I know some of you have been eagerly awaiting January and the release of my new book on Hope, but others of you might not be aware of its upcoming release until right now. I can hardly wait to get the message of this new book (Yes, a BOOK! Not a devotional, not a Bible study, but a BOOK) into your hands!
For several months now, the theme of hope has been swirling around in my head and all I can think about. I’ve been studying, reading through Scripture, hearing women’s stories of hope and hopelessness, and piece by piece, I’ve been compiling it all together for each of you. It’s going to be so different to any work I’ve ever done before, but I’m just thrilled about it.
So, would you all like a little sneak peak into it before it comes out? Grab a tasty beverage, find a cozy spot to curl up, and enjoy these next few moments of reading a bit about Hope.
If we are honest with ourselves, I would imagine that many of us could or would say the same about our own stories of trying to cling onto hope in our seemingly hopeless situations. Perhaps our own hope felt like little more than a wish at times, and because of that, we may have lost our confidence in hope.
Hope is not a wish. It’s not just a desire. It’s far more than a longing, a perceived want, or even need. If it were only those things and nothing more, Scripture would not command us to hope, but it does. Because it is commanded of us, we can then assume it is possible to actually possess and maintain hope, real hope. So, we must lean in a bit further to see what we have been missing.
“Hope is a strong and confident expectation. Hope is unwavering trust in the unchanging character of God.”
How’s that for a starting point? I want to spend the rest of this chapter unpacking that definition and ending with an invitation for you and I to allow this understanding of hope to reshape and renew our minds. I believe that a false understanding of hope has effectively led far too many of us to live and lead hopeless lives.
No more!
We have an opportunity today to allow Truth to become the loudest voice in our lives. We have an opportunity today to listen less to the voices of this world and instead to listen more to the voice of the Word. We have an opportunity today to move from hopeless living to hope-filled living. It’s time to move.
No pun intended, but I hope this new, biblical definition of hope stirs some newfound hope in your soul. This is our hope. As a people who are dearly loved by God, this is the reality we can know. As we enter into this holiday season of busyness, noise, and many, many pursuits, may we each prioritize the highest pursuit of all: Just Jesus. Hope is found in that pursuit.
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