You can wring your hands as you watch the horror unfold before you, feeling powerless and afraid, or you can take action.  Taking action with God, however, looks a little different from how the world takes action.  There is a better way to navigate the dark and you do it by reaching for hope.  Reaching for hope is a supernatural strategy for breakthrough.

 

The News Outlets release stories of horror and evil that stir up fear and anxiety and this last week’s cycle was especially ugly.  The continuous stream of news can turn your soul inside out and feed your fear.   In my experience, partnering with fear never helps anything, so instead I try to practice trust. I do that by calling on the name of God, reaching for hope instead.

 

So, what does that even mean?

 

Well, let me just start with this: I don’t watch a lot of news. (Gasp!)

While I believe news and being informed is important, I have come to the conclusion that not all news is equal.  Discernment is important so I keep my eyes open, but I don’t feed on it.

 

In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon said this,

 

“History merely repeats itself.  It has all been done before.  Nothing under the sun is truly new! Sometimes people say, ‘Here is something new!’ But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.  We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

 

In my own personal battle with fear, I realized I needed to change my position. I kept hearing the word “TRUST” and as I pressed in I began to realize that this was the voice of God.   After a while I began to wonder what would happen if I actually did.   What would happen if I trusted God?

 

 

 

 

 

Reaching for Hope is About Looking Up

 

I LOVE Psalm 121, because it is full of promise from beginning to end.  This is a good place to dwell, when the News cycle is scary and painful.  The first verses are declarative, reminding your heart and soul to focus on the power of God.  The rest of the psalm is promise.  Promises of God are good, because God doesn’t lie.

 

“The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.  The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”  Psalm 121:5-8

 

When evil and heartache come close or land right on you there is a reckoning that must happen.   You cannot control life, but you can control how you deal with it.  Your reaction is still your choice.  I know, it sounds radical, but reaching for hope by looking up at the LORD can become your first choice over fear and anxiety. I can say that because it’s the very lesson I’ve been learning to practice in my life.

 

This is an imperfect world, so bad things happen.  Bad things will happen to you and those around you, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t present or won’t deliver you.  God is sovereign and how he chooses to rescue is His way to decide.  I don’t pretend to understand His will, but I do trust Him because He has proven himself faithful even in some very difficult situations. God’s way is always best!

 

 

 

 

Reaching for Hope is About Remembering the Promise

 

Have you ever noticed as you read through Old Testament accounts, how often God told his people to build an altar to remember what He had done?  When Israel came across the Jordan River on their way to take the Promised Land, God told them to build an altar from stones collected from the dry river bed (Joshua 4).

 

Why?

 

It was a mile marker of remembrance.  God wanted them to have something tangible to help them remember how he had taken care of them.

 

The entire Bible exists as a written account of the great things God has said and done for the sake of his children.  Remembering how God has shown up in the past stirs and inspires faith to hope for things in the now and the later.  Reaching for hope remembers what God has done to fuel faith for what is going on now.

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.  Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2

 

The Resurrection Power of God is the best testimony to remember! The Gospel always wins.  When you focus on bad news, rehearsing only its context of facts, you open the way for the fear. Reaching for hope is the way back to God.

 

 

 

 

Reaching for Hope is About Alignment

 

The horrific realities of events like this last week’s bombing in Manchester have the potential to create mass hysteria. The senseless acts of a mindset of hate stirs up more of the same, especially with the gravity of loss.  We live in a world where evil is alive and no one is immune.

 

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.  This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.  Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power of leader or anything else–not only in this world but in the world to come.” Ephesians 1:19-21

 

God has already won and that is the truth.  You have a choice:  align yourself with God or with the lies birthed out of bad news. Reaching for hope aligns you with God, who is Most High.  Alignment with God is about position and connection.  Reaching for hope keeps that alignment right, which helps you see things from a heaven’s eyes.  Perspective is everything, my friend.

 

 

 

 

Reaching for Hope Activates the Power of God

 

Cultivate the habit of reaching for hope; it’s the best way to fortify your faith.  There are many things that help lead you in your choice, but it all needs to be submitted and surrendered before the LORD.  Feelings are great indicators but they do not tell the whole story, so avoid the temptation of going with your gut!

 

God loves it when you hold hope in the face of adversity.  Hope is when you believe God, trusting Him when the situation looks impossible.  That is the very testimony of David in his battle against Goliath (You can read the whole story in 1 Samuel 17:32-51).

 

David believed God when the rest of his nation, including his King, was too afraid.  All of Israel took the threat of the Philistines and camped out in fear.  David’s hope was in God and that is what enabled him to face the giant. He believed God’s promise and walked into it with Him.  God defeated the giant using David’s act of faith with a sling shot and a stone.  No one saw that coming.

 

You have to learn to keep your eyes fixed above the circumstances because God is greater.  Don’t watch the score board because it doesn’t reflect the future, it simply registers what has already happened.  Yes, there are land mines planted by the enemy intended to hurt you, but God is greater and will lead you through the difficult places to bring you to the place of ultimate healing. The only way through is by reaching for hope.

 

 

 

 

Reaching for Hope is All in the Design!

 

You were created by God, for God.  Your life was His idea and everything about you is wired to receive from Him.  You were not created to live independently; you were created to live with God in the context of community.  Self-Sufficiency is not the end goal so pursuing it will always be met with frustration and defeat.  Remember that the pursuit of this very thing is what got Lucifer expelled from heaven.

 

As I was praying this morning, the LORD brought me to a familiar passage that many of us love to hate.

 

“Dear brothers and sister, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” James 1:2-3

 

I will confess there was a time I audibly groaned as I read this passage.  I really struggled to imagine joy and trials in the same space, but God is relentless in his pursuit for his kids.  He wants nothing less than what He planned from the start.

 

You and I were created with a default that requires help from God.  It’s not a malfunction or imperfection, it was a purposeful design.  Your neediness is NOT a flaw, it’s a gift.  I know, just take a moment and breathe…Okay, now go ahead and embrace it!

 

 

 

 

Reaching for Hope Is Opens the Way for God’s Provision

 

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”   Philippians 4:19

 

Listen, it’s not just that God will provide it’s that he is the provision.  He is your portion every day for all things.  His presence in your life connects you to all of His ability, strength, experience, creative skill, love, grace, and power–every resource of God is accessible here and now.  This is how He takes care of you.

 

This gift of provision works best when used the way he designed it–in the context of dependence.  God is self-sufficient and all-powerful; we are not.  Reaching for Hope is God’s provision in the face of evil because it becomes the thing that connects you to him; it’s the first step of surrender.

 

God provides himself and everything he has so that you can know fulfillment.  God’s desire is that you know full restoration and healing because His plan is perfect.  The broken-ness of this world can’t overpower God, although the enemy will try.  Hope is the way you go to get your soul into the safe places.  Hope leads the way to breakthrough.

 

Reaching for hope is the act of agreeing with God and His promises.  Hope activates faith, which enables you see above and beyond the circumstances.  Think about hope as a life line.  Reaching for hope is the active choice of faith that tethers you to the most powerful one of all–God.  Hope acknowledges need and believes for provision.

 

 

 

 

Reaching for Hope in all things

 

To bear witness to the atrocities of life is difficult and painful, but God doesn’t abandon his beloved.  He is here, now, grieving right along with the rest of us over the horrific things of this present time.  He grieves because it is senseless and there is a better way.

 

“I have told you all these things so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33

 

Reaching for hope opens the floodgates of God’s goodness, because hope is a choice that involves surrender.  Hope looks at the light.  Sustained hope not only sees the light, but steps into it.

 

 

 

 

There is supernatural provision available, but only accessible in the presence of God.  God has wired you and equipped you to handle issues and challenges, but only when you are connected to him-the ultimate power source.  Hope opens the door for faith and faith opens the door for the LORD.  Faith believes God even when the darkness closes in, because He settled all of this through the finished work of the cross.