Hope Lives Here…

This past week my husband, daughter and I were traveling on a very long road trip. In the car I’d hear her say how she hoped this would happen or that. She hoped we could eat at a certain restaurant, she hoped the hotel had a good pool or she hoped our house would sell so that we could move quickly. I just listened as some things she hoped for were superficial but some were God-size hopes & dreams, but the word hope just kept resonating in my spirit. Hope…in many cases is just us desiring something in the flesh we want to obtain but for some, it means a deep longing for something or someone  to trust in, a deliverance of sort to take place in their life moving them from darkness to light.

I began to ponder this thought. What do I put my hope in and what do I hope for? When I hope for things to occur, what is the reason? Is it to become stronger or to prevent pain (because most times we have to endure pain to become stronger)..is it to fill a selfish desire or to increase my dependency on God…is my hope self-centered or Christ-centered? Am I always hoping for me or do I hope and plead on behalf of those I love? I want to be sure my hopes and dreams and everything I put my trust in is based on the foundation of Christ alone. I not only want to hope and believe FOR things for my family and friends, I want to bring hope to others…I want to BE hope.

I want to BE hope by showing others the love of Christ, telling others what God has done in my life and encourage them to believe Him for what He’ll do in their life. I want to point out God’s faithfulness in all things, give to others with no strings attached and allow God to use me as a conduit of hope to those around me.

I have an amazing new job…I get to work for an incredible organization, Children’s Cup, and help thousands of kids from Africa and Latin America find hope by connecting them with people who will sponsor them to allow them to receive food, medical care, education and the life-changing Word of God. I get to stare into the faces of beautiful children, as I receive their pictures, knowing they are experiencing the hope and love of Christ personally and they will tell generations to come about our God. They will learn that as they cried out to God, He heard them and He answered. Some of these children have hoped their entire life for love, to be noticed or to be fed physically and spiritually and God is using people all over to world to bring these children hope.

Hope…it means more to me than it once did…it’s no longer selfish in its connotation…it has become an action to me…GO – Give Hope and Be Hope…that’s what we’re called to do. What are you hoping for today? What are you putting your hope in? Who are you bringing hope to today? Allow God to fill your heart with His desires and dreams for you, commit today to put God’s plan ahead of your plan and ask Him to show you who you can provide hope for or to. You’ll be amazed as you begin to look at the people God has placed around you…they are not there by accident…God wants to use them to better you and you them. Don’t miss an opportunity to be HOPE for someone today…

Psalm 25:5, “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”