From Hopeless to Hopeful
Café Menu for Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Today’s Special is: Having Hope in the Hard Times
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Savannah Parvu
Main Ingredient:
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;
Psalm 34:18-19 NIV
Entrée:
Due to traumatic events growing up, depression is something I have struggled with many times in my life. I know what it’s like to constantly feel sad and for life to seem completely hopeless. When I look back on those times life just seemed so dark and lonely and it’s not a place I wish for anyone to be.
Six years ago I gave my life to the Lord and I have been learning His Word. Today’s Scripture quickly became one of my favorite Scriptures because it made me realize that God knows we can be brokenhearted and have troubles, but the Scripture assured me that He is right there with us. The Scripture also warns us that the righteous person will have many troubles, BUT the Lord will deliver us from them all. When we trust God and His Word, there is such hope in just that Scripture alone.
In Romans 12:2, we learn we are not to conform to the patterns of the world, but be renewed by the transforming of our mind. When we think negatively or constantly worry about the difficulties we are facing, it’s easy to fall into a pit of depression. We have to train our minds to focus on the Lord and what His Word says. Paul tells us what we should think about:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 NIV
Because we live in such a fallen world I believe there will always be seasons of sadness or times when we are not as happy as we would like to be, but there is good news! Since I have given my life to the Lord, I have something I never had before when I experienced depression. I have HOPE!
I no longer fall into a deep pit of depression because I now have hope. The Lord is my hope and I know He is with me and will not leave me. Even when sadness comes, it no longer takes over because I set my mind on things above. Life is no longer hopeless, because the Lord is my hope.
Take Out:
Take time today to pray and ask God to make you aware of your thoughts so you can begin to renew your mind. Evaluate the thoughts you have throughout the day.
Are they negative thoughts that would cause you to feel down or are they positive truthful thoughts?
If negative thoughts come up ask God to help you replace them with positive ones.
Dessert:
Dear Lord, thank You for loving us unconditionally. Thank You for giving us hope when we feel as if our world is crumbling. Thank You for never leaving us and for always providing us with a hope that can only be found in You.
© 2015 by Savannah Parvu. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Tuesday, 15 September 2015.
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