Hope to Come (by Cathe Laurie)

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV).

I’ll admit, I’ve always been a “half glass empty” kind of gal. Or, at least, I was for a long time. I figured if I was expecting disappointment, then nothing could actually disappoint me. Right?

Truth is, living in a “glass half empty” mindset is a bit like trying to identify a green tree in a game of “I Spy” when the color you were given was blue. You will find a lot of blue things—despair, fear, sadness—but you won’t find that green tree—joy, hope, and promise—if you’re not looking for it.

Living in a negative, “realistic” outlook cheats us. It keeps us in a state of fear and despair and robs us of fully experiencing the good God is pouring out on us. It’s like putting a wet blanket on everything, drowning out anything that might raise our spirits and keep us excitedly looking toward what is ahead. It’s a spiral of negativity, and it puts God in a box.

We don’t know what the future holds. This moment, here and now, is all we know for sure.

It’s easy to fall into fear and anxiety about the unknown. But to be hopeful, always hopeful, is biblical. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV, emphasis added). To have faith is to hope.  

It is, at times, hard to practice. It is a fight to hold onto hope in the middle of hard times and bad events. When our life seems to be going every way but in a positive direction, how do we maintain hope?

• We refocus our eyes on the good around us and approach the Lord with a heart of gratitude. We thank God for His blessings. Especially now, during Thanksgiving week, we remind ourselves of all that God has given us, all that we have in this moment.
• We look back on what He’s done and remember that He is the same God now as He was then, and He will come through again and again. We can rely on His goodness and faithfulness!
• We choose to believe! I know; it can be much easier said than done. But we need to turn that “glass half empty” into a “glass half full”!

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT). We must take Him at His Word, trusting in Him and His timing and believing that He is working through even the worst of circumstances.

Let’s thank God for the miracle before it even happens. We thank Him for our prodigal returning home. We thank Him for healing. We thank Him for a financial miracle. Remember, He is the Lord above all. Hold tight to hope. He will always come through!

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Cathe Laurie is the founder and director of the Virtue women’s ministry. She is also a featured speaker on The Virtue Podcast, at Harvest events, and the author of As I See It. You can find her weekly articles here on harvest.org.