'Day One' Blog

HOPE for Real

How is your HOPE meter registering these days? And how about your people? These days I’m finding there’s a major HOPE deficit no matter where I turn, (which of course means that people are despairing at an all time high). Do you wonder why? Why so much hopelessness?

The Word of God is very specific about the necessity of having HOPE. And it’s very specific about the Source of HOPE. The picture is of a human soul metaphorically anchored to GOD, (Hebrews 6). There is no other reliable place to anchor our souls. Any other anchoring will fail. Anchoring to GOD cannot fail. No new news here for Christ followers…

However, I am learning afresh that I have been thinking far too narrowly about HOPE, settling for an elementary understanding when something far more significant is right under my nose. Can you identify? And if so, might this be a clue as to why HOPE is plummeting in record proportions, (more about that in the next post). For now, I wonder how the following thoughts, along with the scripture references below, will strike you. Perhaps the LORD will speak to you as He has been to me.

THREE THOUGHTS ABOUT HOPE ~
~ HOPE appears to be a treasured commodity, one produced through very specific means (think how a pearl or a diamond come to be what they are).
~ HOPE is an essential. Its polar-opposite is despair. People experiencing despair struggle to find a reason to keep living. People of HOPE remain anchored in the midst of all manner of hardship.
~ Hope wanes. No one is always HOPE-filled. When hope wanes and I cannot waken my own soul, my brothers and sisters in Christ are meant to stand at the ready… to HOPE for me until I get my feet again.

I’m looking forward to posting again soon, to flesh out what I’m learning as thoughts keeps percolating in the company of God. I would love to hear from you too if the Spirit is speaking to you about HOPE.

“Hope means hoping when things are hopeless,
or it is no virtue at all…
As long as matters are really hopeful,
hope is mere flattery or platitude;
it is only when everything is hopeless
that hope begins to be a strength.”

G.K. Chesterton

~For reflection~
Romans 5:3-4; 15:4,
I Corinthians 13:7,
Psalm 130:5-6,
Lamentations 3:24-25,
1 Peter 3:14-16

18 Comments

  • Debra S Jackson

    I HOPE to see you soon so we can talk about hope! I am hopeful that this will be a hopefilled time together! See you Monday!
    :) Love you girlfriend.

  • Holly

    It’s a lot easier to have hope when things are going well isn’t it… but that’s not really hope is it!!!when hope wanes and we can stand in the gap for one another and be encouraged to find our hope in him and receive his strength…that’s when we know hope..our experiences can take us back there again and again

  • Kristen Kimes

    When people ask what stands out to me about Christ, what means the most to me, I always answer “hope.” There is truly something to that word and it’s meaning to us as Christ followers—it is not rooted in something perishable—it is rooted in our Everlasting God—even He is that Hope. His character in that He is unchanging, everlasting, faithful and sovereign—in that I hope. In these times of unrest in our world, I am all the more convinced I need more and more time in His Word..that He who is that hope might remain in me and I in Him. ❤️

  • Allan Sawyer

    Anne,
    Great post, and the video was a nice touch, except that I was staring at your really nice microphone, but then though, “well, of course Anne has a really nice microphone at home!”

    My life verse on the topic of hope comes 10 chapters later in Romans, in chapter 15. “May the God of hope will 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.” (15:13) It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can find joy and hope. I can’t think of an example of where true joy can be found outside of the Holy Spirit. People may have glimpses of true joy, but it is fleeting, like at the moment of birth of a child or grandchild.

    The comments of other followers are wonderful. Thank you for doing this blog. I look forward to each one. Allan

    • Anne Barbour

      Thanks so much Allan – I’ve been in Romans 15 as well as I’ve been exploring the last few weeks! It’s difficult to reconcile the “now and not yet” aspects of walking the planet until Christ returns. But He is gracious to help us hold those tensions!

  • June Turner

    What a magnificent topic, Hope, to turn over for inspection. Because God is so faithful, the power in hope becomes a sustaining force.
    I’m looking forward to what God will continue to download into you on this topic. I believe it will bring new life to the many who’ve never even considered the idea of hope in their most despairing of times.

    • Anne Barbour

      Thank you June! To introduce HOPE is to introduce God, its source. I too pray there might be readers who will discover HOPE, maybe for the first time, as they discover the Lord and His invitation to them to draw near through faith in Jesus! Thanks so much for your comments!

  • Jo Anne T

    Truth!! If my hope was not anchored in my Hope, I would have lost it the evening of the 14th of September when my husband began having trouble breathing, and then his heart stopped due to blood clots in both lungs. Bless God that He sustained both Denny and myself through this long ordeal! 12 days in ICU, then 11 days on the medical floor of our hospital, and now 4 days into rehab, and Denny may be able to come home either next Tuesday or Wednesday! Despite the medical doctors and staff telling us he might not ever function at 100% again!!! God has displayed His glory through this entire time, and we both are forever grateful. And lives of our non-believing friends are being touched by this journey. Not our choice, but God’s.

  • Jessica Navarro

    Thanks for sharing your heart ♥️
    I think when I was younger I claimed to have hope in God because I knew and stood firm in the truths and promises of scripture. It wasn’t fake, but maybe it just wasn’t fully developed. However now, after walking through trials (with God by my side all the way) I realize how deeply rooted my hope has become because I have experienced the faithfulness of God. He is my hope and he never changes… so the hope I have is never dependent on the circumstances in my life… This is a huge reason why people are in despair. They have put their hope in people and things that absolutely do change.

    • Anne Barbour

      You have this exactly right Jess! We hope in God… and there is no way that hope can do anything but deepen as WE deepen in our experience of Him. Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts!

  • David Willersdorf

    I love this, Anne! Especially about being anchored to God.

    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

    I’ve taken comfort in the above verse. I cannot drum up hope, but I can place my trust.

    Thanks for your wisdom and I’m loving the encouragement that flows through your blog!

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