says this:

Genesis 50:20 – “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

I think of this scripture often when thinking back on this year. What the enemy intended for evil, God will turn into a blessing for many people; the saving of many lives. You see, the enemy has no dominion over us unless we give in and believe the lies he is feeding us. The truth really rests in the hope of Christ. The hope that we see weaved throughout His Word. The hope that lives on in our hearts as we surrender our lives to Him. This hope anchors us in the angst of every day calamities. It grounds us in our current global crisis and it secures us in the sure footedness of faith in our Father in Heaven.

If there’s ever been a year that’s tested the faith of many, it’s been this one. But, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for.. the things not yet seen.” If there’s ever been a year that’s stirred up the hope of many, it’s been this one.

It’s amazing what a handful of hope can do in a world full of hurt.

Are you hopeful? Or are you hurting?

If you’re hopeful – then turn to someone who’s hurting and help.

If you’re hurting – then turn to someone who’s hopeful and hold fast.

Let’s clench our fists at disarray and dive deep into pits of hope and faith and love.

But hope is not a thing. It’s not a prospect. It’s a promise. It’s a person. His name is Jesus. And IN Him we have everything we need.

However, too often we find ourselves going around Him rather than resting in Him. Because to rest in Him means to surrender our all to Him. And it’s in that place of vulnerability and white knuckled yielding that we will find the hope we long for. The moment we let go will be the moment we begin to live, hopeful.

Hope is tangible. It’s real. It’s that funny feeling in our hearts that makes us feel like we can face another day. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit in us, loving us, guiding us, showing us the way forward.

Because He is the God of Hope.

Romans 15:13 – “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Do you have hope? Or have you hit your limit? Is life just too heavy to be hopeful?

Here are a few scriptures on hope. My prayer is that as you read Gods Word, His hope will hit straight into your heart, through all the hurt.

Because His hope brings us healing!

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Ephesians 1:18 – “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.”

Hebrews 10:23 – “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

Isaiah 40:31 – “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.”

Romans 5:5 – “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Psalm 71:14 – “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”

Psalm 130:5 – “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.”