Hope

"You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word."  Psalm 119:114


"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."  Romans 5:5

There is always hope. I was thinking about hope on my drive home from church last night, because I just felt it.  The last couple of months have been a little tough at times for me.  There have been moments where I've almost felt despair at different situations, and it looks like things are just impossible.  But I've kept those things in prayer, and spent time talking to God and reminding Him of promises, and last night as I drove home, thinking that this morning was a new beginning to a new month, I was just flooded with so much hope. 

And that got me thinking about many of the books I read and the movies I've watched in the past.  I read quite a bit of fantasy, and there is one consistent among all the different books I've read- there is always hope for someone in the story.  Even in disaster type movies, where things are coming to an end, parents will hide children away and then fight themselves to the death, because as long as their children are alive to live on, there is always hope.

I'm waiting this morning for news of a new nephews arrival, and as I think of that precious new life, there is another kind of hope- hope for this new life, that he may find such joy in everything he sets his hands and mind to. 

See, there's always a new day!  I can have the worst day on earth, but at the end of it, I get to go to bed and sleep, and then wake up with a whole new day- yesterday is never coming back, it can't be re-lived, so there is always hope that tomorrow will be better. 

And there is always hope in God,and there is hope in knowing that all the struggles we go through here on earth are helping to shape us and mold us into the people that God wants us to be.  He doesn't send the struggles our way- we do that to ourselves, or the destroyer does it to us- but God will use those struggles, He will use them to help us learn to hear His voice, and He will use them to teach us so many valuable lessons.  That in itself is a great hope.  When I'm going through something, I love to focus on the hope that God gives- I have hope that there will be an end to the struggle, and I look forward to looking back and seeing the lessons learned along the way.

Just look at that verse above from Romans- just reading it again this morning floods my very being with warmth and hope.

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."  Romans 5:5

The love of God has been poured out into our hearts... THAT is a great hope and a wonderful feeling.  And it gives me so much hope for the day ahead- it's going to be a great day indeed.  In fact, this whole week is going to be wonderful, and the whole month of August is going to be special, because as of right now- it's new.  It's new and it's beautiful, and it gives me great hope this morning.


"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11