Tag Archives: romans 15:13

7 Promises of Ridiculous Hope

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Successful people are hopeful people. Over the past 30 years, research has shown that hope, not skill mastery or optimism or grit, is the most important determinant of success (according to Pattison Professional Counseling and Meditation Center). Does this fact leave you cheering or sighing?

I’d venture to guess that many of us would call ourselves generally hopeful people. If this doesn’t describe you, I believe that hope is both a gift from God and a skill that can be developed, so you’re not out of luck – stick with me!

In the 1946 book Man’s Search for Meaning, Holocaust Survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl explains (in a much more grandiose way) that humans always need something to look forward to. This statement may sound basic, but it’s actually incredibly deep.

Frankl tells of being imprisoned in a concentration camp and noting that death rates of prisoners always increased the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Why?

He concluded these excess deaths were because these prisoners had held on to illogical, ridiculous hope that they would spend Christmas with their families. When Christmas Day came and went with no sign of their loved ones, so did their will to go on. Their ridiculous hope had a direct impact on their frail physical well-being; it literally kept them alive.

Sometimes we don’t realize the hope we’re holding onto is ridiculous until later, and this is a good thing! People living in a state of hope are more likely to achieve their goals and live with a sense of purpose.

For instance, others might chuckle if I say I believe the novel I’m writing could one day change the world, but that ridiculous hope is precisely what it takes to accomplish the difficult task of completing the novel. Anything less than ridiculous hope would result in an unfinished manuscript.

After I complete my manuscript, I may then be able to look at it more objectively and see that it might not change the entire world, but it still might change a few lives – lives that wouldn’t have been changed without my holding onto such hope. Hope gives us drive toward our goals and enables us to push through difficulties. Ridiculous hope keeps us pressing on long after others have given up on our vision.

Hope (or the lack thereof) also clearly affects our physical health, as noted above. Not only does Frankl give several examples of this in his eye-opening book, but in a recent chat with a medical professional friend, I was told that the patients who beat cancer nearly always have a hopeful attitude. He said the physical difference between hopeful versus hopeless patients is stark and obvious.

Hope is not the same as optimism, although they are certainly related. While optimists believe good things likely await in their futures, hope-filled people are driven to make those good things happen rather than sitting passively by.

God has a lot to say about hope, too. Here are seven of God’s many promises about hope:

  1. We have hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
  2. Jesus Christ is our living hope. (1 Peter 1:3)
  3. Hope anchors the soul. (Hebrews 6:19)
  4. Hope in the Lord allows us to be strong and take heart. (Psalm 31:24)
  5. Our hearts are sick without hope. (Proverbs 13:12)
  6. The eyes of the Lord are on those who hope in him. (Psalm 33:18)
  7. Hope makes us bold. (2 Corinthians 3:12)

If we take these seven truths about hope and use them to chase after our God-given goals, I’ll be surprised if we don’t start seeing significant change in our lives. There’s no magic formula (after all, who can know the ways of God?), but ridiculous hope is certainly a life-attitude that will deliver results, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.

If you want to read more about the psychological benefits of hope, I found this article helpful: Want More Success in Your Life? Have Hope.

And have a peek at my middle grade novel, Power Up, if you want to share with the children in your life about the ways the Holy Spirit can bring them hope. (Grown-ups have found hope through it too!)

Procuring Peace in a Crazy World

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How are we supposed to be at peace when it feels like the world around us has gone mad? Some days it feels like an impossible task.

But let’s really think about it for a minute. What does peace look like to you? A home where everyone gets along? A calendar with more open days than filled days? The absence of conflict in the world around you?

First of all, sign me up for all of these things. 😉 Second, while these scenarios are desirable and may make you feel peaceful for a while, they are too dependent on outside circumstances to allow for true, unshakeable peace.

True peace transcends our circumstances, as paradoxical as it sounds. Peace is one of the attributes of the Holy Spirit, which means we need His power in order to live in peace, despite our circumstances.

For the Christian, true peace is a gift from God, but it also comes from deep trust. We trust that God’s plan is ultimately best, so we walk in peace. We trust that God is love and nothing we can ever do will change his great love for us, so we walk in peace. We trust that, in the end, God will right all the wrongs of this crazy world, so we walk in peace. Usually.

It’s all too easy to fall into a state of inner conflict or unrest, and when we find ourselves in this place, we need to examine our souls. If peace comes from deep-rooted trust in God, then conversely, conflict comes from distrust, whether we acknowledge it or not.

We don’t see God moving in the way we’ve been praying for, so we doubt his goodness and our hearts are conflicted. We aren’t convinced God’s love is unconditional, and our hearts are conflicted as we ponder what that means for us. We see people around us doing terrible things and being honored by the world, and we are conflicted as we question whether God will bring justice to the hard situations. (If trusting God is a challenge, check out this relevant post from awhile back: The Huge Truth My Characters Taught Me About Trusting God.)

Peace is largely the result of trust—honest, true, deep-rooted trust. It takes courage to attain peace, because it takes courage to faithfully trust God in all things. And peace is certainly not the result of a lack of conflict in the world around us. I can assure you that’s not going away before Jesus comes back.

How do we go about procuring this peace, especially since it sometimes feels like a moving target?

  • We spend time with God. Not just a few minutes in the morning, but throughout the day. We play worship music, have conversations with others, talk to God about random things throughout our days, and get to know him on a deeper level.
  • We actively display our trust by submitting to him.
  • We pray and ask him for his peace to fill our lives.
  • We remember that Jesus himself walks before, beside, and behind us through all things.
  • We bring him into every part of life until our hearts are entirely yielded to him and once we do that, we don’t stop there because we know it’s a daily process that is easily undone if we let down our guard.
  • When we lose our peace, we pray for more strength and more faith and we declare our trust in God until our hearts and minds are at peace once again, filled with confidence in his trustworthiness and goodness.

Striving for peace is a goal of mine this year. Maybe it is for you, too. If so, join me in lingering on these verses and promises from God:

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:7

I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! –John 16: 33

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. –2 Thessalonians 3:16

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. –John 14:27

I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.         –Psalm 4:8

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. –Romans 15:13

Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. –Philippians 4:9

The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. –Isaiah 32:17

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. –Romans 12:18

Print out these verses and hang them where you’ll see them every day. Share them with a friend or relative going through a hard time. Nothing beats Scripture when it comes to speaking peace into our lives.

I pray, as you read this, that God would fill you with unshakeable peace and that your trust in his love and his goodness would permeate into your heart and soul more than ever before. Amen.

4 Ways to Reclaim Your Inspiration

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Do you ever get the feeling at the end of a day, week, or even year that life is passing you by without your consent? Without your full participation?

Maybe it feels like life is so full of the must-dos that there’s no time for the want-tos. Maybe you routinely wake up, go to work or school, take care of the house and/or family, and by the time you check off all the boxes of adulting for the day, it’s time to do it all over again.

You find yourself going through the motions of life like a robot with none of the zest for life you had “back in the day.”

“That’s life,” people say.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” they say as they throw up their hands, feeling as lost as you do.

You’ve lost your motivation because you can’t find your inspiration.

I’ve been there. Much of the toddler years of my kids’ lives felt that way. Maybe due to sleep deprivation. Maybe due to the fact that you can’t form a coherent thought when you’re hanging out with toddlers all day. I’m not complaining—I’ve loved my time at home with my kids, but there are certainly seasons of life more…shall we say…life giving than others.

This is for those of us who lose sight of the inspiration we so desperately need in order to obtain a fulfilling life.

If this is where you find yourself today, or have found yourself in the past, I’m speaking to you. And I’m most certainly speaking to myself.

Four Ways to Reclaim Your Inspiration:

1.  Be still. Some people claim they’re always busy as if it’s a badge of honor. It’s not. You will never find inspiration if your mind is crammed full of everything under the sun.

Make margin in your life—it’s not your job to take care of everything under the sun. Clear your mind long enough to let the peace of God and the voice of the Spirit calm and guide you. This will allow you to remember what really matters and direct your focus.

2.  Speak affirmations. For whatever reason, there is power in speaking truth out loud. Talk back to the negativity that tries to take root in your mind.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started: “I have power, love, and a sound mind.” (from 2 Timothy 1:7), “I delight in God. He fulfills the desires of my heart.” (from Psalms 37:4), or “God fills me with joy and peace as I trust in him.” (from Romans 15:13).

Practice speaking affirmations such as these and you will soon find that you have more confidence in God and in yourself.

3.  Remember what God says. Yes, this sort of overlaps with point #2, except where point #2 focuses more on who YOU are in God, this one suggests focusing more on GOD alone. His timeless truths and promises for our lives.

My favorite way to remember the truths of God is through music. Contrary to popular belief, there actually is a lot of great Christian music out there. (Lauren Daigle is one of my favorites and my 10 year old daughter thought it was Adele when she heard her on the radio!)

Good music is a great way to flood inspiration back into our hearts and minds. Other ways include reading the Bible or reaching out to a friend who can speak the truth of God into your life.

4.  Just do it! (And no, I’m not trying to get into any Nike controversy, I promise.) Sometimes you just have to be bold and do something new or unexpected. Have you been wanting to learn piano for years? No time like the present! Have you been wanting to start a Bible study with your friends? Call them today! Doing new things brings a rush of life back into your soul like few other things can.

My challenge to you (and to myself) is to be proactive and try out these four tips this week—see if some inspiration doesn’t come creeping back into your life. I pray that each of us would breathe new life as we seek to understand the vision and good plans God has for our lives, grab hold with both hands, and not look back.

I would love to hear what you think! Leave me a comment below to share your thoughts! And while you’re at it (if you haven’t already), head on over to the subscribe button and drop your email address so you can receive future posts directly to your inbox. Thanks for reading!