Is hope contagious? Why is it necessary to grow in hope? Souls with hope want to share it with others! I include the following quotes from Dan B. Allender’s: The Healing Path: How the Hurts in Your Past Can Lead You to A More Abundant Life. I reference these quotes for educational purposes and to discuss the inherent meanings to encourage others not for profit. Please consider purchasing, and reading chapter “The Dream of Hope” for your personal growth. Images created using Night Cafe Studio.
Truths about Hope
Truth 1: Hopes frees us to live for God and to look for the future
Hope frees us to live for God’s purposes. Hope frees us to serve a greater good than our own happiness or comfort. It frees us to love and anticipate our future even if we are awaiting our execution.
“The Dream of Hope” pg 158
Hope guides us in our present trials, troubles, and difficulties to focus on Someone Greater. Despair and hopelessness lead us to seek personal comfort and to withdraw from others. Difficulties and disappointments cloud our souls! Are you free to love and serve? What holds you back?
The Journey is worth it, when we find ourselves in God’s presence
The light symbolizes hope–which shines down upon our lives from our Heavenly Father!
Truth 2: Hope Trusts that God is Changing our Character
Hope compels us to live for the future by pouring ourselves out as offerings to God in our relationships with others. The primary way we give God glory is through loving others.
Ibid.
When we remain trapped in cycles of despair and rumination about past failures or difficulties, we become focused on past “what ifs” instead of trusting in God to redeem and move us forward. Hope leads to freedom which becomes apparent in how we relate and love others. Are you free to love and serve others? Other people will disappoint and fail us, but how do we respond? Daily reflection helps us to stay on track and grow in grace. Reflection questions:
- Am I quick to forgive others understanding that I need forgiveness and grace because I fail others too?
- When others ignore and fail/neglect to encourage me, do I give up on them and write them off or pray for them hoping that God will bring change and healing? Boundaries are appropriate.
- Do I love others for what they are doing for me or could do? Does my love for others meet the requirements of 1 Corinthians 13? Or is the love self-seeking or other pleasing?
- Is my heart becoming hard and cynical of others because of past and present disappointments?
Asking these questions and facing the truth of our situations leads us to be more compassionate and kind as God reveals our hearts and we respond in repentance. Being nice isn’t the goal. The goal is to be kind and compassionate with others.
Young man in distress cries out to God from his heart.
Truth 3: Evil’s Disruption
Evil intends for us to succumb to betrayal by giving up on relationship; it intends for us to resign to powerlessness by giving up on the future. Once we lose faith and hope, then we are more susceptible to ambivalence and shame.
“The Dream of Hope” pg 159
Dan explains the struggle that we encounter in relationships. Ever felt or experienced betrayal from others? The more we invest in others the more likely others will disappoint us. After multiple disappointments, a person becomes tempted to just stop reaching out and caring for others. Ever heard the enemy whisper something like the following: “it’s easier to just not expect anything. Keep to yourself, you’ll be much happier, Don’t waste your time, they don’t want to hear it anyway”? The enemy claims: “most people will ignore you and what you’re trying to accomplish.” I wrote an entire post about feeling betrayed and disappointed with others.
https://wordpress.com/post/wordsofencouragementinchrist.com/1837
I write about these topics, but that doesn’t make it any less painful when I experience it. Hope comes into these situations when we choose to hope and trust that God will redeem these things. God redeems our failures and the difficult things that we experience. Even when others betray us! Consider how Jesus redeems Peter’s betrayal! Jesus uses this great failure to build up Peter and remind him that caring for others is expressing love for Him.
Dan explains how ambivalence and shame keep us from hoping and ultimately loving others in Chapter 6: “Ambivalence and the Loss of Love.” I recommend reading this book because it will encourage you to face hard truths and grow in your love for others. Shame also keeps us from reaching out to others in love. The enemy truly desires that we will simply give up on ourselves and others.
God’s love and mercy guide us through the dark moments.
God is Our Hope! Hope Pushes Us Ahead!
Paul encourages us to focus on Christ and knowing Him. Knowing and walking with Christ is our object of hope. Our hope and faith leads us to “gain” Christ!
Philippians 3:7-11
7But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. 8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
I write about this passage in more detail:
Pressing Ahead
Hope guides us forward through the seasons of disappointment and discouragement!
Words of Grace & Hope 