Get Your Hopes Up
by Kaytlyn Cobb
I recently experienced some unexpected changes in my life. It was hard to process and accept, and I was left with a lot of uncertainty and disappointment. After dealing with the natural grief responses and processing, my can-do, I-got-this attitude kicked in and I started doing all the things to remedy my newfound situation. I did all the “right” things one would do in a situation like mine and guess what? Nothing. There was no resolve, no fixing…just my empty hands and a lot of humility.
Can I be honest about something? Praying was hard. Just dealing with the “I’m disappointed in my situation” was hard enough, but now, not having a clear path for the next steps had me feeling pretty defeated and hopeless. As I sat confused and frustrated, the Holy Spirit was good and kind to remind me of His nearness and reveal the sin in my life.
You see, I was exploring a next-step opportunity and found myself unable and unwilling to pray. I would like to say it was because I trusted God so much with what He had for me and His sovereignty over my life and the situation, but friends, it wasn't that at all. I was not at the feet of the Father in prayer because actually, I didn't trust Him at all. I wanted to pull myself up and out because I didn't trust the good God had for me. What if God didn't open the door? I was already disappointed in my situation enough, I didn't want to be disappointed in God, too.
The God of Hope
Romans 15:13 says, “now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The sacred act of prayer is releasing control from myself back to God. It’s acknowledging that He is Lord and I am not, and that our hope for any and all circumstances rests in His hands. And as we believe and trust Him we are filled with joy and peace and hope overflows in us! He is a God of hope - and His faithfulness revealed through Scripture and my own experiences are a testament that I can hope even when life is hard.
I can be confident that my hope in this God is not misplaced because I know His character. When humanity was lost and separated from Him because of our own choice to rebel and go our own way, He gave Himself to rescue and redeem us. When we were His enemies, He died for us, taking the righteous punishment for our sin and giving us His perfect life instead. Then He rose from the grave victorious over sin, death, and human rebellion. I know I can trust Him because of who He has already proven Himself to be in Jesus Christ.
All I Can Do Is Pray
So many times when there is a problem in life I like to do all the things to bring remedy and resolve and when the problem remains I will catch myself saying, “well…all I can do is pray,” and treat prayer like a last resort solution. But- there is a better way! We can approach the throne like Paul’s instruction in Philippians, “...but in everything through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (verse 6). When prayer is a last resort, we walk through situations relying only on ourselves and it leaves us pretty hopeless. But, if we heed Paul’s instructions to pray first, we get to walk through a circumstance hand in hand with our God who sees and knows, who is not far from us or our circumstances. This results in hope.
Romans 5:5 says, “This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” I can believe and trust that no matter how this circumstance works out, God was with me and before me every step of the way. Even if it means closed doors and disappointments, I can trust God with those, too. Hope in Him will not disappoint.
There’s freedom in asking and surrendering to His plan rather than the never-ending working our hardest to solve life’s problems on our own and then asking God to catch up to whatever solution we’ve arranged. I think prayer is a gift that keeps this reality in check. Without it, I know I would keep striving and working in my own strength and plans. Prayer grounds me. I stop, I seek, I listen, and I hand my life over and over to Him and trust Him as Lord. He’s a God of all things big and small. I can get my hopes up with Him.