Chapter 2 – Hope…What Are You Hoping For? Part 1 of 2

“Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”  Song of Songs 2:7b

Many
years ago my Tuesday night Bible Study group did Tommy Nelson’s A Study of
Love, Sex, Marriage and Romance.  I
wasn’t dating anyone at the time and at the beginning of the study I wondered,
“Why even come? Why do I need to hear about romance when I’m not even dating
anyone?”  Thankfully, the Gardners, the
leaders of the group, convinced me to stick with it.  Tommy Nelson made a point that has forever
changed my lookout.  “It is better to be
single and have hope than to be in a hopeless marriage.”  If that was the only thing I got out of the
two months (I got a lot out of Tommy Nelson, and I highly recommend this study
series) it was well worth it for that giant statement.

So,
in your life, where is your hope?  Do you
feel like you are single, searching with incredible hope and faith that God has
something great in store? Or have you settled down to your mundane life and
given up on hope?  Most people would
think that searching for a lifetime would be horrible, but if you are searching
with God, is there a better life?

I
don’t want this devotional to veer onto marriage, but I see how faith and
marriage mirror one another.  One night
when I was having supper with my friends, a married couple, the wife looked at
me sincerely, “Eric, are you happy?”  The
question startled me because she thought that since I was single I must not be
happy.  “Yes, I am very happy.” I
answered and wondered, should I have asked them the same question?  Sadly, I look around at many marriages and if
I asked that question to them, I bet they would say the same thing I did. Only they
would be lying through their teeth.  They
jumped into love to quickly because it was time for them to get married. So,
are you happy?

This
may sound strange, but don’t jump into your dreams to quickly, because after a
week or two you may hit rock bottom and be in a hopeless life.  I believe that is the worst life to
live.  Do not become a Christian robot.  Feel the love of God.  Express your heart to Him, the good and the
bad.  Show your true colors of
faith.  Don’t get tied down by your life,
but let your life run free with hope. 
Are you tied or are you free? 
What do you need to do to untie your knots?

If
you feel like you are in a hopeless life, God can change that.  It will not be easy; it will take time; it
will probably hurt, but it will be worth it. 
It may be similar to someone sitting in the dark for days lonely,
starving, and afraid.  It is a bad
existence, but you have adapted to the surroundings.  Your vision may have even adapted to see the hard-cold
brick walls.  When finally the doors open,
you are excited about your freedom. But when the bright light shines into your
eyes, you are blinded.  At first the
shock of the light startles you and you sink back into the darkness because it
was familiar; it was comfortable; it was what you knew.  Please don’t sit a lifetime in the dark
because that is what you are used to. Get up and walk in the blinding
light.  It is going to be hard and you
may bump into many things along the way. But eventually, it will be well worth all
the stumbling.  If you fall, get back up.

Please
hold onto hope. Relationships can be mended. Marriages can be rekindled. Dreams
can be awaken. A phoenix rising from the ashes is mythical, but God has done
greater things than that. Far greater.

Daily Scripture – Psalm 16

If you enjoyed this devotional, check out my book, Dream Chasers – A Journey of Faith. Peace