Choose Hope
With all the discord in the world today there are many skeptics who feel we have no obvious reason to be people of hope. But I love how God’s Word defines hope as reaching “past all appearances”—it is unseen but very present.
“Grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God.” Hebrews 6:18–19 MSG
Do you need this unbreakable spiritual lifeline of hope?
Eugene Peterson, the translator of The Message, knew the faithfulness of his God through eight decades of life and therefore chose to put his hope on the line every single day. “Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying and worrying. And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is a willingness to let him do it his way and in his time.”
Will you choose to be a person of hope today? Despite any doom and gloom that may surround you? Despite circumstances that point to hopelessness?
Viktor E. Frankl wrote about his own choices as an inmate in Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II in his book Man’s Search for Meaning. He believed prisoners who concentrated on their purpose for life fared better than those without hope. He said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Choice is a powerful weapon against the naysayers of the world, against the evil of the world.
We all have reason to hope in the future if we are basing our hope in God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. He is never caught by surprise with the conditions of our society and the results of our widening chasm.
As people of hope, both our words and actions must be centered in confidence and courage.
Lord, You know how I struggle with being hopeful every time I’m faced with a seemingly hopeless situation. Please reach down to me today and lift me up—be my God of green and living hope. Amen.
May the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the friendship of the Holy Spirit bring you comfort and strength, Lucinda
“Helping You Choose a Life of Serenity and Strength”
©2021 Lucinda Secrest McDowell www.LucindaSecrestMcDowell.com
Lucinda Secrest McDowell is a storyteller and seasoned mentor who engages both heart and mind while “Helping You Choose a Life of Serenity & Strength.” She has authored 15 books including “Soul Strong – 7 Keys to a Vibrant Life” and “Life-Giving Choices – 60 Days to What Matters Most.” She writes from “Sunnyside” cottage in New England and shares encouraging words at LucindaSecrestMcDowell.com
Want to read all of the “One Daily Choice” Blogs? Click HERE to read as each one goes live. These 12 weeks of blogs — adapted from Lucinda’s award-winning book “Life-Giving Choices” — come out each Wednesday morning through December 22. Thanks for reading. Click HERE to add your email to get blogs weekly in your in box.
Thank you for this word of HOPE!!! Love you, friend!
You always speak just what I need to hear! Thank you!
Needed this today and every day. What a wonderful reminder. Thank you Cindy.
So needed for today’s world. Thank you for these words to inspire.
Thank you. Reading this in the morning will lead through the day!