Living Everyday With Hope
A coworker asked me the other day: “You are so upbeat and happy. Does anything keep you down?”
My response?
“Keep me down? No, because I know where my hope and strength comes from.”
I proceeded to tell her that just the other week, I had an emotional breakdown. I was cleaning the house and was getting frustrated because I kept coming across things that needed fixed or wasn’t in it’s proper place because we didn’t have the finances to get it. At some point, I just lost it. My husband and I have been struggling financially for quite awhile and I was sick of not being able to dream, to get simple things that we needed for the house, and just living from one expense to another. Out of nowhere, I screamed: “I hate you house! I hate you!” I proceeded to weep for about 5 minutes.
And then…I laid my stress, frustrations, and unmet dreams before Jesus. I thanked Him for what we did have. I thanked Him for His Presence. I received His love in my broken state. God’s overwhelming joy and peace filled me, and hope began to burn in my heart once more.
Walking with Jesus doesn’t mean life is hunky-dorey all the time. Walking with hope doesn’t mean our days aren’t filled with aches and pains. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Life and circumstances might take us down for a moment, but hope doesn’t keep us there for long. Our Hope is in Jesus.
If you know me, I’m a pretty upbeat, joy-filled person. It may seem like nothing can get me down. But underneath, I’m just like any other person leaning on Jesus, everyday. He is my rock and my salvation; my hope and my song; my joy and my peace; my love and my reason to jump out of bed with a big ‘ole smile on my face.
Life will certainly throw some big boulders at us. The enemy wants to keep us down under the weight of our sin, shame, disappointments, financial burdens, overwhelming schedules, or medical diagnoses, but guess what? We can look him straight in the eye and say, “Get behind me, Satan! I know where my hope and strength comes from.” We can laugh in the face of fear and uncertainty, knowing that Jesus is by our side, fighting battles for us and with us.
We can live everyday with hope.
If you are struggling with hope today, I pray you would receive Christs’ love, joy, and peace and that He would ignite hope in your heart once more! I pray the Holy Spirit would open your eyes to wonders anew and that your heart would be captured by just how beautiful He is. I pray you would see God’s blessings all around you. I pray He takes you deeper into His love, and that all fear, anxiety, hopelessness, depression, uncertainty, and doubt would be removed from you in the Name of Jesus!
❤️Anastasia Daniel