To listen to the audio of this blog post, follow the link.
Hope can be a very fragile thing. It’s like stepping on a creaky board that you hope won’t give way with you.
God wants us to have hope. There are numerous scriptures where He gives that message.
Hope keeps us hanging on. Hope keeps us moving forward. Hope is the building block of faith.
Paul said,
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
Satan wants us to lose hope. He wants us to roll over and give up. He wants us to believe there is no reason to hope.
As a nurse, I witnessed up close and personal the power of Hope. I saw patients who never gave up in spite of dire predictions.
I saw patients who were told they had a short time to live and believed it. They left life before life left them.
Satan uses another deadly tactic. I have personally experienced this one.
When is it time to accept “the hand we were dealt?” Is there just a time to sigh deeply, say it’s God’s Will and just accept it is “my cross to bear?”
No!
Every moment of our lives is on God’s Watch. He sets the time of our arrival on earth. He sets the time of our departure. He will guide us through every step of the way in between.
So we need not try to figure Him out. We just need to follow His Directions step by step, keeping the Hope He gives us alive.
So what is the fine line between surrender and Hope? It depends on who you are surrendering to.
If you are surrendering to satan, you will truly be giving up.
Paul said to be “joyful in Hope.”
Romans 12:12
The prophet Nehimiah said,
“The Joy of The Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10
Satan does not want you to have joy or strength. So he will first try to eliminate your Hope.
If you are surrendering to God, then you can feel free to tell Him your hopes. Jesus did that in The Garden of Gethsemane.
But He added, “Not My Will, but Yours be done.” How could He turn all His Hopes over to God?
Because He knew God not only had a Plan, He had The Plan. When we give all we have to God, even if it is small, He can make it more than we can even imagine.
So give Him all your hopes and dreams and wait expectantly to see what He does with it. Hope in God!
And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through The Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us.
Romans 5:5
“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.”
Jeremiah 29:11
