"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13
Hope is defined as "a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen."
As a child of God, we should never feel completely hopeless. Life may not be what we want, or it may actually be in complete shambles, but God can show His glory in any situation.
If we can find the ray of hope that He hears us, then we can find the strength to pray. As we pour out our hearts to the Father, He strengthens us and faith can rise up in us. Faith that He is a God of restoration and redemption, faith that He hears us, and faith that He keeps His promises.
One of His promises is to give us a future and a hope. I love to compare our journey with the Lord to a puzzle being put together. The minute we grab hope and our heart cries out to the Lord, it's like setting the table to start the puzzle. When we have even just a glimmer of hope and we cry out to the Lord, then that is the first puzzle piece. The Lord can then begin to rearrange, set things in order and hand us another piece to the puzzle. It doesn't happen overnight, and it isn't always easy. Some have 24 pieces and others have 1000.
King Jesus asked the man at the pool if he wanted to be well. The man had hope or he wouldn't have been trying to get into the stirred waters. He just needed to shift his focus from those waters to the One that would change everything. Maybe the Lord is asking you a question in your situation and maybe it is a question that requires an obvious answer like the man at the pool that day. The LORD may want you to just say it. James 4 says, "We have not because we ask not." Don't be afraid to ask our precious Lord to heal your heart or your situation. His ways are higher, and we sometimes can't understand what He is doing at the time, but trust that He is good. He loves you and is putting your puzzle together as you seek Him. The world and people sometimes disappoint us, but the Lord is so kind and good that we can trust Him to make beauty from ashes.
So today, get the puzzle box out and have a seat at the table with the Father! I pray today hope is overflowing in you and faith rises up so you will ask the Lord for whatever it is! He is waiting for you to ask Him. God bless you my friend!
Dig Deeper
Jeremiah 29:11 | Romans 15:13 | Romans 12:12 | Hebrews 11:1 | Romans 8:24-25 |
James 4:2-3 | John 5:1-17