Hope

"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

Since I moved to the OBX, I've been battling discouragement. Ministry is hard. Leadership can be lonely especially in a new place. Relationships change and, in some cases, end. Lately, I've been on the upswing. Cynicism is the norm for me; it comes with the calling to reform; you tend to be frustrated by the things that need to be fixed. However, I've found renewal in hope.

Hope is the trusting expectation that God is at work to redeem. Yes, we live in a fallen world. Sometimes life brings what seem like insurmountable obstacles. Or maybe we just experience disappointment, frustration. We can't always change what life brings, but we can change how we react to it. Hope helps me get up in the morning and say (and, yes, sometimes it's hard to convince myself to be this positive at 7 AM), "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Why fear or dwell on the past when God can allow us to move forward in His presence and with His purpose? Discouragement is about me: how I'm disappointed, I'm feeling lonely, I'm not good enough. Hope is about what God can do: how he changes lives, is always with us, and empowers us to be more than we are. Don't let the Deceiver trap you in fear and self-pity; place unswerving hope in the One who's defeated death!

So, this new Bebo Norman song has become my anthem, a victory song. May God give you the hope he's given me!

"Step out into the day,
all the clouds and all the rain are gone.
It's over now.
Step out into the sun,
we've only begun to know
what it's all about.
As the hungrying dark gives way to the dawn, my love.
It's over now."
-- Into the Day by Bebo Norman