Protect Your Hope

Have you thought about your hopes lately? It's ok to have hope. It's not something to be ashamed of. Romans 8:24b says, "but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?"

It's silly to need hope in something if you see it. It's like if you're hoping for a ride to arrive when it's in front of you, just waiting for you to get in.

Hope keeps a person going. Hope encourages us. Hope makes us move; pushed by faith.

You have to protect your hope. It's truly something that you can easily lose from doubt, fear, insecurity, and believing lies. Ask yourself, are the people around you building up your hope or tearing it down?

Don't lose hope. Hope against hope.

Trust grows within hope. Then what comes after trust? Action. When you put your trust in someone, they are more willing to do something that's asked of them. It says in Psalm 37, "trust in him, and he will act."

I keep coming across scripture on trust and hope, and I know it's because Holy Spirit wants me to focus on those tender pieces of my heart. I used to misunderstand it and just believe I definitely had hope since I received Christ as my savior, but it wasn't genuine. I faced many disappointments to learn how to have hope, faith, and trust in the Lord.

Now I feel God whisper "trust me" when I would feel secure in something or when I'm trusting in my own understanding. I feel Him whisper "trust me" before my heart gets crushed with disappointment. But in the moments of disappointment and sadness I remember His voice and those powerful words, calling me to trust Him. I agreed to trust then, and I continue to trust now.

When I trust Him, I feel His love and security in return. I don't need any explanations or to explain it to others. Trust and hope keep me from being easily disrupted or deterred from focusing on His promises and plans.

Hold onto your hope, friend, no matter what people say. God sees your hope, He cherishes your hope, and only He can make something out of nothing, and that's exactly what hope is: believing in something that you cannot see.