"Yet a time is coming
and has now come when the true worshipers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks." - John 4:23

My Heavenly Daddy is healing
me from the inside out.

Transparency is Real.
Many times painful.

Daddy let me be secure in You only!

Friday, July 24, 2009

RELYING ON HOPE


I have been seeing a lot lately on the topic of “hope.”

I know hope for a lot of us is hard to digest. There is no denying that! But, hope is needed to face some of our painful trials. Again, there is no denying that!

Hope for me, even though at times is hard, helps me to face my past trauma’s as the reward is so much greater than the pain (and I am willing to go through the pain). Hope for me helps in my low times of loneliness and despair. Hope for me is knowing while I am beating my fists against the door because I feel rejected or abandoned, helps me to carry on to my goal.

The devotional below shares how hope gives us strength to face our anguish of our past and the ability to sustain us as we go through our journey. Hope will always be there waiting in the wings to help pick us up when we feel we cannot continue. When we feel we cannot take another breath, or another step.

Hope to me is a powerful word that I am getting used to now and desire to incorporate into my vocabulary as well as into my heart!!!


Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Hope gives us strength. We need strength for the journey of recovery. We need strength to make the changes that need to be made -- and strength to grieve the losses which come with change. We need strength to keep on keeping on. Recovery requires a great deal of physical, emotional and spiritual strength. We draw that strength day-to-day from hope.

There are times when hope will allow us to soar. We will feel the exhilaration of change and new freedom. We will think about the future and imagine good things. We will soar with gratitude and joy because of hope.

There are other times when hope will allow us to run and not grow weary. We will keep going. Keep changing. Keep working. Keep feeling. We may get tired but hope will keep us from getting weary and wanting to give up. Hope helps us to keep running.

There are other times when hope will allow us to walk without fainting. Some days, in our recovery journey, continuing the journey at all is very difficult. The struggle we face may be so intense that we would faint if it were not for hope. But hope helps us to take the next step. One slow step at a time. Step by step, without fainting.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of hope.
Thank you for the days when hope allows me to soar.
And for the days when it allows me to keep running.
And thank you for the days when hope gives me the courage to walk without fainting.
Thank you for hope. Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

24 comments:

  1. Great posting.hope is always a great thing to have around.

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  2. It is truly an amazing gift....HOPE! 4 little letters much like the ones in LOVE! All we need to do is add a little FAITH! and we have three of the greatest treasures on the face of this earth. One's money can't buy and are truly PRICELESS!

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

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  3. Hope certainly gives us strength and honestly, I do not know where I would be today if I had not had some glimmer of hope in my heart.

    Blessings, andrea

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  4. Thank you Mike, H2H and Andrea for your comments. Great analogy with Hope, Faith and Love! Blessings.

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  5. What a powerful post on hope JBR. You seem very determined. That’s super

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  6. AnonymousJuly 24, 2009

    There are days when HOPE is ALL I have along with my faith. Together, I have to believe they will get me through.

    Wonderful post.

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  7. Wonderful! Hope is what I'm leaning hard on at the moment myself.

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  8. Lion MountainJuly 24, 2009

    NICE BLOG. HOPE IS MY STRENGTH! PEACE OUT!

    LM

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  9. Lion Mountain, nice of you to visit and comment. Thank you.

    Strawberry, I am determined, thank you. Said it from day one when I got serious, this will be one race that I will finish, however long!

    T. Anne, wonderful to see you here again. Thank you for your recent visits and support dear! I pray for endurance in your journey!

    Stitch, thank you for your comment. I pray that your faith and hope will sustain you daily.

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  10. Yes, Colleen, some times hope is all we do have! Thank you for sharing.

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  11. Without hope to God, I don't know where I am now and what I am doing now. God is the source of everything that I need.

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  12. Without God, I have no hope. Sarah

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  13. Such a great post sweetie.

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  14. Thank you Denise for the compliment.

    Sarah and Grace, the truth speaks that is without God we have no hope. Thanks for reiterating!

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  15. Thanks for posting this. I guess it is hope that keeps me believing that I will get through this and things will be better. Sometimes when the evidence seems contrary, my belief in that it will get better is what gets me through.

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  16. I have this image saved on my computer at home, I love it. I saw that you were following me and wanted to say hello. Although I was not abused as a child I am the product of divorced parents and was raised by my single alcoholic father, now sober for 16 years. It really is amazing the way something like that can affect you even years later. My best to you!

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  17. Sarah, thank you for your visit and sharing a bit about yourself. Sorry that you were brought up in an single parent alcoholic environment. Must have really been rough! Blessings dear one.

    IK, glad you were able to benefit from the devotional. Just hang on to it as much as possible in your heart if you can. Blessings.

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  18. I don't know what past trauma you are referring to but from what I know of trauma, it was Hope that got you through. I'm new to your blog but I must say, I really like what I've read so far. I think it's the "Just be real" that won me over from the start. :)

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  19. Hi Oh Sew Good-Love the title of your blog. Thank you for your returned visit and kind words about my blog. If you click on my profile, that will share a bit about me. Blessings dear one!

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  20. I have an award for you. Please come to my blog to claim it.

    Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.

    James Oh

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  21. Praise God he we do have hope. Without it, I would have no motivation to live my life at all. Hope changes everything! It gives us something to believe in and helps us gain strength and empowerment.

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  22. James, thank you so very much for recognizing JBR as a worthy blog for your award. Appreciate the explanation of the Chinese calligraphy. Thank you.

    Rhonda, nice to have you visit again dear one. You are appreciated, thank you for sharing!!

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  23. AnonymousJuly 25, 2009

    "Hope" is the one word that defines my life right now. I wear my hope necklace every day.

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  24. Hope and Peace and Love to you JBR.

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