"The question is, where does your hope come from and how do you regain it when life has beaten it down?" Kathy Spampinato

Do you have a positive view of the future? Do you look forward to your day, believing and trusting that things will work out? Do you have anticipation and a reasonable confidence that things will go well? That is living with hope! The question is, where does your hope come from and how do you regain it when life has beaten it down? Do you have a confidence that you are moving in the right direction? Is your hope grounded in your own abilities, or in the God of hope?

Psalm 62: 5-8 ESV says, "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

Faith and trust in God can become the source of your comfort, your hope, and your joy. When difficulties and confusion dash your hope, are you blaming God for the circumstances? Are you assigning bad motives to God when things do not go your way? Your misplaced blame could destroy your hope and your dreams. The Bible teaches that God is your refuge and the lover of your soul. Hold onto faith that He desires good for you. You may not understand what is happening to you, or why your prayer is not answered in the way you want, but hold on! God is your mighty rock of salvation. You can trust in Him!

Hebrews 11: 1,6 ESV "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

The basic mustard seed of faith you need, is that God does exist, and that He will reward you for seeking Him. When you press in, searching for His love and character, you will find He is faithful and your faith will grow.

Jeremiah 29:12-14 "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes..."

Psalm 42:5-6a "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."

Life sometimes makes it difficult to trust, and hard to put your faith on the line. Sometimes it is only determination that keeps your hope in God, but keep on persevering. He is faithful and true. Your hope will be rewarded. You will grow to believe that God is love and that He is looking out for you, regardless of the things you see. Your faith takes you beyond the circumstances: it is the substance or evidence of the things you have yet to see. It is the access to the grace we need to overcome the circumstances we are facing.

Romans 5: 1-5 "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

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

My friends, may I challenge you to put your hope in God? He is the faithful one, and He longs to show you His love. You can reach out in faith today, and He will be there.