Get Your Hopes Up!: Expect Something Good to Happen to You Every Day (9 page)

I once read that when Mother Teresa began her missions work in India, she had no money. She had a dream to build an orphanage and to help the people of Calcutta, but the funds weren’t there. When asked how much money she actually had, she said, “Three pennies.” People doubted her mission, asking “What can you do with only three pennies?” But Mother Teresa replied, “I have three pennies and God, what else do I need?”

I love this attitude. Mother Teresa wasn’t concerned about only having three pennies because she had God! I wonder how our lives would change if we started counting up exactly what God has given us. It might not seem like much if we compare it to what others have, and it might not even seem like much compared to what we are praying for, but even a little bit is all God needs. Three pennies is more than enough in the hands of God. If God can feed a crowd of 5,000 men (plus women and children) with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, just think about what He can do with the little bit you have. You may think
But I don’t have anything, not
even three pennies
. You can still be encouraged because God created the entire Universe out of nothing. He started by speaking words of faith over an empty void. No matter how little we have, we can all do that.

Have you ever been in a grocery store when they are doing stock inventory? It’s amazing to watch the entire team of inventory employees come in and start counting what’s in the store. They pull out their hand-held devices, they label every item, then they meticulously count and recount to make sure they get the numbers right. The thing that amazes me is nothing is overlooked. They count even the smallest things. Every pack of gum, every dented can, every bruised banana—a complete inventory counts it all.

I think it would be a great idea if we took an inventory of our own lives and counted every blessing God has given us. That would increase our hope and build our faith. Instead of moping around talking about what we don’t have yet, we can walk in confidence thanking God for everything He has given us. And we should count every single thing. It may appear small, but count it anyway and thank Him for it. Form a habit of noticing everything God does for you, and the more you meditate on His blessings, the more your hope will abound. God has given us Jesus, and if He has done that, will He not also give us all other things?

Everybody’s inventory list is going to look different. We don’t all have the same gifts, talents, strengths, or provisions—and we certainly don’t all have them at the same time—but God never promised you would have what someone else has or that person would have what
you have. I recall being in a leper colony during a visit to India, and a man with leprosy asked me if I would like to see his home. He seemed very excited, so I gladly went with him to take a look. It turned out that what he was calling home was a hole about 10 feet long and 6 feet high dug out of the side of a dirt hill. It was furnished with a homemade hammock, a couple of dented pots, and a few dishes. I must admit I was convicted to the core when I realized how happy he was with so little and how unhappy I often am with so much.

With that in mind, here is a list of suggested things to thank God for. You may not have everything on this list (right now), but maybe many of them will resonate with you. The leper I met would have been elated to have any of these things.

And those are just a few things that came to my mind. I bet if you took the time to think and pray about it, you could come up with a list 10 times longer than this one.

Some of those things I mentioned may seem pretty basic, but if you think about it, there are people around the world who don’t have even the most basic things you have. Water, food, shelter—these things aren’t to be taken for granted. We should be thanking God for these basic necessities and never for a minute take them for granted.

An inventory of God’s goodness is important, because, to be honest, it’s easy to look at the struggles in life and get discouraged. If we just look at the obstacles, it’s easy to lose hope. You might look at your bank account and feel hopeless. Sometimes you might look at your kids and want to throw your hands up in the air and say “There’s no hope.” You may look at yourself and say the same thing! You may drive to work thinking
There’s no hope
. That is exactly what the devil wants you to do. He knows if he can keep us hopeless, we cannot move on to bold faith and we will miss God’s good plan for us.

Resist the temptation to look at what you have lost or don’t have and choose to look at all that God has done, is doing, and will do. When you do, hope will come alive, joy will increase, faith will grow, and activity will increase. Remember that when you live in the garden of hope, something is always blooming.

Instead of saying “There’s no hope,” why not say “There’s always hope!” Decide to take an inventory of what God has given you and choose to hope for more. Make a list of the blessings God has given you, and perhaps read them out loud each day. The more you focus on what you have, the more amazed you will be at God’s goodness in your life.

Ephesians 1:3 (NIV) says:

That should give you hope. No matter what you are facing today, you are going to be blessed with everything you’ll ever need. If you need strength, if you need faith, if you need hope, if you need a friend, if you need understanding, if you need peace or joy or righteousness, or money, or health, or healing, or victory, God is going to provide it for you. Philippians 4:19 says: “And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

In the times when you may doubt that God is actually going to provide those things in the present or in the future, just look back at what He has already done. Look back at your inventory of blessings and let it boost your faith for the future. That’s what David did. When King Saul and David’s brothers doubted whether David could actually defeat Goliath, David just stopped and took an inventory of the goodness of God in his life. He said, “Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God!” (1 Samuel 17:36). David was confident that, because God had done those things for him in the past, God would do even greater things in the present situation. David’s inventory of blessings gave him the hope he needed to live out his destiny.

More than anything, when you start taking an inventory of God’s goodness in your life—when you start to count your blessings—it fills your heart with joy. I’ve noticed it’s impossible to be thankful
and discouraged at the same time. It doesn’t work. If you’ll take a moment each day to focus on God’s blessings and His favor, you won’t be able to help it… you’ll be filled to overflowing with the joy of the Lord.

The Word of God tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength (see Nehemiah 8:10). Many people are lethargic, feeling tired, and barely making it from the chair at their desk at work to the couch at home because of a joyless attitude. Some people are completely worn-out when they come home from work, and it’s not because of their jobs—it’s because they’ve got a bad attitude about the places they work and all the people there. A negative attitude will affect every part of our lives—even our health. But if we decide to be happy about what God has given us and focus on the good in life, we will not only be happier, but we will be healthier.

Every day I keep a journal during my time with the Lord. I write down Scripture verses that encourage me, some of the prayer requests I’m praying that day, things I feel like the Lord is putting on my heart, and special things that God does for me. I have years and years’ worth of these journals that I’ve saved, and from time to time, I like to read through them. When I thumb through the past journals, it’s interesting to me that several times a year, God reminds me to have an aggressive expectation of good. It must be really important. When I’m full of hope—when I’m expecting God to do something great in my life—it builds my spirit and fills me with joy. I take vitamins regularly, and I think that hope is the “happy vitamin.” We should take hope in large doses daily! I think that’s why one of my favorite Scripture verses is:

God is actually “expecting, looking, and longing” to show you His goodness. This is why you can have a happy expectation of good in your life. This isn’t something God is begrudgingly agreeing to do—this is something He loves to do. Jesus died for you so that you may “have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance” (John 10:10). So don’t go through life with a bad attitude. Decide to have a good attitude, expecting good things from the Lord. We don’t expect them because we deserve them, but because God is good! Choose to praise God with a thankful heart for all the things He has given you.

As you finish this chapter, ask yourself
How hopeful am I?
Are you excited each day, expecting that God is going to answer a prayer, fulfill a dream, meet a need, and do something amazing in your life? If you’re not as hopeful as you’d like to be, you can change that. It’s not a complicated process—it all begins with looking at what you have left instead of what you have lost.

Take an inventory of the blessings in your life. Many of the things on your list will be large things that are clearly obvious, but many of the things on your list will be small things too. Make sure you take the time to really look at every part of your life and see the
little, overlooked things that God has been blessing you with all along. When you do, you’re going to notice a total shift in the way you view your life. Your marriage, your family, your career, your aspirations—your view of it all changes when you have a grateful heart.

So go ahead and get your hopes up today. God has blessed you in the past—you’ve got an entire list to prove it—and that’s just the beginning. He has more in store for you. Just make sure you’re looking for it in the right places.

In the same way that the food we eat affects us physically, the words we speak affect us spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. I believe that they also affect us physically, because the more full of hope and happiness our conversation is, the more energetic we feel. A positive, hopeful attitude relieves stress, which is the root cause of a lot of sickness and disease.

Several years ago, I decided to get serious about my health. I was lacking energy, getting sick easily, and dealing with nagging physical problems. In the past, I had attempted different diets and workout plans, but my work always crowded out any time I had to take care of myself. I would end up back at my normal busy pace, even though I knew it wasn’t good for me. Eventually, I decided enough was enough. I guess you could say I got tired of being tired.

One of the first things I began to realize as I studied proper diet
and exercise routines is that everything we eat affects our body’s performance. We all know that a healthy diet is important, but I don’t think we always realize just how much our nutritional choices really impact our bodies. What you eat on any given day can determine how you feel, how much you get accomplished, and what kind of attitude you’re going to have. Good or bad—salad or doughnuts—the food that goes into your mouth affects your body. It can also affect your emotions and your thought processes.

In the same way—hopeful declarations or negative confessions—the words you speak affect your life in many ways. Words have power. What you say makes a difference. As soon as you say something, those words go into your ears and directly to your soul. If your words are filled with life, you will feel happier and more energetic. However, if you have a tendency to talk about what is wrong in life and complain about your situation, those words have a negative impact and will drain your energy and make you feel discouraged and even depressed. Don’t put hope off until another time because “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (see Proverbs 13:12).

Words filled with hope are important, especially when you are facing something difficult. One of the most important things you can do when you’re hurting is speak positive, faith-filled words. I’m not saying that your words alone have the power to change the situation—only God can do that—but your words do have power in the spiritual realm, and when you agree with God, His plan can rapidly begin to come to pass in your life. Your words can change your attitude about a negative situation and help determine how quickly you overcome it. The Israelites complained while they were in the wilderness, and they remained there. An 11-day journey took 40 years, and most of them never arrived at their desired destination.

Complaining and rehearsing everything we think is wrong in our
life is a greater problem than most people realize it is. It is evil in the Lord’s ears! I wonder how many people go through life complaining, and by doing so, never have the kind of life they wish they had. You see, wishing is not enough to bring good things to pass. We need living hope and strong faith in God. We also need power thoughts and words filled with hope. We need action when it is called for and a thankful heart while we are waiting.

I spent the first 45 years of my life damaging my days and hindering my future through lack of knowledge about the power of my own words. I lacked knowledge in many areas, but this was a big one for me. If you are educated about word power, this chapter will merely serve as a refresher course that will keep you going in the right direction, but if this is all new to you, it can be absolutely life-changing.

You may not realize that you are in charge of your words. You can choose what you will say, and believe me when I tell you that what you say matters a great deal. Be a good steward of words! Choose them wisely and believe what God’s Word says concerning them being filled with the power of life or death.