Get Your Hopes Up!: Expect Something Good to Happen to You Every Day (8 page)

It’s great to have friends you can talk to and confide in when you’re hurting, especially friends who are believers, who will pray with you and encourage you. However, your friends don’t have all the answers. Even though they may be well intentioned, they can guide you in the wrong direction if their advice doesn’t line up with God’s Word. Our friends might feel sorry for us but may be unwilling to be truthful enough to tell us what we need to hear. I recall when Dave told me that I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t like it and I got angry with him, but what he said was true and I needed to hear it. Dave loved me enough to give me what I needed instead of what I wanted. I’ve seen situations in which friends have kept someone stuck in a dysfunction because they were enabling a person instead of telling that person what she really needed to hear.

There is nothing wrong with depending on your friends in tough times, but don’t let your friends take the place of God in your life. Go to the Lord first when you’re hurting, and seek God’s direction in that situation. After you have spent time in the Word and sought the Lord in prayer, then you may want to go to your friends and share with them what you think the Lord is saying. Remember, your friends are human just like you. Their ability to help you is limited. If you rely solely on them, you will end up disappointed.

One of the things I learned early on in my marriage is that I couldn’t depend on Dave to be the source of my happiness—that’s God’s place. God is the source of our joy (see Psalm 43:4), not our spouses.

I remember there were times when I would get so upset with Dave because he would go golfing or watch a ball game rather than spend the morning with me. It wasn’t like Dave was neglecting me—he’s a great husband and he loves to spend time with me—but I wanted him there all the time. I was upset because I was looking to him to be my source of happiness and contentment. I wanted him to make me feel secure and confident. But the Lord showed me that anytime we look to a person (even our spouse) to do what only God can do, we are going to be frustrated in life.

The moment I stopped trying to force Dave to give me things only God could give me, I immediately had a new peace and joy in my life… and in my marriage. With that said, if I’m upset about something or if I need to talk, Dave is always there to encourage and help me, but he and I both know it’s only God who can provide everything we need in every situation.

When things get tough in life, there is a tendency in all of us to say “I’ll just take care of this myself.” Sometimes it’s because no one was around to help you when you were younger, so you’ve always had to be independent. Other times it’s because you are a strong person, perhaps very talented, and it’s just easier to trust those abilities to get you out of a jam.

But you weren’t meant to go through life alone, and there are going to be times when your own strengths aren’t going to be enough. You’re going to face situations where only God is strong enough to carry you through. I suggest you get used to looking to Him now. Don’t wait for an obstacle so big, or a pain so deep, to drive you to Him out of desperation. Get into the habit of waking up every day and saying “Lord, today I trust You. Thank You for the
gifts and abilities You’ve given me, but I don’t depend on my own understanding. I depend on You. Give me the wisdom, direction, and grace I need today to live an overcoming, victorious life.”

As great as friends can be, as wonderful as a godly spouse is, as important as it is to recognize the gifts and talents God has given you, none of these things can take God’s place in your life. Psalm 37:39 says: “But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.” The Lord is our refuge and our stronghold, no one else. This is why we’re filled with hope when we look to the Lord in times of trouble, not people.

Has someone disappointed or let you down? Did it make you angry or resentful? Have you ever considered that perhaps it was your own fault for looking to that person to meet your needs instead of looking to God? I don’t mean that to sound harsh, or as if I don’t empathize with your pain, but the truth that we need to hear is often painful initially. If we have more of our hope and confidence in people than we do in God, He will reveal their weaknesses and let them disappoint us so we will eventually turn to Him. It may not feel good right now, but truth will make us free!

Matthew 14:24–33 paints a pretty dramatic picture. The disciples are trying to sail across the Sea of Galilee at night when a ferocious storm arises. Now, if any individuals could handle themselves in a ship during a storm, it was Peter and the disciples. After all, these men were experienced fishermen. This wasn’t their first storm. But the strength of this storm exceeded their experience.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like that? Have you ever thought you could handle a situation, only to realize that this storm was different from the others? Well, this is exactly what
happened to the disciples; this was a storm they couldn’t rescue themselves from.

Seeing that the disciples needed help, Jesus “came to them, walking on the sea” (v. 25). I love how nonchalantly the Bible records that. There’s no bold type; it’s not in all capital letters; the sentence doesn’t even have an exclamation mark. Jesus was walking on the water, and we shouldn’t be surprised. It’s as if God is telling us He can and will do whatever it takes to get to us when we’re hurting. There is no storm big enough to keep God from rescuing you.

When Jesus came to the boat, the disciples were afraid. They thought Jesus was a ghost. But Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (v. 28). As soon as Jesus said “Come,” Peter got out of the boat and, miraculously, he began to walk on the water. Peter didn’t do this in his own strength (he certainly didn’t have the power to walk on water), and Peter didn’t do this with the help of the other disciples (they didn’t give him the advice necessary for taking a stroll on the waves). It was only the Lord who could do this. Jesus was Peter’s only hope.

As Peter was walking toward Jesus, he did what you and I often do—he took his eyes off the Lord and looked down. He looked at the waves and started focusing on the storm. Instead of thinking
I’m walking on the water with Jesus! This is amazing! There is no limit to what God can do in my life!
—Peter started thinking
What if I drown? How is this even possible? Can Jesus really rescue me?
That’s what happens when you look down at your problems instead of up at your promise. Exclamation marks turn into question marks. Faith turns into fear. And you begin to sink. Thankfully, we have a Savior who helps us even when our faith is weak. Jesus reached out and rescued Peter. It wasn’t the disciples who rescued him, it was Jesus.

This story perfectly illustrates what happens in the storms of your life. It doesn’t matter how big the storm, it’s not too big for God. He sees you, exactly where you are, and He is coming to your rescue. If you’re experiencing a struggle today, start looking for God. Don’t be like the disciples who were surprised when Jesus showed up; instead, have a happy anticipation that God is going to show up on the scene, that He won’t be late, and that He is going to calm the storm. As long as you look to Him, you can walk above the things that threaten to destroy your life. You can live with peace, joy, contentment, and happiness because you’re focused on Jesus. But the moment you begin to look at the waves—the negative reports, the fearful thoughts, what others think, lies from the enemy—these are the things that will sink you every time. Even in the midst of a chaotic storm, when it feels like everything is shaking in your life, look to the Lord. He is the only thing that cannot be shaken.

God wants you to be full of hope, not full of discouragement, despair, and depression. The Bible tells us in Romans 5:5 that those who put their hope in God will never be disappointed and they will never be put to shame. Wow! Think about that. You may put your hope in friends and get disappointed. You may put your hope in your bank account and be disappointed. You may put your hope in a politician and be disappointed. You may put your hope in a job and be disappointed. But if you put your hope in God, you won’t be disappointed. Even though you may go through things you don’t understand at times, He will always work them all out for good in the end.

As long as you’ve got hope, you’ve got possibility, because everything is subject to change except for God. It doesn’t matter what
kind of a bad report you get, the first thing you ought to think is
Well, that’s subject to change
. Your finances change, your children change, your boss changes, your situation changes, but God doesn’t. God is a rock—He is constant. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change.” People change, the weather changes, circumstances change, minds can change, moods can change, commitments change, jobs change, schools change. This is something we might as well get used to. The only thing we can be sure of in this world is that something is always going to be changing. That’s why it is so important to keep your hope in the Lord and build your life on the Rock. As long as you make God the main source of all that you need—knowing that He is the only One who never changes—you can handle anything else that does change because God is your foundation in life.

We suffer a great deal emotionally that we really wouldn’t have to endure if we would put our hope in God and stop expecting someone else to do what only God can do.

Every day is not a perfect day, and every storm is not in the forecast. We may have a headache or a heartache. It may last a day or it may last longer. But whatever the struggle you may be facing, I want to encourage you to LOOK UP! Don’t focus on the negative circumstances, the odds stacked against you, or the fearful thoughts that arise.

When you look up, hope is reborn. Even though the storm may be great, it’s not greater than God. All you have to do is look for Him and trust that He’ll do whatever it takes—even walk on water—to get to you. So go ahead and get your hopes up. You’re going to come through this stronger than before. Just stay focused on Jesus, have a positive attitude, keep moving, and, whatever you do… don’t look down.

I once heard a story about a man who lost his keys one evening. Desperate to find them, he searched frantically outside on the corner of the street, directly under the streetlight. A passerby noticed his frenzied search and stopped to help him look for the missing keys. After a few minutes of diligent searching, the helpful stranger asked, “Now, where was it exactly that you dropped your keys? If we know the spot, maybe we’ll have better luck.” Without hesitation, the owner of the lost keys answered, “I dropped them when I was in my house.” Dumbfounded at this reply, the helpful stranger exclaimed, “If you dropped them in your house, why are we looking out here under this streetlight?” The owner of the lost keys responded, “Because the light is better out here.”

Your first thought is probably
That is ridiculous. Anybody knows better than to do that
. It may sound silly to be looking for the keys you lost in your house while standing under a streetlight, but I tell you that story for a reason. Many times in life, we’re searching for
something we need, but we’re searching in the wrong places. There’s an old song that says we’re “looking for love in all the wrong places.” I think that’s true. But I also think we often look for hope in all the wrong places.

If we really want to enjoy life, we are going to have to make a basic change in where we look for hope. Jesus must be the source of our hope at all times. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are around us. Our circumstances shouldn’t be the things that determine our level of joy. Even if we are having the worst day ever, we can have a confident, joy-filled, hopeful attitude if we learn to look at what we have left, not what we have lost. Always look at what God is doing, not what you think He isn’t doing.

I wish someone had shared that truth with me earlier in life. For many years I was a miserable, frustrated Christian, and one of the main reasons was because I was always thinking about what I didn’t have. And I didn’t just think about it; I complained about it. I would spend my prayer time telling the Lord all the things I didn’t have.
God, I don’t have enough money. I don’t have the same talent as someone else. I didn’t have a good childhood
. The list goes on and on. I looked around me and did a daily inventory of everything I did not have.

But the Lord began to show me that I had a lot, I was just looking in the wrong places. There is no victory in focusing on the things you lost or don’t have. Instead of putting my energy and effort into complaining about what I had lost, the Lord began to teach me to focus on what I had left. I may not have had the money to go on a fancy vacation, but at least I had the money to pay my bills that month. I may not have had an ability that someone else had, but I was a good communicator, and eventually God began to use that to help people. I may have been abused as a child, but God was healing me. My husband and my children were not perfect, but I was
blessed with a family. My mother and father had forsaken me, but the Lord had adopted me (see Psalm 27:10).

The more I began to focus on what I had left rather than what I had lost, the more my attitude began to change. I began to see God’s blessings and His favor on my life, and my hope began to soar.

The same can be true for you. No matter what you are going through today, you can discover a new joy in life. You may have lost some things; there may be some advantages you don’t have. But instead of focusing on what you have lost, why don’t you search through what you have left? You just might be surprised at what you find.