054 -Restoring Hope When It’s Been Stripped Away
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Why is hope so important and how do we restore hope when it has been stripped away? Hope is essential to encourage us to keep pressing forward, to “go for it” when the stakes are high, and to reach for the best things in life. Hope encourages us to endure into the design and purpose God has prepared for us. Hoping and wishing are two different things, when we hope, we have a reasonable and confident expectation. When we wish, we do not have a reasonable concrete basis for our actions. When what we hoped for has been stripped away, how can we anchor in the better hope God has for us?
Why is Hope is Vital to Living a Joyful Life and How to Restore Hope When It’s Been Stripped Away
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15.13 (NIV)
Our God is The God of Hope.
God gives us hope for a good tomorrow, the hope of a better life, the hope of salvation, the hope of the resurrection from the dead. God is a God of hope, not a God of hopelessness.God has not designed your life to gradually strip away the hope for good things. God has not designed your life to be void of a future.
We know what it is to lose hope. To be hope-less. When it feels that everything you wanted and everything you envisioned has been stripped away and you feel you have no hope, the God of hope will give you a BETTER HOPE.
“For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7.17-19 ESV
[shareable]When our experience does not align with our expectations, we lose hope.[/shareable]
May the God of Hope…
HOPE defined as a Noun… (“HOPE” is the name for something in us…)
- Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be or events will turn out for the best.
- Hope is the grounds or the basis for this feeling. Because God is THE God of Hope, my Hope is in Him.
- Hope is the person or thing in which our expectations are centered.
HOPE defined as a verb… (“HOPE” is an action that we take…)
- Hope is looking forward with desire and reasonable confidence. Hoping and wishing are two different things. When we HOPE we have a reasonable confident expectation. When we WISH we want something without any concrete basis for the wish.
- To believe, to desire, to TRUST (Romans 15.13 — May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”)
The ENCOURAGEMENT of Scripture, God’s Word, gives us HOPE…
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15.4 ESV
HOPE comes Through ENDURANCE that comes through the Word and REVELATION of God
We must ENDURE for Hope because if we (faint) give up, we will not see it.
HOPE comes Through ENCOURAGEMENT that comes through the Word and REVELATION of God
We Must find ENCOURAGEMENT (be cheered on) to ENDURE. When I run I am encouraged to endure when I can SEE or at least ENVISION the finish line.
WHY IS HOPE IMPORTANT… BECAUSE IT ENCOURAGES YOU TO ENDURE INTO THE DESIGN AND FUTURE GOD HAS PREPARED FOR YOU.
Why is HOPE important… because it encourages you to endure into the design and future God has prepared for you.
May the God of hope fill you with all JOY and PEACE
The PATH to an overflow of HOPE is Joy and Peace…
… JOY
- We have decided that we are going to live a joyful life if it kills us!!!
- We are committed to living a JOYFUL life.
- We have DECIDED to live a JOYFUL life.
…PEACE
“…And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4.4-7 ESV
- Peace of God / which surpasses (and bypasses sometimes) all understanding / will guard your hearts (soul/emotions) and your minds (thinking) in Christ Jesus
Joy does not come from the external circumstances and
Peace does not come from Understanding everything…
Joy and peace come from TRUST
May The God of Hope FILL you with Joy and Peace …
May The God of Hope fill you with Joy and Peace as you TRUST in him…
Clarity (understanding) vs. Trust. For a complete podcast/article on this topic listen to or read episode 010, Why Trust is More Important Than Clarity . I don’t have to have clarity (understanding), but I must have TRUST.
THE GOD OF HOPE will fill you with JOY and PEACE, but it WILL BE as you TRUST in him.
How can you trust God when everything is blowing up in your life?
- You have no choice (the disciples who left and those who stayed, there is only life in Him.)
- I have SEEN him. Because I have seen him I know his character. (Can I say that even in this devastating blow I found God to be Abba… he is faithful, he will prove it.)
As (to the degree with which) you TRUST Him, he will fill you with JOY and PEACE.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We want you to OVERFLOW with HOPE…
When you overflow with HOPE it affects your BELIEVING… You lay hold of your purpose, and when you lay hold of your purpose, when you find it in God… your purpose will come to pass.
Because He is the God of Hope… what I SEE in the realm of the SEEN does not define my life or my future. I HOPE in the UNSEEN.
HOW DO YOU OVERFLOW WITH HOPE… BY THE POWER OF THE Holy Spirit.
Calibration Tools… Calibrating Your Life and Lifting Those You Love and Lead [28:05]
- What is the situation in your life that you are thinking about right now in which you need hope. If things turned out the way you hoped, what does that look like? What are you actually hoping for? When you get a clear picture of the hope you desire, it anchors you in that hope.
- How can you anchor in the God of Hope in this situation? Put this matter before the God of Hope that He give you direction. Seek to anchor in a confident expectation of what you hope for.
Finally…
We would like to make the words of the scripture found in Romans 15.13 our prayer for you: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
God’s design for your life is not simply to put everything back like it was, but to give you a better hope of the future that God has designed for you.
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