3 keys to keeping hope alive
The power of our thoughts
Our minds are powerful. The thoughts we ruminate on direct our feelings and actions.
When hope seems lost, we can find ourselves fixated on the problem. You’ve heard the saying, “What you focus on grows.” Focus on the problem, and the problem expands – if only in our imaginations of possible outcomes.
I believe there exists a biblical principle to this idea on the side of hope.
Lamentations 3:21 “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.”
What are we calling to mind?
Some problems are overwhelming. In the waiting season, it’s tempting to lose hope. This is exactly when we need to activate our minds to renew our hope.
Remembering who God is and what He has done is the key to keeping hope alive.
In Lamentations, the author knew the secret to stoking the embers of hope.
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:21-25
Develop the discipline
Training our minds to think on the power and person of God rather than the anxiety of our problems takes practice.
- Recognize the thought
- Redirect the thought
- Reframe the thought
Recognize: We become so well-acquainted with our thought patterns, it take practice to recognize the thought that needs to change.When our minds keep taking us to our worries, we must first recognize it’s happening.
Redirect: After we recognize our thought patterns that need to change, we must decide to change the direction of our thoughts towards God. “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
Reframe: We remind ourselves who God is. We recall His faithfulness and goodness.
Peace and Hope
Lamentations 3:21 reminds us that when we call to mind the character of God, we have hope. Hope is never dead because Jesus is alive and well. He is our hope. We have to train our minds to stay fixed on Him rather than our overwhelming worries in this life. When we do this, we have hope and peace.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3
I wrote a 14 day devotional to help you develop the discipline of redirecting your mind toward God. It takes practice to learn the art of remembering the character and nature of God, but when we master it, our lives change.
Illuminate is available in audio or ebook format. Click here to download.
