Hope (God Has What You Want)
I started out my day pretty bummed. My husband's work schedule is overwhelming, and we don't get as much time together as I'd like. We've been trying for a baby for going on eight months now (which I know isn't that long). And overall, this year has had some intense rough parts so far.
So this morning, I tried to distract myself from all this with the newest episode of Once Upon a Time. When the episode was over, though, there still were all the things bringing me down. Not even Captain Hook could make me feel better. So what did I do? Went back to sleep for a little bit because I didn't feel like thinking about it any more. And when I woke up, I felt so much better! Oh, wait, no. I didn't.
I'm so slow to bring God to the scene sometimes. I know in the past that He has always, always picked me up, dusted me off, and given me hope and joy and peace. So, why oh why do I take so long to let Him do that again and again? When I realized this is what I should do, I just sat there and moped more instead. Like, what is wrong with me? Do I want to feel sad? Does this pity party really need to continue? The answer is always no.
I don't know how you felt when you woke up this morning, but judging by the fact that it's a cloudy, gray Monday, I bet there are more people feeling like I do than there are people who woke up saying, "Yes! It's Monday!" Your weekend is over. There's something going on in your life that doesn't quite jive with what you imagined. You're probably waiting on something and you're probably not so great at being patient about it. And if not today, this might have been you yesterday. Or maybe it will be you tomorrow. Point is, everyone has days like this, right? If you're human, and you live on planet Earth (which I think is all of us), stuff won't go as planned. We won't always be excited or happy about everything.
But despite all that we're not thrilled about, God has what we want. He has what we need. Every one of us. And He's not holding back.
What fantastic news on this dreary Monday.
We all want hope, don't we? I mean, even if you're the most cynical, jaded person on the planet, who has been burned billions of times, you want hope. Even if you say (and I have been there), "I'm just going to stop hoping because I'm sick of being disappointed", you want hope.
We can hope in ourselves, but how many of us have let ourselves down? Raise your hands. Oh, wait, I don't have enough hands to tell you how much hoping in myself has left me disappointed.
We can put our hope in other people. But how many of the people in our lives have let us down at least once? If not, awesome. Hold on to that person, but know their days are not promised. Even if you have the most trustworthy person by your side, they cannot be with you always, in every way you need.
We can hope in our careers or our cars or our coffee-maker. But what happens if your company goes under or you become injured and can no longer work? Things break. Nothing in this life lasts forever. What if your coffee-maker dies on the morning that you're running late and you're tired because you stayed up too late?
And then there is God. Our Father. He is eternal and promises to never leave us (Deuteronomy 31:6). When other people may leave, He will not. We can be hopeful about the future because of His promise to us in Jeremiah 29:11. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" From Romans 8:28, "We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose." But the great thing about God is that He never blesses us based on our performance, so it's okay if we don't love Him with all our hearts or if we mess up royally. When it says, "those who love Him", it's the same as saying, "those who accept that they are loved by Him". And we are all called. He has a plan for all of us. He wants to works everything--the pretty and the ugly--together for your benefit. So, when things go to crap, it's not game over because we have the hope that God can use it for our good, somehow. He's creative like that. When we make choices that throw a wrench into God's plans for our lives, He doesn't go, "Oh no! What now!? They didn't do what I planned!" He simply makes a detour. Nothing is too hard for Him to handle.
So, yeah, I don't feel like I get enough time with my husband, but I can trust our Father that He's working all things together. He has a plan to prosper us. We have hope that things won't always be this hard. (2 Corinthians 4:19).
It sure is tempting to just quit expecting to be pregnant so when we are, we'll be excited and we'll stop being disappointed when it turns out we aren't. That seems to be the most common advice, too. Just quit trying. I know people mean well. I know they really mean don't stress, which is great advice. But I will not stop being hopeful. "Hope is the confident expectation of good", as Joseph Prince puts it.
Things may look rough today, but hold on to hope. 2 Corinthians 4:19 tells us to hope for the things not seen, which means to put our focus on what we hope for and not what's in front of us at the moment. That doesn't mean you have to ignore reality. Just know reality changes, but God's promises are unwavering.
While you're waiting, and while the things you see suck, speak life. Your words are powerful. Do what God does since He gave us the power. Romans 4:17 says to call into life things that are not as though they are. It's not denial. It's hope. It's expectation. It may not change things immediately, but keeping hope will change your heart, which will give you a better time in the here and now. It's so much better than moping. Trust me, I know.
Every Monday, I'll be posting new God Has What We Want posts! Even if no one else reads them, it'll be a good pick-me-up for at least one person--me. For those who do read, thank you, and I hope you're encouraged. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at jessie(dot)mullins5(at)gmail.com
So this morning, I tried to distract myself from all this with the newest episode of Once Upon a Time. When the episode was over, though, there still were all the things bringing me down. Not even Captain Hook could make me feel better. So what did I do? Went back to sleep for a little bit because I didn't feel like thinking about it any more. And when I woke up, I felt so much better! Oh, wait, no. I didn't.
I'm so slow to bring God to the scene sometimes. I know in the past that He has always, always picked me up, dusted me off, and given me hope and joy and peace. So, why oh why do I take so long to let Him do that again and again? When I realized this is what I should do, I just sat there and moped more instead. Like, what is wrong with me? Do I want to feel sad? Does this pity party really need to continue? The answer is always no.
I don't know how you felt when you woke up this morning, but judging by the fact that it's a cloudy, gray Monday, I bet there are more people feeling like I do than there are people who woke up saying, "Yes! It's Monday!" Your weekend is over. There's something going on in your life that doesn't quite jive with what you imagined. You're probably waiting on something and you're probably not so great at being patient about it. And if not today, this might have been you yesterday. Or maybe it will be you tomorrow. Point is, everyone has days like this, right? If you're human, and you live on planet Earth (which I think is all of us), stuff won't go as planned. We won't always be excited or happy about everything.
But despite all that we're not thrilled about, God has what we want. He has what we need. Every one of us. And He's not holding back.
What fantastic news on this dreary Monday.
We all want hope, don't we? I mean, even if you're the most cynical, jaded person on the planet, who has been burned billions of times, you want hope. Even if you say (and I have been there), "I'm just going to stop hoping because I'm sick of being disappointed", you want hope.
We can hope in ourselves, but how many of us have let ourselves down? Raise your hands. Oh, wait, I don't have enough hands to tell you how much hoping in myself has left me disappointed.
We can put our hope in other people. But how many of the people in our lives have let us down at least once? If not, awesome. Hold on to that person, but know their days are not promised. Even if you have the most trustworthy person by your side, they cannot be with you always, in every way you need.
We can hope in our careers or our cars or our coffee-maker. But what happens if your company goes under or you become injured and can no longer work? Things break. Nothing in this life lasts forever. What if your coffee-maker dies on the morning that you're running late and you're tired because you stayed up too late?
And then there is God. Our Father. He is eternal and promises to never leave us (Deuteronomy 31:6). When other people may leave, He will not. We can be hopeful about the future because of His promise to us in Jeremiah 29:11. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" From Romans 8:28, "We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose." But the great thing about God is that He never blesses us based on our performance, so it's okay if we don't love Him with all our hearts or if we mess up royally. When it says, "those who love Him", it's the same as saying, "those who accept that they are loved by Him". And we are all called. He has a plan for all of us. He wants to works everything--the pretty and the ugly--together for your benefit. So, when things go to crap, it's not game over because we have the hope that God can use it for our good, somehow. He's creative like that. When we make choices that throw a wrench into God's plans for our lives, He doesn't go, "Oh no! What now!? They didn't do what I planned!" He simply makes a detour. Nothing is too hard for Him to handle.
So, yeah, I don't feel like I get enough time with my husband, but I can trust our Father that He's working all things together. He has a plan to prosper us. We have hope that things won't always be this hard. (2 Corinthians 4:19).
It sure is tempting to just quit expecting to be pregnant so when we are, we'll be excited and we'll stop being disappointed when it turns out we aren't. That seems to be the most common advice, too. Just quit trying. I know people mean well. I know they really mean don't stress, which is great advice. But I will not stop being hopeful. "Hope is the confident expectation of good", as Joseph Prince puts it.
Things may look rough today, but hold on to hope. 2 Corinthians 4:19 tells us to hope for the things not seen, which means to put our focus on what we hope for and not what's in front of us at the moment. That doesn't mean you have to ignore reality. Just know reality changes, but God's promises are unwavering.
While you're waiting, and while the things you see suck, speak life. Your words are powerful. Do what God does since He gave us the power. Romans 4:17 says to call into life things that are not as though they are. It's not denial. It's hope. It's expectation. It may not change things immediately, but keeping hope will change your heart, which will give you a better time in the here and now. It's so much better than moping. Trust me, I know.
Every Monday, I'll be posting new God Has What We Want posts! Even if no one else reads them, it'll be a good pick-me-up for at least one person--me. For those who do read, thank you, and I hope you're encouraged. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at jessie(dot)mullins5(at)gmail.com
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