Hold on to Hope

Over the past few weeks I have shared a bit of a series on our journey of trying to fall pregnant, and after four years, finally giving birth to our promised - child Hugo James. My first post shared a bit of a background into our journey. The next posts dealt with faith and joy. Today I want to wrap this all up by talking about HOPE. For me personally, through our four years of trying to conceive, hope was the one, absolute necessity. Sometimes in life our circumstances are so dry, dark and disappointing that there is nothing to cling to and hold on to to give us even an ounce of anything to keep us going. But when we live from heaven to earth, there is a multitude of resources available for us to draw from and put to use. Hope is most certainly one of these, in fact, sometimes hope seems like all that there is.Why hope? Hope reminds us of what we are holding onto in our heart. It keeps alive our dreams and visions, our deepest desires and cravings of the soul. What do you want? What do you really, really want? What amazing and beautiful things are you hoping will break forth in your life? Are you believing for 'the' man or woman to walk in to your life? Like me, are you hoping to become a mother, or a father, to have a home full of many children? Are you hoping for that dream you have held in your heart for so many years to finally be fulfilled? The desire that you dwell on day in and day out, the vision that you can see in your spirit and that you are daily walking towards? It is so important that we have these things, that we hope for them, for without a vision we perish (Prov 29:18). What do we have to live for if we aren't living for anything at all?! It is these dreams and desires that we cling to in hope that makes getting out of bed every morning purposeful and gives us the passion to pursue. We need hope! It's like the carrot that gets dangled in front of us as we keep walking towards it...yet the great thing is that we do get to enjoy its spoils, here on earth and in this lifetime.Proverbs 13:12 says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." When these dreams and desires we cherish in our heart do not come to pass we are left unfulfilled. Unfulfilled hope makes our soul sick. Hopelessness is a sickness! Yet there is so much of it around us in this world. So much hopelessness, so many people walking through life with no vision, no secret dreams and desires, no purpose to pursue. And when they do have a dream but never see it become a reality, that leaves them feeling not just hopeless, but often negative, critical and jaded. Hopelessness is an illness and causes great grief and suffering to the soul and spirit. BUT... when what we hope for does come to pass, when the dream manifests, when the desires break through and reveal their existence, it is a TREE OF LIFE! The tree of life gives life. Hope fulfilled brings life, and life in abundance.

Hopelessness is an illness and causes great grief and suffering to the soul and spirit

When I speak of hope I'm not talking about the world's concept of hope, which is often more like wishful thinking. Hoping to fall pregnant wasn't some far off fantasy that was at the top of my wish list. "I WISH I could fall pregnant. I WISH we could have a baby. I WISH I could be a mother." Wishful thinking errs on the side of 'expected failure.' There's a chance - a very slim chance - and if you happen to get what you're wishing for then you're very lucky. But luck isn't hopeful. There is no certainty in luck, it's merely a matter of random selection and the fluke of chance. Hope is so much more real than that, and it has to be, otherwise hope would just nothing more than a big tease in the midst of pain and suffering. Unfortunately for a lot of people, hope is nothing more than a wish, or luck, or chance, because they have no substance to put their desires to - there is no certainty.But hope founded in God is completely different to the worlds kind of wishful hope. Hope in God is EXPECTATION. I expect to receive in this life what I am dreaming of and holding onto in my heart. How can I expect such a seemingly far off thing? Because hope is a partner with FAITH - and faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for WILL happen (Heb 11:1.). Hope and faith go hand in hand, because they remain forever! (1 Cor 13:13).The Psalms are riddled with encouragement of hope being a certainty in our life, of being more than just unfulfilled wishes, but confident expectations:"And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You." Psalm 39:7 (AMP)"Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord." Psalm 27:14 (AMP)"Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my [sad] countenance, and my God." Psalm 43:5 (AMP)"The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him." Lamentations 3:24 (AMP)It's through putting our trust in God that we can expect to have our hope fulfilled. But fully trusting him requires knowing him intimately, therefore knowing his character. When we know he is good, faithful and loving, we can trust him...and when we trust him we can hope in him. The act of hope requires such deep trust because it puts us in a very vulnerable position. It requires letting go of control of the unknown and passing him the reins. It is surrendering to him and throwing our entire life and future into his hands - trusting, confidently expecting, that he will do something beautiful and powerful with it.

The act of hope requires such deep trust because it puts us in a very vulnerable position

Sometimes we are afraid to hope, because there's a chance we will be left disappointed. Sometimes, the thought of disappointment is too much to bear, and so it is easier, from a self-preservation/protective stance, to not hope at all. Sometimes we think it's easier not to try at all, rather than try and be failed. Hope is a huge risk!!! But the reason hope and faith go hand in hand is because it takes faith to have hope - and faith is hard work! It's a verb, not an adjective - it requires doing. It requires emotional and mental energy, it requires persistence. It really is easier NOT to have faith or hope.Let me tell you this...hope is scary. That's why it takes courage. That's why the Word tells us not to fear, but to put our hope in God. "Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!" (Psalms 31:24 AMP) I can tell you, there were many, many months in our four year journey where I tried to protect myself by not getting my hopes up. I didn't want to tease myself by allowing my heart to hope, only to be left disappointed at the end of the month when we found out we were back to square one again. But you know what? It was more depressing NOT having hope, than having hope even when my hope was left unfulfilled. I would rather be disappointed month after month than to have no hope at all, because unfulfilled hope - unrelenting disappointment, as the Message puts it (Prov 13:12) - truly does make the soul sick.

It was more depressing not having hope, than having hope even when my hope was left unfulfilled

Hope is essential in life and through difficult circumstances and continual disappointments, because it is our anchor. It anchors us down in the Truth, it anchors us down into the One who does not disappoint. "[Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it--a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil." Hebrews 6:19 (AMP). A 'sure and steadfast anchor of the soul'...'the certainly of the presence'...that is the hope of God! It anchors us and secures us and holds us firm in the place of believing, trusting, having faith. The waves and storms of life may toss us to and fro but if we are anchored deep down into the firm foundations of God and his Word, then we can have certainty that we will not be washed away, but we will see the oceans calm and the light of dawn break forth and bring the peace, joy and life that it promises.Hold onto hope. Sometimes it's the only thing we have. Sometimes it's the only thing that gets us through. As painful as it may be at first, dare to dream! Dare to allow yourself to dwell upon the desires of your heart. Some nights I used to lay awake in bed and just indulge my heart by allowing myself to think about my future baby. What would they look like? What would their little personality be like? What will we name them? These thoughts brought me joy! And how much more joy did it bring when my hope was fulfilled and I saw the little life on the ultrasound screen, felt the little kicks inside of me, watched my body grow bigger and bigger, then finally give birth and hold the complete fulfilment of my hope in my very arms - my tree of life!

Hold onto hope

Whatever you are facing, whatever circumstances you are walking through, whatever life is throwing at you, whatever dreams and desires are yet to be fulfilled in your life...abound in hope, overflow in hope and remain in hope. Put your hope in God and not in things of this world, not in people, not even yourself. There is no situation that is too far gone, there are no circumstances that cannot be transformed by the power of God, there is nothing in your life that can't be completely turned around. Even the biggest disappointments, the worst prognoses',the biggest losses, the worst case scenarios, are never too big for God. He can step in and he can turn everything around. Just a little reminder in case you think you are too far gone, too old, too sick, too deep, too whatever...Sarah was 90 years old (and Abraham 100!) when she gave birth to Isaac, Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant, Jarius' daughter was pronounced dead before Jesus told her to get up, Lazarus was dead four four days before Jesus told him to arise. And guess what? It's that same power that is at work in and through us that gives us the hope that we can and will receive what we hope for. Whatever your circumstances, put your hope in the Hope of the World. Choose to dream, feed your hearts desires with your thoughts, build your faith with the Word and trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God. Life may disappoint, circumstances may disappoint, this world may disappoint, our own expectations may disappoint, but God will not disappoint us. There is always hope!"May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope." Romans 15:13 (AMP)