Finding Hope Again - The Crosswalk Devotional - August 4

Finding Hope Again
By Aaron D’Anthony Brown

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28

Longing for the End
In the midst of suffering, we often want to escape, distract ourselves, and lighten the load. At our worst, we want to die. Suffering is difficult, and though we can often see the merits once the hardship has passed, we would much rather have control over how, when, and how long we suffer. Without those elements, we struggle and are tempted to despair. Yet, God’s Word informs us our suffering serves a purpose. His purpose. Though we long to end our toils, God’s Word indicates our struggles have meaning. Meaning that often eludes our understanding at the moment.

Giving advice to someone else who’s in a predicament usually comes easily. We offer them not only potential solutions but clarity. When the roles are reversed, however, even after we hear someone’s suggestions, confusion remains. The situation can leave our perspective clouded. And the more dire the situation or, the longer the suffering lasts, the greater our angst. We lose hope, figuring our best days are behind us. Thankfully, this is not true. Our suffering will not last forever, and our best days can lie ahead. But first, we have to change our perspective. With a change in perspective, our longing for the end can become hope for a new beginning.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Biblical hope can be described as optimism about the future rooted in God. There are a myriad of verses preaching the importance of hope, but we don’t always know how to attain such a mindset, especially when we feel distant from the Lord.

Here are several things we ought to do if we want to change our perspective and find hope again.

Pray
If we want to connect with God, then we have to talk to Him. Whatever you’re going through and however you feel, God wants to talk to you. He wants to talk even if you feel betrayed, angry, saddened, or disappointed because of Him. As the loving Father, He is available to listen at any time to your open and honest dialogue.

Read
When we want to know God’s wisdom about a certain subject, we can read His Word. Scripture outlines many tenets and wise ways to live life for us. The Bible also helps us understand the need for hope. Without believing in God’s promise for the future, we find ourselves stuck in a dour present and dread anything that comes with the future.

Worship
Sometimes we pray, and sometimes we read, and our innermost feelings still don’t change. What helps is finding other ways to worship, such as through song and dance. Listening to the lyrics another believer has created gives us a chance to see God from someone else’s perspective, which could serve as a helpful foil to our own. Or the words could simply give us a new perspective on a situation. When we dance, we give our minds a rest from deep thinking and stress and simply exist with God in the moment.

Give Thanks
An attitude of gratitude prevents us from growing bitter even when we struggle throughout life. In fact, gratitude helps us remember how the Lord provides for us and other people. Thanksgiving also serves to keep us humble, knowing what we have is not to be taken for granted, no matter how bleak life may seem.

Confess
Our natural tendency is to blame external reasons for why we do not have hope, but if we’re being truthful, sometimes we are the reason for our misfortune. When we take the time to look inward, we recognize the ways in which we impede our own progress, and we learn to stop blaming other people or God for our problems.

Be Humble
The proud believe in themselves, but the humble believe in God. The humble also take the time to remember the suffering of others. When we do so, we keep in perspective that our situation could always be worse.

Learn
Being teachable is crucial to the life of a believer. If we are to follow God wholeheartedly, we have to be willing to grow and trade in old ideas for new and holier ones. We’re sinful people, and sin naturally leads to death, then despair. God offers a better alternative, but He gives us the free will to choose it.

Keep Trying
There will be times when we want to stop trying. There may be many times, in fact, but if God’s promises are true, then we can count on them to be fulfilled. We have no authority over when, but we can have confidence what God says will come to pass.

The suffering we face today is arduous, but as Paul said, our present-day problems are not worth comparing to the glory of God, which will be revealed.

Further Reading (and Listening):

Romans 8:18
Psalm 13
Psalm 23:1-4
Hebrews 11:1
Romans 15:13
Jeremiah 29:11
“Real Love” by Kirk Franklin
“All Things Are Working” by Fred Hammond

Aaron D'Anthony Brown is a freelance writer, hip-hop dance teacher, and visual artist, living in Virginia. He currently contributes work to iBelieve, Crosswalk, and supports various clients through the platform Upwork. He's an outside-the-box thinker with a penchant for challenging the status quo. Check out his short story “Serenity.”