Get Your Hopes Up!: Expect Something Good to Happen to You Every Day (16 page)

Have you ever prayed and said, “Lord, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve lost my joy and I don’t know what the problem is.” Have you ever been so desperate to hear from God that you start looking at a Scripture calendar to see what it says for the day, or you flip your Bible open four or five times to see if you can get a Scripture that encourages you? Maybe watch a little Christian TV for a few minutes to see if you get some direction from the Lord?

One evening I was frantically searching for anything that would keep me from sinking into the despair I was feeling. I went to a stack of Scripture verses that were stored in a box in my kitchen and pulled out this one from Romans 15:13:

I quickly realized that God was showing me that I had lost my joy because I had gotten negative and stopped being hopeful. Always believe in God and His promises! No matter what is happening, how bad it hurts or how long it lasts—always believe! If you do, you will be bubbling over with hope! That hope will be an anchor for your soul. Instead of being a baby Christian tossed about by every
change, you will be a mature believer whom God can count on to represent Him well at all times.

Hope and happiness aren’t things meant only for other people; they’re things God wants you to experience in your life too. Don’t let the enemy steal your joy. As a child of God, you’ve been given an abundance of blessings. Take time each day to realize how blessed you are and allow that realization to bring you joy.

There will be things in life that will try to weigh you down, keeping you from experiencing all God has for you. But you don’t have to hold on to those weights or burdens for one more day. You can cast every care on the Lord and receive His joy in return. So go ahead and get your hopes up. Let hope be the anchor of your soul. It is a sure and a steadfast anchor, and it cannot break down under whoever steps out on it (Hebrews 6:19). Wow! What a promise.

“Now” is one of the most important words in the Bible. Jesus said, “I Am,” and He meant I am here now. You don’t have to look for Me at some other time! I am here! Hope is here!

What the world calls hope is not true hope at all. It is weak and vague, and is actually void of power. It always relegates everything good that might possibly happen some time in the future. Nothing is definite. Nothing is clear. Nothing is now!

As children of God, we have the privilege of believing that God is working
right now
, and that something good is happening in the spirit realm, and we will see it manifested very soon. In God’s economy, we must believe first and then we will see. The world’s kind of hope more or less vaguely “wishes” that things might change for the better, but there is no real hope, no real faith that it will happen until they see something that proves it.

Let’s remember that Abraham had no visible reason to hope, but he hoped on in faith that he would have a child, as God had promised. He was “expecting” the good thing that God promised to happen. His expectation was real, and it was
now
.

In this section of the book, I want to help you live in the now, not in the past or the future. I want you to believe that right now, God is working in you and in your life.

Author Leo Buscaglia once told a story about his mother and what he called their family “misery dinner.” It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner ran off with their firm’s funds. Buscaglia’s mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for selling the jewelry and for spending so much money. But she told them, “The time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week.”
¹

I applaud the bold action and the wisdom of this mother. Hope and joy are two things that should never be put off. Many people spend their lives waiting for “tomorrow.” They say, “Well, maybe tomorrow things will be better,” or “I guess there’s always tomorrow,” or “If I can just get through this day and make it to tomorrow.”
While they’re putting off hope until tomorrow, they’re not experiencing the joy of today, and that’s not the life Jesus died to give us. Jesus wants us to enjoy our lives today and every day.

Peace, joy, happiness, confidence, boldness, health, a sound mind, favor, blessings, a strong marriage—these are all things God wants you to begin experiencing today. Every time you think
Well, I guess today is going to be a total waste; maybe tomorrow will be better
, you’re missing out on God’s best plan for your life. If God is with you today—and He is; He’s always with you—you don’t have to wait for some time in the future to start rejoicing. You can experience His overcoming, abundant, joy-filled life today. The apostle Paul said that while it is still called TODAY, we should hear God and not harden our hearts against His promises (Hebrews 3:15). God is working in your life
today
, and He wants you to believe it
today
and to rejoice
today
!

Psalm 118:24 says, “
This
is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (emphasis added). God brought about this day for a reason. There is something special He wants to do. Are you ready to receive it? Hopeful people do exactly what that verse says: They rejoice and are glad. It doesn’t matter what the weather is outside, what they feel like, what others are saying, how many odds are stacked against them, or what is happening in the news—people who have their hopes up say, “The Lord brought about this day for a reason—I’m going to rejoice and be glad. I’m going to have a happy anticipation that He is going to do something good in my life today!”

Let me share a story about myself: In 1976, I had reached a place of despair about the condition of my life. I thought that nothing good would ever happen to me. Although I was a Christian, I was experiencing no victory in my life. While driving to work one morning in February of that year, I cried out to God in desperation and I think for the first time in my Christian walk I experienced what real faith is. God put assurance in my heart that He was taking care of my
situation. Although nothing changed immediately in my circumstance, after that I had total peace. I was filled with the happy anticipation that something good was going to happen that day. I had real hope! It didn’t matter to me what God did, or even when He did it, because in my heart I knew it was done. I can honestly say that from that moment on, things started changing in my life. They were not perfect by any means, but little by little, day after day, good things happened.

I know this question may be in your mind: “Joyce, what if I believe something good will happen today and it doesn’t?” First of all, let me say that I firmly believe something good does happen every day, but we may not see it. Second, the good that takes place may not be exactly what we hoped for, but hope gave us a better day than we would have had without it, so that alone is a good thing. And last, I will say that you should get up again tomorrow with hope, believing something good will happen to you that day. No matter how many days you have to do it, keep doing it, and you will see that God is faithful!

A lack of consistency is one of our biggest failings. One of the reasons why many people can seem to experience great victory on some days but crushing defeat on others is because of their own daily inconsistencies. You’d be amazed at what a difference it can make in your life if you will make the decision to be consistent each day. It is not what we do right one time that changes our lives but what we do right consistently! If you are hopeful one day and not the next, you won’t like the results. If you believe that what I am teaching you about hope is true, and you decide to live filled with it, then make a decision to do it consistently. We do what is right because it is right! We are committed!

I once heard about a conference that was being held in a church auditorium. People were given helium-filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Throughout the service balloons ascended to the high, vaulted ceiling at various times, but when the service was over, a third of the balloons had yet to be released.

Isn’t that amazing? A third of the people in that crowd waited so long that they missed their chance to join in the celebration and let go of their balloon. As children of God who have the opportunity to live full of hope and joy, we don’t have to wait for some time in the future to enjoy the life God has given us—we can enjoy it right now.

So many people have the mind-set that they will be really happy and enjoy life
when. When
they go on vacation,
when
they get married,
when
they get higher on the ladder of success at work,
when
they have a baby,
when
they make more money,
when
the kids get older,
when
their spouse treats them better—you get the picture.

I can relate to this because there was a time when even though I really loved being in the ministry, I wasn’t always enjoying the daily responsibilities and activities it involved. I had to learn to live in the moment and enjoy what God was doing in me and through me
now
, not
when
the conference was over, or
when
the project was completed, or
when
I could go on vacation. God showed me the importance of embracing and enjoying what He was doing in the present.

The same is true for you. There will always be a
when
in your life. The kids might be driving you crazy today, your boss might be in a bad mood today, your body may ache today, your emotions might be out of whack today, but none of that changes the fact that God is with you in this very moment and He has a good plan for your life… and today is part of that plan.

Psalm 71:14 says, “But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.” The key word in this verse about hope is “continually.” A hopeful person doesn’t hope
occasionally
or
sporadically
. And a hopeful person certainly doesn’t wait until tomorrow to expect something good from God. A hopeful person is
continually
hopeful, choosing to hope every day… all throughout the day.

Let me suggest a few ways you can live in continual hope, making every day a day filled with the happy anticipation of good.

If you have hope, you’re never afraid to believe big. In fact, I like to say that hope is the platform that faith stands on. That’s why it’s a good idea to go to God with a bold prayer today. You can’t live with an expectation today if you haven’t even had the faith to make a request.

Whatever it is that’s in your heart, if it lines up with the Word of God, dare to ask confidently and then wait expectantly. God loves bold prayers. He answered them time and time again in the Bible, and He still answers them today. Exercise hope, stand in faith, and ask Him for something bold and do it NOW!

Sometimes we lose our hope simply because we lose our joy. Instead of enjoying life every day, we get burned-out by bills and discouraged by dilemmas. Why not decide to do something fun each day? It doesn’t have to be a daily trip to Disney World. It could be as simple as coffee with a friend, watching a comedy with your family, or a walk in the park—anything that brings a smile to your face.

If you want to be continually full of hope, plan fun things that will create a sense of anticipation. Hope and joy go together, so plan something fun and go through your day enjoying God’s presence and every blessing He gives you.

We all need fun and enjoyable things to look forward to. Today I am writing for several hours. I also plan to go for coffee with some friends later today, do a little shopping, and go out to dinner tonight. When I plan my day, I always include something that I can look forward to. Don’t wait until you retire to think about enjoying life. Enjoy life NOW!