Endurance and PromisesIhe Atụ

I will make you a prisoner of hope

Having the Holy Spirit dwelling within us enables us to access God’s resources. Enduring continual challenge over many years can lead us to places of hopelessness. It is very normal to find ourselves in a dark place when we are enduring hardship over a sustained period of time. It is important to us that we acknowledge this, but it is also important that we come back to hope. Zechariah describes being a prisoner of hope. After a period of hopelessness, do you find yourself coming back to hope again? Have you experienced this swing of emotions? The Holy Spirit can guide us back to hope. What a gift!

God can also show us how to live in our present moment while holding a bigger picture in mind. If we can believe that what we are going through serves a bigger purpose, that can help immensely. James tells us that when our endurance is fully developed, then we will need nothing. That’s quite a journey to discover!

When our hope is realized the proverb tells us it is like a dream come true. That’s an emotion not to miss out on, especially when your heart aches from deferred hope. Where are you placing your hope?

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Desire Jesus. He endured the cross with hope set before him. He asks us to follow him and this can mean enduring our own type of cross and knowing that a hope is set before us. He will give you strength to rise above it and soar like an eagle. He is faithful and will never leave you. Trust him for each day for he will supply for your needs.

The Holy Spirit can help us find acceptance in and of our situations. When we feel stuck, he can help us to access hope. This can be a key to unlocking hopelessness. Allowing ourselves to grieve for what could have been takes us to a place of acceptance where we find space to dream again.

Have an agenda to surrender! Hope comes when we walk with God, giving all of ourselves to allow him to shape us into the children he wants us to be. The more flexible we can be, the more God can use us to extend his kingdom. Learn to say ‘Yes, Lord’. He will take you on an adventure!

Prayer: My hope is in you Lord, I need you. Thank you for everything you are, have been and will be to me. I bring my life and surrender it to you and trust that you will be faithful to help me endure and even enjoy my life. As I hope, will you help me to rise and walk confidently in what you’ve purposed for my life. Amen.