Growing up my mothers favourite saying every time something unexpected or bad happened would be “ pray for hope”. To be honest I didn’t fully understand what she meant by praying for hope until God started to put me in the boxing ring through personal circumstances in my own life. Each time my mother spoke those words from her lips it perplexed me. My mother's words were anchored in truth while my mind wrestled with the thought of trying to actually understand what she meant by asking God for hope. The uncertainty often led me to make jokes about it. Sadly, my naive soul couldn’t see past the truth of what she was eagerly asking me to pray for. However, as I encountered some dark moments in life, I learned that hope was the bridge that merged the gap of my faith.
A few weeks ago I lost my job unexpectedly. With wedding expenses rising and the pressure of dropping deposits between deadlines shook me to my core. I remember my mother coming home the day I got the news that I would not be returning to work. I rushed downstairs in tears knowing very well my mother’s words would somehow calm all my anxieties and fears. After explaining to her everything I was feeling and the doubt in my heart about what God was doing in the season of my life, she responded with, “ Let’s pray for hope that God will strengthen your faith in Him”. Again an odd response, yet it suddenly changed my perspective.
Hope to me was the anticipation of God’s divine grace in my life. Although I couldn’t see the light in my current circumstance I had to believe that regardless of what was happening, good or bad my faith (truth in the word of God and His promises) in Christ would give me the confidence to believe that everything would be okay. This realization made me think about the woman in the bible who bled for 12 years. In order for her to get up and follow the crowd that was surrounding Jesus, she was expecting something different to happen in her life. Her change in perspective totally altered her destiny. Although it was her faith that healed her | Mark 5:34|, this lady went towards the crowd with an expectation even though she couldn’t see the other side of glory. Truth is; we will all undergo some kind of suffering, however, there is beauty on the other side of it all.
Sometimes life has a way of throwing curveballs at us. It’s easier to stay down when there’s nothing to look forward to. But I challenge you today to put your faith in God and to go to him with an expectation like the lady who bled for many years. It may not get better right away but God will never leave you on the boat to battle the storms alone. He gives us the confidence in Him to face the the storms by giving us hope, that once the rain stops the sun will eventually come out.
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1”
Nana is a member of the Engage Family who blogs over at www.nanaohh.com! Nana is a dreamer who chooses to live her faith out through her experiences. Nana's goal is to inspire. She wants to ignite passion. She wants to love... and Oh YEAH! Nana has a weird obsession with tea... LOL!