“Hope Floats”

From B

You won’t find it on your GPS.
It’s not listed on any map.
Rand McNally doesn’t show it’s existence.
It will never be featured on the Travel Channel as the hottest vacation spot.

Yet, it’s a real place.

It’s real because too many of us have LIVED there.
It’s a place called “Hopelessness.”

Life seems to offer no hope. We seem to be driving down the same street in the city called “hopelessness”..
Streets of discouragement. Alley ways of pain and heartache. Street corner shops selling broken dreams and loss.

You have a terminal illness..
You have become a caregiver..
Your spouse has left you..
Your job has ended..
Your child no longer speaks to you..
Your ministry is struggling..
Your prayers seem to go nowhere..

Hope is the antidote to discouragement. The absolute best source of hope is God’s Word. One of the scriptures that gives me encouragement is Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

In this scripture, you see that hoping in God’s word means nothing if we don’t believe that God KEEPS His word.

Do we believe in our temporary feelings more than God’s permanent, never changing, never failing word?

From Y:

Well, we usually write about something that has happened to us recently in our articles. This has been an eventful month to say the least. I can’t remember the last time we were at home relaxing for a day on the back porch. I’ve looked at my husband and said ” I miss you. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” Even though we have been together. We’ve just had the privilege of being witnesses to God’s miracles and the opportunity to be servants for those we love and care about deeply.

I am the type of person that can find an explanation for just about anything that occurs. I believe we have written in the past that I pray for the “neon sign” in the middle of the road so that I know it’s from The Lord. This past several weeks, there have been multiple accounts of The Lord touching lives in the 21st century. In fact, we feel privileged to have witnessed first hand his 21st century miracle.

I’ve heard multiple accounts of how today God doesn’t “touch” people or “work” in our lives the way he did in Old Testament times. I have heard it said that its difficult to have the same kind of faith and hope without evidence.

Well, let me float a question your way…. When you board an airplane, do you put your hope & trust in the mechanics who built the plane that it will get you to your destination without incident? Yet, you’ve never met them. Do you put your trust in the pilot that he knows how to safely get you to your destination? Yet, you’ve never laid eyes on him. He’s the garbled voice you hear intermittently throughout your flight. You trust and hope in his ability, though you’ve never checked his credentials. Isn’t that ironic? The things we put hope in though we haven’t been there to witness it ourselves?

Or another question….. You cross the bridge connecting this piece of land to that piece of land. Do you know the year it was built? Do you know the hands which drew the plans? No. But you trust that someone witnessed to their competency. That someone checked out their diploma and said “Yes, they have completed the required learning for this task”.

Well, when we witness God’s ability and willingness to work in someone’s life, we are the “verifier’s” for generations to come. We are the witness to restoration, healing, love and saving power. We spread the word by testifying for and on behalf of everyone affected now and for generations to come.

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. (Philippians 4:14-17 NIV)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:3-11 NIV)

We are to share in each others sorrows, trials, miracles and victories. We are to ” be there” for one another. Trust me- if we can do it- you can do it. It’s scary sometimes. I get that. You’ve been hurt, betrayed and maybe even abandoned because you allowed yourself to invest in someone and they did not do the same in return. Well, you’re preaching to the choir on that one. Here’s the thing; I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve kept everyone at arms length thinking I’ve been protecting myself. The reality is I’ve been limiting God. I didn’t float hope for a long time. And then one day I got over myself. I have a story and so do you. A story of hope. A story of miracles you have witnessed. Your testimony will give hope to others. There are literally opportunities every single day! There are also opportunities for you to be a piece of someone else’s story by ” showing up” when they need to see the love of God in their lives. The Holy Spirit is alive within us. Be willing to go at his prompting. Listen for that voice inside you that says ” I need to help”. Live it. Today.

From Both:

Do you need hope?

We suggest getting in God’s Word. Pray and seek scriptures that correspond to what you are hoping for in the bible.

For example, let’s say that you are believing for a financial breakthrough. A scripture you can find hope in is, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).”

Maybe you need God to touch you for a physical issue.

Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we ARE healed.”

Speak and pray these scriptures outloud. Write them on index cards where you will see them daily. When you see them, read them out loud. There is power in God’s word!

His Word offers hope!

Trust God that He has everything in control.

So what are some real tangible ways that we can offer HOPE?

1) Pray for them. Make it a point to get on your face before God and call out their name in prayer.

2) Sharing our story with others.
People feel like the hopeless situation that they are facing, will never end. If we relate to them how God brought us (or a friend) through the same type of tragedy, it can give them hope that they can be victorious as well. People look at us as if we can’t relate to what tragedy had happened to them or what mistakes they’ve made unless we’re willing to be vulnerable and transparent and witness what The Lord has done in our lives. Be willing to admit to your past and follow up with the amazing things God has done in your life. This is your testimony~ share it.

3) Put legs on your prayers. We are called to be the hands and feet of God.

Our words are sometimes cheap. Y has coined the phrase “Love is not what we say; love is what we do.” You show up! Love is shown when its ” inconvenient”. The call in the middle of the night, or re-arranging your schedule, giving up your day off to be God’s servant. There is nothing more gratifying than being able to be there in someone’s time of need.

Visiting in the hospital, take them dinner one evening, call/text them and let them know you are praying are only a few ways to “float hope” to someone.
Let them know (and SEE) that you care and that God is faithful.

Be the “hands & feet” of God and float hope to one another.

The Hutsons 2013