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Holding On to Hope
God doesn’t operate as humans do. He uses the foolish to shame the wise. He makes a no-name shepherd into a king. He lets the last go first. He prays for his enemies. He turns the other cheek. He overcomes evil with good. He defeats death itself by submitting himself to death. And he births hope out of suffering.
“We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3–5
Check out the formula this passage gives us: suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Of all the ways we’d expect hope to be produced, I’m betting suffering wouldn’t have been at the top of the list. And yet, here we see that it is the unlikely place where hope, the rarest of treasures, is actually found.
We all know there are no quick fixes to trauma. It’s going to take patience and grit but do. not. give. up. James, Jesus’s brother, writes,
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4).
What does he mean by “let perseverance finish its work”? I’m inclined to believe that he meant something like this: Don’t give up when you’re already partway there. Don’t let it all be for nothing.
Yes, the pain is awful, but if you keep moving forward, it will mean something someday. Somehow, this terrible experience will be recycled for something good even though it doesn't make sense right now.
Don’t give up. Keep holding on to hope because God is faithful to provide it and because you are not alone in the struggle. Trauma may have been what brought you here, but soon enough, God’s redemptive love for you will take you to places so rich with joy and purpose you can’t even imagine them yet!
What do you hope for? What would make this painful journey worth it? Looking ahead, what in your life will help you hold on to hope?
Learn more about Evan and Jenny Owens and their new book, Healing What's Hidden, at https://rebootrecovery.com/healing-whats-hidden/
About this Plan
Often we condemn ourselves for pain in our past or present. We feel guilty for not getting over it more quickly. We assume someone else would have handled it better. But trauma will remain empowered to hurt us as long as we deny its existence. The truth is, you aren’t failing at healing. You’re finding healing. God is a God of restoration. And this is just the beginning.
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