I woke up sobbing, my tears spilling the pain of a secret childhood memory. My husband reached for my hand under the quilt, his green eyes searched mine.
“What’s wrong, Lucy? What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I lied.
I knew the reason for my tears, these salty signals of pushed-down pain. With no warning the memory swept away my equilibrium like a storm surge. I felt vulnerable, confused, angry, beaten, dazed, alone, afraid . . . even hopeless. Have you felt hard emotions too? Can you name them?
Caught in my storm — my world of overwhelming emotional pain – little me dared to ask the Almighty God: “Why? Why this? Why now?” Part of me was glad I asked, part of me felt afraid. Would God frown at my bold question, would He . . . abandon me? Have you sought answers to your “Why”? Have you feared God’s reaction? I bumped into promises of hope as I journeyed from. . .
From Hurt to Hope
The antidote to fear, anger, depression, and any hurt is real HOPE. Hear these God-guaranteed promises of promise.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Yes, God has a plan, purpose, and provision for your life, wrapped in promises of hope. A guaranteed hope. God promises WILL prevail. Do you believe this? If not, what’s getting in the way? When you feel crushed, broken, and worn, you may wonder if you’ll ever feel good again. Your feelings may say God is far, far away. The truth: Jesus is near. He invites you to lean on him.
God’s vision for your life is larger than you might imagine. Through His power, your weaknesses become your strengths. You are never beyond hope.
From Hope to More Hope
God wants to heal you or your hurting friend at church or work or on the internet. He wants you to receive biblical truth and practical help. His desire: emotional healing so you, in God’s timing, begin helping others find hope.
As God comforted me in my trouble, now I comfort others so they too may comfort those in any trouble with the comfort they received from Him. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV
Listen to apostle Paul’s precious words to Christians in Rome:
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
Please ask God for courage, help, and wisdom as you hear the Lord’s voice and trust him. Trusting Jesus opens the floodgates to joy, peace, and overflowing hope.
Promises of Hope
As you discover healing for you or your friend, you’ll see these hope promises in action.
1. God values you. He’s crazy about you and your hurting friend. He loves you just as you are. You don’t have to earn his smile. Believers in Christ have his favor and blessing now (Ephesians 1:3).
2. You are never alone in your hurt. Everyday troubles are a normal part of life. Jesus said: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” John 16:33, NKJ.
3. Your emotions are helpful, including the hard ones like fear, anger, and sadness. How? They tell you something is amiss and prompt you to look to the One you knows your every action, word, and thought and loves you always.
4. Hope will transform your thinking. (Romans 12:2) Reading God’s Word (the bible), believing the truth, and acting on His promises encourages you to hold onto hope in life’s everyday troubles. This healing hope gives you peace and contentment – the abundant life (John 10:10). Here. Now. And forever.
5. No one can take away your hope not even the enemy of your soul who’ll try to snatch it from you. His strategy: lies. Believing his lies may convince you to doubt God, just as Adam and Even questioned the Father’s goodness and rebelled against him. Thank God . . .
Hope Heals
That awful morning of sobbing turned out to be one of the best days of my life. God picked that summer sky blue, bird-happy morning to begin my journey healthy emotions and a hope-filled spirit.
The truth: A hurting woman’s life will overflow inner peace and contentment as she chooses God’s will over counterfeit solutions.
I learned the beautiful truth of who God is and who I am in Christ. God pointed me to bible passages, prayer, journaling, and Christian lyrics that countered the lie that I wasn’t a “defect” – an identity I sucked onto like a leech . . . even as a believer in Jesus! He taught me in the office of a Christian counselor to let God’s light dispel the darkness of childhood secrets. In this same office, I discovered the value of guarding my heart and moving forward with promises of hope.
What a privilege for me to help women have hope and help their friends know how to provide biblical truth and practical help. God called me to a ministry of biblical counseling, writing, and speaking. If I hadn’t experienced pain and healing, how would I know promises of hope, and how would I know . . .
hope heals.
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2 Comments on “5 Promises of Hope & More!”
Sweet Lucy, it saddens me that you had something in your childhood that hurt you so but so thankful the Lord has shone His Light on it and healed it for you. The Lord so longs to wash away those memories of pain in our lives. And He mightily uses special biblical counselors like yourself to help others onto the path of healing. Bless you for all your work.
Lynn, thank you! I love your heart of encouragement. Yes, parts of my childhood were hard; other parts were good. I thank God that he loved me so much that he showed by my self-righteousness and drew me to himself. I doubt I’d have such a burning heart of compassion for the hurting but for the hard. And don’t we all have messes? Let’s make the most of messy!