Hope

Blog written by Rachel Curley, Caseworker, at Family Life Services.

Hope is a word that I remember studying in depth when I was waiting for my husband. It was years after college, most of my friends were already married with kids, and the relationship I was in, had just ended.

God, what does hope look like now?

Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”. Well, I can tell you coming out of that broken relationship, my heart was definitely feeling sick! Does God have marriage for me? - I wondered. What if He has chosen me to be single so that I am more free to serve Him? “Lord, won’t you please just tell me that you have marriage for me, if I can just know that you have it at the end of this hard road, I will be able to trust you”...this was my prayer.

Then, so clearly, I heard the Lord say, “That is exactly why I am not telling you, because I want you to trust, to have faith, to hope. My plans are not your plans; my ways are not your ways”.  I finally surrendered to His ultimate plan and came to the place where I could respond with “Lord, renew my hope; give me fresh perspective on my life. It’s not about getting married or having a family, sure, those things would be nice, but it’s about my relationship with You, it’s about bringing You glory. If I can bring You more glory single, then single it is! God, You know my heart, you know my desires, and I trust you with them”.

What is it that you hope for today? Are you certain of what you hope for? Where does your hope lie? I encourage you to do your own study on “Hope” and let us know what you discover! Here are some verses to get you started: Hebrews 11:1, Psalm 39:7, and Romans 8:24-25; 15:13