Always Hope

There is always hope, no matter what situation you are in. This is something I cling to daily. Without it, life bears down on me and zaps my energy. It is the same for everyone. To hope is to hold on to the belief that everything will turn out for the best. Without that outlook, you can get lost in the avalanche that life can dish out.

Spiritual Warfare

I believe in spiritual warfare. I know that satan exists and is out to destroy anything and everything possible, if given the chance. When you don’t hold on to hope, he will do whatever he can do to knock you down and take you out. For example, I had come to the decision that I was going to stop going to my counselor. I even went as far as writing and sending an email saying goodbye and thank you to her. The very next day I wrote her back stating that I wanted to come in and talk to her about what was going through my mind. Over the week I had before I saw her, it became clear that my choice to leave was a knee-jerk reaction to her hitting three triggers in the last five minutes of our last meeting. In the end, I realized I am hitting the point of really going deep to recover and to stop seeing my counselor now would be a road leading nowhere. satan doesn’t want me to heal. He loves my being in a state of sadness. I don’t.

Where Do You Find Your Hope?

I have to keep pursuing the hope that is mine. We all have hope we can claim and pursue. People search for hope in many places. When I looked up where to find hope on the internet, there were so many examples: think positively, cultivate strong relationships, plan for your future and what you want for your life and so on. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these things, but, to me, they are like putting your eggs into one basket. Your hope still depends on other people, your ability to reach your goals, sometimes being positive when you really need to cry it out and work through a situation. All of these things will fail you. My hope is found in Jesus.

I know, intimately, too much of what is bad in this world. I know that none of it is a sure thing. Jesus is. He is always with me and He holds me when I can no longer move forward on my own. I’ll be honest in saying that I have somewhat separated my life here on earth and my life for eternity. I know without a doubt that I am His and that I will be with Him in paradise. I also know He’s blessed me beyond measure, but life has not been easy. I don’t know my identity here on earth, what love should really be in humanity or if anything I do will ever be good enough to be noticed and useful. I simply don’t know any of these things. I’m not used to good things happening for me. I’m used to saying things and it being attributed to someone else, even if I just spoke it five or ten minutes before the person who it gets attributed to. I guess I would describe it as I’m used to being dismissed or overlooked completely. That’s my life here on earth, but I know in Jesus’ eyes that I am a princess. I just haven’t been able to carry that knowledge of being a princess into my life. Being told and shown that I am anything but a princess on earth has created this disconnect.

I don’t know what the future holds and neither does anyone else. Life throws so many things at us, both good and bad. We have no idea what is coming our way, but there is always hope. I know that I am never alone and I have been protected from things that could have been so much worse than they were and I am so thankful. Moving forward is one step at a time, doing what I feel led to do. I hold on to the hope of eternity but I also hope for my path and my purpose to be made clear and broaden here on earth.

Where does your hope come from? What do you hope for?

~ Joanna Lynn