Hope can be hard for us who have been abused!
I know I struggle with hope BIG TIME!!
The devotional shares how sometimes hope in fact fails us due to the pain of our present circumstances. We do need hope to continue on our journey.
Hope may help if we remember how far we have come in our journey and not look to how much more we have to go. Any time we are “going through” our stuff, we are “going to come through” to the other side. The other side is freedom! That is something hopeful to hang on to!! I know it is for me!
I do “hope” you are touched, even a little bit by this promise:
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Psalm 77:11-12
Sometimes hope fails us because of the pain of present circumstances. The intensity of the daily struggle can overwhelm us and crowd out hope for the future. We find ourselves unable to focus on a hope-full future because we cannot see beyond the burdens of the present. But we need hope in order to continue the journey. Without it we cannot go on. Without hope there is only the despair that comes when we think nothing will ever change.
Reviewing our experiences of God's help in the past is one way of nurturing hope. When present events crowd out hope, leaving despair and fear, we can turn to the disciplines of remembering. It can sustain our faith and renew our determination to continue the journey.
Remembering is not an easy discipline for us. Our memory is not good. Even miracles seem to age quickly - they become 'miracles of long ago'. Things that seemed unimaginably wonderful at the time can quickly fade in our memory as present concerns demand our attention. Dramatic breakthroughs in recovery that seemed to be powerful signs of God's grace and presence may seem painfully ordinary after a few months. For this reason it may be necessary to find someone to help us with the discipline of remembering. Hope can often be renewed by asking a trusted friend to remind us where we have been. An objective review of the journey to this point helps us see God's sustaining grace in our lives. And that gives us the hope to go on.
Lord, help me to remember the specific ways you have sustained me in the past.
Help me to remember how I have changed.
Help me to remember your love and grace so that I can grow in my capacity for hope today.
Amen. Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan
I love this post. It is so important in the midst of our troubles to loss sight that it won't go on forever and that there is an end in sight.
ReplyDeleteIt is usually through those troubles as well that we become stronger individuals and grow as Christians. It's just like babies, you can't feed them a bottle forever, at some point they are going to have to learn something else.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Kat, thank you for your positive insight to this devotional.
ReplyDeleteThis is encouraging!
ReplyDeleteI love reading of the way you find strength. Maybe I’ll be able to pass this on to someone in despair.
Thank you!
♥Hope
Thank you Hope for your encouragement.♥
ReplyDeleteThose who hope in the Lord will not be disapointed (Isaiah)
ReplyDeleteT. Anne, appreciate the scripture verse, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for you kind remarks on my blog today.My Father was not an physical abusive person,but he had his moments when his temper got the best of him,and I was on the recieving end of that temper once I was given a brutal beating and shoved into a glass storm dor and was showerd by bits of glass shards and shoved into the back of our car all the time Dad was yelling and that scarred me for life.
ReplyDeleteMike, I am so terribly sorry for the abuse you endured growing up. Thank you for sharing and I appreciated your post on your blog.
ReplyDeleteWithout hope we are nothing. It is the slender thread to tomorrow. the key to faith. Nice post, JBR ~rick
ReplyDeleteVery well put Rikkij, thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you are growing strong in your recovery. What a nice post..
ReplyDeleteBetty Ann, some days are better than others. Thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteSometimes hope seems just out of reach. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWanda I know what you mean, and can understand. Blessings dear one.
ReplyDeleteI cling desperately to hope. My middle name is hope and I firmly believe it was ordained to remind me. It is easy to give up, but I carry a constant reminder in my name. Probably sounds silly, but when I am desperate I remember GOD ordained for me to carry this name...there must be hope in all situations.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, andrea
You cannot get any closer to hope as a reminder then to have it with you legally for life. That is awesome Andrea.
ReplyDeleteI needed this so deeply tonight. I am about to embark on a journey (with the "big" journey) that has the potential to pull me away from hope. Thank you for that devotional!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this sweetie.
ReplyDeleteKiddo... The only truly hopeless are them that have no need of hope because they have gone to their rest. You have hope in abundance you just don't realize it yet. every post of yours I have read shines with hope, hope for a meaningful future and hope for a better present...hope in my book is the seed of achievement.
ReplyDeleteLisa Marie, I know you are going through a tremendous trial now, and am so glad that you were able to gain some comfort out of this devotional.
ReplyDeleteDenise, thank you for your continued support!
t-w-m, appreciate your visit and words, thank you.
Very inspiring. I needed to have this today. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis is so great. I needed to read about hope today. Facing a work project, so I need this. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! Thanks for sharing such a touching devotional
ReplyDeleteHang on to hope, and keep going!
ReplyDeletePeople like you--who care--give me hope. Thanks for being you.
ReplyDelete.....on the bad days remember how it felt on the good days (that helps me).. and Starting My Day Over at any time (another trick I learned in al-anon)
ReplyDeleteIn his name and your hand, Amen
ReplyDelete