Inspired to Hope (Day 1 - Hope Against Hope)

Welcome!  I'm so thankful you are here!  During the month of October, I am linking up with a thousand or so other writers for the write31days challenge.  I chose to write about "Hope Against Hope" as these words have pricked my heart strings over and over again and encouraged me to hope when all seems hopeless.

Be sure to stop by often as I will be updating this page with the links to all of the posts in this series "Hope Against Hope".  I pray you are encouraged and will find hope in the all-sufficient One who makes ALL things possible.

Here is my Day 1 post: Inspired to Hope (Day 1- Hope Against Hope)

Photo by Melanie Tate licensed under Creative Commons 

Hope. Against. Hope.  These words have lingered in my heart over the last few months in such a way that I have felt compelled to share.

I share because it helps me know I'm not isolated in finding hope to indeed be a struggle.  I share to encourage others they are not alone.  I share because I marvel at Abraham who believed in hope against hope (Romans 4:18).  I share because I have to know in my heart and not just in my head that God is the God of impossibilities.  He alone makes all things possible.

I have not arrived in this area of my life.  But I'm striving for growth.  I pray my transparency here will cause others to remove the masks to conceal the hurt, the suffering, the pain that life hands us at times.  I find comfort in knowing no matter what happens in my life, Jesus can relate.  I find it helpful to connect with people who can relate as well.

This hope thing may appear easy, sound silly and seemingly takes no great effort at all on our part. There was a time I thought the same thing.

Please don't take this as boasting in any way, but there have been more times than I can count that things just fell into place.  As a young adult, I sought to attain a degree, I did.  I went back for my Master's degree and I remember the pride I felt walking across that stage.  I wanted to move not too far away from home, but not home exactly and I've established myself in a city near where I grew up. I interviewed for jobs within my professional career and mostly, I landed those jobs.  I didn't really know from my experiences what it felt like to be let down, to have my prayers go unanswered, to feel God was silent.

But I kept living.  And I begin to experience that not all of life is roses and comfort.  Not everything just falls into place.  There are some things we experience that make hope seem impossible.  Even crazy at times.  Maybe this is the point.  Maybe without trials, we would never learn the true meaning of hope.

I will share my story here, battles I have faced on this road called life.  I will share lessons I've gleaned as I study hope, as I study Abraham whose hope glorified God.

I strive to glorify God in this way.  Will you join me for this 31 day series as I write anxiously about what it means to hope against hope?  Are you striving to hope when all seems hopeless?  I would love to connect with you!  Feel free to leave a comment below.

This is Day 1 of a 31 day series of “Hope Against Hope”. To read all of the posts in this series, click here. To read what several other bloggers are writing for the month of October, click here.