Hope and healing

You can access better hope than the one you have now. 

One of my favorite movies is Annie. One song always inspires hope: “The sun will come out tomorrow…” I’ve got to admit...sometimes it feels like the sun won’t come out tomorrow. COVID and our attempts to prevent death have placed a very dark cloud over the world. Some have lost hope.

Hope is such an important aspect of all of our lives, and I believe it’s key to all seven spheres of health we talked about yesterday. Hope is the expectation of a better future and life. 

friend, do you expect a better future? Have your hopes been crushed by adversity or delays? The Bible tells us, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12, NKJV) I remember a time in my life when weariness seeped into my heart. Our eldest daughter was in her first year at university when she discovered a lump on her neck. Denise and I heard the news every parent dreads: “Your daughter has cancer.” 

As I look back on that dreadful time, I remember the trauma, the bad news, and more bad news. My daughter’s courage was incredible. My wife’s strength was completely insane, and I was crushed. It’s as if someone had punched me in the gut. I was completely useless until one day God dropped a verse in my mind: “‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’” (Genesis 50:20, NIV) 

friend, do you need this verse right now? Are you facing setbacks, pain, or illness? God wants to reinstill hope in you. Things can change. You can change. God is sending you help.

Today, God is announcing good news of great joy: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3, NIV).  

Please be hopeful in Christ because you are a miracle, and He has great plans for you.