HOPE – LET'S BE FRANK

“
It’s a fire that keeps you going.
A spiritual motivation that will never run out.
Tolu Karunwi

God’s plans for your life give you a hope and a future. By giving you ‘a hope’, the Lord gives you something to stand on. He places that fire in your belly that reminds you of who you are in Him, of the identity He’s given you, of the authority He’s placed within you to speak to those mountains in your life and watch as they move.

He shows you that if you hope in the Lord, you will have your strength renewed. Once you decide:

God I want what you want. I’m tired of playing small, of being mediocre. I’m tired of accepting lacklustre love in my life – I want the real thing, I want to experience the fullness of your glory, I want to be whole in you. That’s hope.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1 NIV

We cannot have faith without hope.

Hope is the foundation upon which faith stands because it is that small still voice, that stirring in your spirit, that knowing in your heart that the reality before you is not immune to change.

Hope tells you there is a God even if you’ve never declared it with your mouth or your heart.
Hope reminds you that God will never let you down and will surely come through on your behalf to His glory, yet again.
Hope assures you, you are saved, you are free of sin.
Hope renews your mind.

‘I hope I can get to the shops today.’

‘I hope it doesn’t rain.’

‘I hope I get an A on my test.’

We hope everyday. But what I find is that we hope in things carnal, things we can see because it’s a reality that’s more believable. Christ calls us to more, to greater. He calls us to hope in those things which are unseen – that career you so desperately want to build, that vision of a life God has for you that you’re not entirely sure how or when it will materialise, that partner you believe is perfect for you but you haven’t met. A hope in Christ makes all those things that sound like distant dreams – a reality. Because once you’ve hoped for them, you can have faith in a God who will help bring them to pass.

But he needs you to hope first. He needs you to start believing in yourself again. He needs you to rise up and use the authority and all that which He’s given you, all that He’s placed in your hand and move.

He needs you to carry your cross and follow Him. Whether your cross looks like a disease, negative words people declared over your life, some form of abuse – these are scars and not wounds. Because by His stripes we are healed. They make up your story and they are beautiful scars, you are beautiful. He knows your story, every page – He wrote it. All He asks is for you to not be ashamed of it and to wear it proudly and follow Him to that place where His name is glorified through your story.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Romans 5:3-5 NLT

Through it all, the pain and the tears – hope is birthed. And impinged upon that hope is the knowledge that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We are saved. We are loved. We are good. We are protected. We are dignified. We are made whole. We are called by name. We are honoured. We are worthy. We are enough.

Our confident hope is that we belong to a Father who knows us and loves us and wants the best for us. Who intends for us to reflect His glory.

This hope can never lead to disappointment – why?

Because it is an internal acknowledgement of who the Father is to us. And just how much He loves us and sees us and values us and calls us His own and has sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and our help and to fill our hearts with His love. His love is an action word which compels us to do that which pleases Him. That compels us to be His righteousness and be transformed to look more and more like Him. That compels us to overflow, bursting with His love so all may come to know and experience the fullness of His love. That compels us to be the head and not the tail and allow our lives be a reflection of His glory.

Something breaks in me as I write this. Because I am no longer placing my hope in carnal things. I am no longer doubting but rather, hoping. I am confidently hoping in a life that is a sweet aroma unto Jesus and His people. I am having faith in a God that never leaves nor forsakes. I am putting my money where my mouth is and declaring great things over my life. I am declaring who my flesh may not feel like but who my spirit tells me I am.

“I know who I am because I know whose I am.”
‘Champion’, Bethel Music & Dante Bowe

My Hope?

My Hope is My Confidence.

My Confident Expectation and Anticipation for the Fulfillment of all God’s promises in My Life.

My Hope is in Jesus Christ.

My Hope is that I will live the life He wants me to live before He calls me Home.

My Hope is in a God who is steadfast and faithful and relentless in His love for Humanity.

My Hope is in A Greater Future for myself, my family (present & future) & friends.

My Hope is a Release.

#SOUNDOFJERICHO

This song is the inspiration behind this post. It is a beautiful tapestry explaining just exactly what God has handed to us on a platter and what He’d love for you to accept and believe about yourself.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Revelation 3:20

I hope (& I hope with all my heart and everything within me) that you begin to see yourself the way He sees you as these words break those chains in your heart right now, AMEN: