Hope Is ContagiousEsimerkki

HOW TO HOPE

The shelves in our local bookstores are covered with How to Books. You name the subject and there is a book that teaches you how to do it. Personal branding, baking, bicycling, or raising butterflies. You need it and there is a how-to book for it. Three steps to a fulfilling marriage, managing weight or running a marathon. However, what about hope? Is there a book that can teach me how to hope? Is there a step-by-step plan that can cause me to walk in confidence looking for a positive outcome in spite of the trials and setbacks I am currently facing? That answer is yes. The Bible is the how-to book for hope. It provides instructions and illustrations on how to live a life filled with hope regardless of the circumstances that bombard our souls.

The book of 2 Kings Chapter 4 contains a great How to Hope lesson plan. The narrative tells the story of the woman who has finally, after some time, received a son from the Lord as a reward for her care and faithfulness to the prophet Elisha. Life however does not stay in this bliss state because an illness attacks the life of her son, and he dies. Although this painful event occurs, this woman shows you a step-by-step plan on How to Hope.

When Life hits hard, look to God. When the tragic news of her son happens, she spends no time in grief but she immediately turns her attention to God and the man of God Elisha.

Declare God’s promise in spite of the Situation. “It shall be well” and “it is well” is what the woman answers anytime someone asks about the status of her son.

Confess your Feeling. When she gets to Elisha she pours out her soul to God in an earnest plea. Hope is not detaching from the current pain and emotion of life. It is turning over those feelings to the one who can help in the time of trouble.

Watch God deliver on this Word. She tells the prophet that she will not leave him until he restores the promise that has been made to her.

The man of God comes to her aide by calling on the name of the Lord, who delivers by restoring her son back to life. When you are faced with trials, stick to the plan and watch God bless as you learn How to Hope.

How has your view of Hope changed over the last 5 days? How can you make your hope contagious? How can Hope carry you through hard times? I ask because when those hard times come it is important to already know these answers.

Additional Reading

2 Kings 4:18- 35; Genesis 4:25-26; Matthew 15:22-28