Get Your Hopes Up!: Expect Something Good to Happen to You Every Day (10 page)

Have you ever noticed that Jesus didn’t talk about His problems? He could have; He had to deal with a lot of the same things you and I have to deal with. Jesus had a hectic schedule. Jesus encountered rude and obnoxious people. Jesus faced tough situations. Not to mention the fact that He knew He was going to suffer terribly and die on the cross for the sins of the world.

But when you read the Gospels, you never hear Jesus saying anything critical or that could be defined as complaining or murmuring.
He obviously knew the power of words. When the time for His suffering and death was near, He told His disciples that He would not be talking with them much from now on (see John 14:30). Why would He say that? It was because He knew the power of words, and He also knew how tempting it is to say all the wrong things when we are going through difficult or painful times. He knew that His Father had a plan for the salvation of man and that it hinged on Him, and He was determined to do everything necessary to stay in agreement with God, including speaking words that God could use, not ones that the devil could use.

Of course, Jesus talked about many things, including sin. There were times when Jesus scolded the Pharisees and corrected His disciples. As you read the Gospels, you find that Jesus talked about a lot of things, but His problems weren’t one of them. Luke 4:22 says that the people “marveled at the words of grace that came forth from His mouth.” Jesus was on a mission, and He wasn’t about to get sidelined by focusing on the everyday problems of life. He said that His words were spirit and life (see John 6:63).

Are your words spirit and life, or carnal (fleshly) and death? The good news is that you can make a change right now if you need to. I am the first to admit that the mouth is impossible to control without
a lot of help from God. However, if we make the right decision and come into agreement with God’s will in this area, He will certainly help us make positive changes.

Jesus instructs us to take the narrow path that leads to life and to avoid the broad path that leads to destruction (see Matthew 7:13–14). Obviously, the narrow path is more difficult to walk on. I always say that on the narrow path there is no room for our carnal, fleshly ways. We can go through life saying what we feel like saying and having no regard for the power of our words, but that puts us on the broad path that Jesus said leads to destruction, and I doubt that any of us want that.

It’s easy to get focused on the things that aren’t going right. It seems like so many of our conversations are focused on what’s going wrong rather than what’s going right. They are not hope-full, they are hopeless!
The kids are sick. The traffic is terrible. My feet hurt. The economy is down. Can you believe what she said about me? I can’t afford that
. But the more we talk about what’s going wrong, the more power we give it in our life.

Have you ever considered that you might be making your problems worse by talking about them excessively? Have you ever considered that you might not be making progress in life due to complaining? I certainly had not considered these things until the Holy Spirit confronted me about them, and I am so glad that He did because we can’t change any area of our lives where we lack knowledge.

When you’re going through a trying time, the best thing you can do is stop talking about how big your problem is and start talking about how big God is. Take some time each day to meditate
on God’s Word and speak His promises over your situation. Power comes pouring in when you focus on what can happen with God on your side instead of what is happening in your life right now.

You may not always feel positive, and you may not always want to speak positive words. There are going to be days when you wake up feeling downright terrible. These are the days when it is really easy to be bitter, to complain, to have a pessimistic view of life. But you don’t have to live subject to your feelings. Feelings are fickle—they change quickly depending on any number of factors.

One of the main points I want to make in this book is that we are to hope on purpose. We cannot sit around and wish we felt it, or even just pray we had it. We choose to be “hope-full” (full of hope) each day. One of the most amazing things about having free will is that we can choose our attitudes, thoughts, words, and actions. I am sure, if you are like me, the first thing you like to think when you have done the wrong thing is
I just can’t help it
, and then that is followed with some sort of excuse for why you didn’t do right.

It might play out like this:
I wish I felt hopeful, but I just don’t have anything very happy going on in my life. I can’t be expected to have a positive outlook when all I see is trouble everywhere I look. If I had the advantages a lot of people do, then my attitude would be better
. But it could be like this:
My circumstances are not very good right now, but I choose to be full of hope. I am expecting something good to happen in my life today! Yes, something good is going to happen to me and through me!

Doing this on purpose on a daily basis even when you don’t feel like it will ultimately change the way you feel. Your feelings will bow to your decisions in due time. No matter how circumstances look, any day with Jesus is better than any day without Him. We can always be hopeful because He loves us, He is for us, and He can change anything! He is a God of justice, and He makes wrong things right!

On days when you feel discouraged, decide you’re not going to let those feelings control your life. Instead of having a negative outlook and speaking negative words, make declarations that are in agreement with God’s Word!

I’ve been preaching almost 40 years, and I still meditate on and declare God’s Word almost every day of my life. No matter what I feel like, I remind myself who I am in Christ—and you can do the same thing. Don’t wait for somebody else to cheer you up; stir yourself up in the Lord.

I like to think of this as a little personal pep rally. If you ever attended a pep rally in middle school or high school, you know what I’m talking about. A pep rally is when the cheerleaders cheer, the band plays, and the student body gets ready for the big game. A pep rally is a celebration based on an expected victory. Even though the team hasn’t won yet, the cheering has already begun.

Well, you certainly have something to cheer about in your life. No matter what opposition you are facing, God is on your side, and He is undefeated. So go ahead and have a pep rally—get excited about the victory God is bringing in your life.

2 Chronicles chapter 20 tells the story of a large army that came against King Jehoshaphat and the army of Judah. The people were
afraid because they knew they were vastly outnumbered (see 2 Chronicles 20:15). Have you ever felt that way, or do you perhaps feel that way now? Do you feel that your problems are simply too great for you to ever come out the winner?

Jehoshaphat was informed that the battle wasn’t his but God’s. Armed with that word from the Lord, Jehoshaphat prepared his army for battle. But he did something much different for this battle. Instead of lining up his fiercest warriors at the front of the battle lines as everyone expected him to do, Jehoshaphat gave that position to the worshippers. 2 Chronicles 20:21 says:

Jehoshaphat began the battle with praise. What a picture that must have been—an entire army marching out for battle under the banner of praise.

The Bible says in verse 22 that as “they began to sing and to praise,” God confused the enemy armies. Instead of fighting against Judah, these people turned against each other in confusion. By the time Jehoshaphat and his army arrived on the scene, the enemy was destroyed. God had won the battle just as He promised.

I believe the devil gets confused when we praise God in the midst of times when we should be fearful and complaining. Praise and thanksgiving actually defeat him.

Praise is a powerful weapon. It declares that you trust God and are completely depending on Him. Don’t wait for your circumstance to change before you speak words of hope. Let me be as plain as I can be: No matter what is happening in your life right now, don’t let any sickness, or problem, or loss, or fear of impending trouble keep you from praising God. Choose your words carefully, open your
mouth, and boldly declare that God is faithful and you are expecting something good to happen in your life.

Romans 4:20 says Abraham “grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God.” The same thing happens in your life when you speak words of praise—you grow strong and you are empowered by faith to overcome every obstacle you may be facing. Put praise on the front lines of your life!

When people are full of hope, they are expecting something good to happen to them, and you can tell by the things they say. They’re confident good things will happen in their circumstances, they’re excited that change is in the air, they’re expecting breakthrough—so that’s what they love to talk about. Hopeful people are optimistic and upbeat. They are fun to be around. Hope is contagious! It is one of the best gifts we can give anyone. Why not see yourself as a dispenser of hope? It is one of the things that our society today is desperately in need of. I especially feel empathy for our teens and young adults these days. They need all the encouragement they can get!

The world, our schools, and our universities often convey a message that God is a myth or at best someone who doesn’t need to be considered or discussed. The world seems to be trying to tuck God away in a corner, almost as if He is an embarrassment. As a teenager, I remember God being openly talked about in all sectors of society. He was part of everyday conversation. We saw the Ten Commandments on school walls, and public prayer was a common occurrence. My parents were not godly people, but I still heard about God in school and from neighbors. Our youth today don’t have that benefit, and it is easy for them to be hopeless.

Many parents are busy trying to make ends meet and have little or no time to spend with their children. Stress in the family often provokes
parents to nag their teens about their clothing, the way they style (or don’t style) their hair, choices of friends, grades, chores left undone, and countless other things. I certainly believe parents need to correct their children, but perhaps if the children had more hope, they wouldn’t need so much correction! If they are not getting it, they leave home each day feeling hopeless before they even face the rest of the world, which will more than likely only add to their hopeless state. Speak uplifting, encouraging, and hope-filled words to everyone and especially to our youth today.

Make up your mind that you are going to be a chatterbox of hope. Decide that you are going to be a positive influence in the world. Be a person other people want to be around. Live your life with the belief and hope that something good is going to happen today.

What you say today goes a long way in determining the life you are going to live tomorrow. Don’t allow the pressures of the world and the lies of the enemy to discourage you, causing you to see only the negative things in life. Look to the Word of God, stand on His promises, and speak life to your situation.

Every word you say affects you, so choose to speak healthy, life-giving words. Let those words pave the way as you walk through every difficult situation. Instead of talking about your problems, start talking about God’s promises, and let those declarations of hope stir up your faith.

Go ahead and get your hopes up today. Even if you feel weak, even if it seems impossible, even if a battle has you feeling unsure and afraid, put praise on the front lines. When you do, you’ll realize God is fighting for you—there’s no way you can lose.

Different animals have different instincts when threatened or dealing with fear. Bears attack, squirrels climb, antelope run, and moles dig. All of these instinctual responses are active. But there is one animal whose reaction is quite different: the possum. The possum is an animal that doesn’t charge, climb, flee, or dig. The possum just freezes. Rather than getting active, it gets passive. It plays dead—which is where we get the term “playing possum”—and it hopes that staying still will accomplish something.

I’ve noticed that many times when people are hurt or frightened, they become spiritual possums. Rather than getting active, they get passive. When times get tough, when they’re dealing with pain or disappointment, they freeze. They just stop moving. Does this sound familiar? Have you ever found yourself in a holding pattern because of an unexpected trial or a crushing disappointment? Have
you ever been in a situation where you don’t know what to do, so you do nothing?

If you’ve dealt with a hurt that has you frozen in your tracks, I’m not making light of your pain. Trust me; I’ve gone through plenty of trying times that have hurt so badly I felt like I couldn’t keep going. I understand what you’re going through, because I too have felt paralyzed by a hardship. But I do want to encourage you in the midst of your pain that sometimes the very best thing you can do is just keep moving.

You may not have all the answers yet. You may still be shocked by the circumstances. You may even feel like the world is caving in around you. But in the midst of those difficulties, if you’ll just keep moving, it will help you not to become hopeless. You may not be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel right now, but if you’ll cast your cares on the Lord and trust that He is with you in this hardship, you’ll discover healing as you walk with Him. Eventually, not only will you find the light at the end of the tunnel, the light will chase away every dark thing in your life.

I understand that, depending on the severity of the situation you are facing, there are going to be some days when you won’t feel like doing anything. With severe loss comes a natural grieving process that consists of different stages. But as you move through the healing process, just know that the final answer isn’t to isolate yourself and spend your life immobilized by pain. God wants you to keep taking steps of faith, trusting that He is going to bring you through the hurt and into something better.

The privilege of trusting God is absolutely wonderful. It allows us to have hope when there seems to be no reason to hope. When all seems lost, you can trust God to direct your steps.

I just heard from a friend who has gone through a terrible ordeal with cancer. She is at the end of her treatments now and ready to reenter daily life. She said, “I am having difficulty knowing how to go forward since my life will not ever be the same as it was.” You may relate to this quite well. Perhaps a loved one has died and you can’t imagine life without that person. You may have lost a job you worked at for many years and assumed you would retire from. What now? Be assured that even though you don’t know, God does. He will guide your every step.