Today I want to share a devotion from my friend Wayne Hastings' new book, The Way Back from Loss: Reassembling the Pieces of a Broken Life, published by Howard Books.
Through this sixty day devotional, Wayne provides a step-by-step path through the sometimes
paralyzing confusion and frightening uncertainty of loss. The readings and
quotes lead a wounded soul into the loving arms of the only One who truly understands
your journey and knows the course of your future.
"Hope Floats" (devotional number 39) is my personal favorite. Wayne says, "Hope doesn't sink us into the black hole of worry and angst; it floats. It keeps our head above water."
Here's the devotion in its entirety.
Hope Floats
“The
vision of His glory gives hope to those deluded by the importance of society by
revealing our citizenship is not of this world.”[i]
—Anne Graham Lotz
Today’s
Verse: “Through [Christ] . . . we have access
by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character,
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 5:2–5 NKJV)
We can never underestimate the value of
hope as we go through difficult situations. We can look at all that’s happening
to us or around us and feel hopeless, or we can choose to be people who are
full of hope in spite of what is happening, what others are saying, or how
we’re feeling.
Unfortunately we spend too much of our
lives thinking. We agitate, cogitate, and worry. We suppose that if we think
about something long enough, something will automatically happen or eventually
change. It often doesn’t because we are so quick to worry about things that are
totally out of our direct control.
Hope is far better. It’s the positive
expectation that something good is going to happen to us. We don’t need to
think about it—simply expect it. Instead of trying to think things through, we
can hope on purpose.
Hope doesn’t sink us into the black hole
of worry and angst; it floats. It keeps our head above water. It leads to joy
and, as Paul reminds us in today’s verse, it doesn’t disappoint.
So, what if we don’t see what we’re
hoping for? The answer is maybe we’re hoping for the wrong things.
Our hope shouldn’t be in things, or our
own planned outcomes. Our hope needs to rest in God—who He is and what He has
promised. Our hope needs to rest on a foundation that:
• God
loves us.
• God
has a plan for us.
• God
will never leave us.
• God
sent His Son to die for us.
• God
works all things out for our good.
Tough circumstances don’t simply
disappear, but we can experience God through it all. There is eternal value in
this day. We need to approach it with a hope based on who God is and what He
has promised. We must stop overthinking things, give our minds and hearts to
God, and float on His life-saving hope.
INSIGHT:
Develop an attitude of expectancy and hope based on who God is and what He has
promised.
PRAYER:
Ask God to help you hope on purpose. Ask Him to help you take any thoughts of
hopelessness captive to Him and erase them with His promises. Thank Him that He
wants you to live in joy and for helping you grow in your faith.
LIFE
CHOICES:
• Study
Psalms 30:5; 144:1 and Zechariah 9:12. What are the promises found in these
verses? What does it mean to you to be a “prisoner of hope”?
• Understand
that you need to make a decision to be happy, rejoice, and have hope. It won’t
simply come upon you; you need to take hold of hope on purpose. The Enemy
doesn’t care about your things or your feelings. He wants your joy. It’s up to
you to hold fast to your hope and renew it daily.
• Discover
how hope releases joy. Look up scriptures that clearly show you God’s promises
to bring you hope and joy. Don’t settle for “I’ll be happy when . . . ”
thinking, but rather focus on His hope for you today.
[i] Anne Graham Lotz, The Vision of HIs Glory, (Nashville,
Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1996, 1997, 2009), 54
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