Hope Is The Thing

At the  beginning of the year, I struggled and prayed over my one word for this year.  I wondered why God kept bringing this one word to my mind.  I didn't want the word He was whispering to my heart.  

No... I didn't want to carry that one word mantle.  

God kept whispering this word.....Hope.

This one word was resonating as a call to embrace.  I tried to think of other more happy words to discover, not that learning about hope can't be a happy process.  I wanted to focus on something else instead of hope.  The word "joy" was next line.  I tried to avoid it.  I tried to deny it.  I tried...to find a different word to discover.  I tried.

I was afraid to accept the word hope.

What I know about God is this that if you ask Him to define something, to show you something, or reveal hope in your life, He will do that.  That is a prayer that He will answer "YES!" to.

So I accepted the word assignment of hope.

"God what do you want me to learn about hope?"

Every page in my journal for this year has the word hope on it.  

I am learning much about what Hope means ...

what Hope brings

what hope looks like

what Hope has

how Hope heals

what hope speaks

what true Hope is...

What about hope?  I have felt hopeless about a lot of situations and circumstances in my life.  And there have been a lot of reasons for those feelings.  My view of hope is changing.

I love the way that God teaches.  To really learn an idea, I have to see what it isn't.  For me to learn what hope truly means, I have to see the absence of hope.  

I just returned from two weeks in India.  I saw hope in action.  I saw God working hope in every heart.  I saw hope in the hopeless.  I saw hope in the midst of depravity.  

I saw Hope.  I experienced His hope.

There are many feelings that I am still processing.  When hope gets bottled up and pressed together, sometimes it takes a little time to get it all spilled out.  But I am pursuing Hope in all His ways.  

Even if it means that I must suffer over this word. 

Hope shines most in the darkest places. 

Jesus brought hope for me on the cross.  

Jesus was bruised for my hope.  

Hope now lives. 

May it live in my heart like it shines in His.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." ~ Hebrews 6:19