Hope is born in the dark. Like a lighthouse calling out to a lost ship at sea, it will safely bring you through your personal storm. It will encourage and guide  you to safety. Hope is found in the arms of God. 

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24 (NKJV) 

Relentless winds of adversity can be so draining! When an unexpected storm hits it may feel as though you have been tossed into a ferocious hurricane. Despair may even come into sight and strive to rob you of perseverance. So, with one small voice you utter a simple prayer,“Abba!”

Suddenly, the mighty hand of God lifts you out of your trouble. He simply wanted to hear your petition for help. He is always more than happy to be your refuge and hiding place. In fact, the Lord takes pleasure in all who hope and trust in His mercy. However, if you want to receive His assistance, you can’t give up or surrender your hope. 

Perseverance is strengthened during the storms that test our faith. To persevere is to ascend the mountaintop of God. It is a necessary attribute, a requirement if we wish to see the face of God. No runner can finish a race without a determined persistence to complete the uphill climb or challenging terrain.

Our eternal home awaits us but we must daily persist in our journey to get there. Merely believing that there is a God is not enough to gain entrance. Even the demons believe there is a God! It is through the exercising of our faith that we find the provisions of God. When we are weak, He will be our strength. When there is no way, He will make a way. Sitting down and giving up will not get us to the finish line. Our citizenship is in heaven and our heavenly Father anxiously awaits our arrival. 

Loosing hope means that you have lost your faith in God’s ability to sustain you. Have you forgotten who created you, the universe, and all within it? Do you doubt His ability to work things out and enable you to carry on? Why? Miracles happen today. They are not seen because we don’t look for them. 

Maybe your storm has been a punch in the gut and you are out of breath. God understands that we can get winded. He knows we will stumble and fall in this life. Catch your breath, even rest, but carry on! Nothing will change for the better if you succumb to the Devil’s attempt to steal your hope. He wants you to take the advise of Job’s wife…”Curse God and die.” Do you really think by cursing God things will get any better?

God sees the good in all man and loves us even while we are sinning. Why not give God the benefit of the doubt and trust that your adversity is for good, not evil? In some way He is creating good fruit from your circumstances, though pain may be His vehicle in your situation.

“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) 

Like you, I know suffering and I know heartache. They have served me well by furthering along my transformation and refinement, always producing a greater measure of the fruit of the sprit. Goodness, kindness, gentleness, peace, love, joy, patience, faithfulness, and self-control are attributes that will define your character in this life and the next. 

Will you live as an alien in this world, as a foreigner in a land that is not your eternal home? Then accept the storm you are riding out as a gift from your Father. He sent it because He loves you and it is preparing you for the eternal life that has yet to come.

God did not spare His own Son the suffering of the cross. It was for our benefit that Jesus became man, died, and rose again. God sent Jesus to redeem us and has exalted Him in the heavens. He is our Victor and blessed Mediator. 

Take your burdens to Him and pour out your heart.  Ask Him to be your guiding light as you attempt to stand firm and move forward through your storm. Your struggle will have an end but His love for you is never-ending. Let Jesus be your lighthouse. 

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don’t give up.” ~Anne Lamotthttp://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2009/01/Hope-Quotes-from-Christian-Leaders.aspx?p=2

“But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.”   Psalm 71:14 (NKJV) 

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I do hope.”    Psalm 130:5 (NKJV) 

“Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer”  Romans 12:12 (NKJV)