{"id":1744,"date":"2014-02-06T10:45:11","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T16:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lovingonme.com\/?p=1744"},"modified":"2017-05-10T14:29:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-10T19:29:27","slug":"keep-hope-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/2014\/02\/06\/keep-hope-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Hope Alive!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>Madison Square Garden pulsed with energy as the crowd enthusiastically chanted \u201cKeep Hope Alive!\u201d Rev. Jesse Jackson stood onstage directing our heart-felt cries, as his charismatic speech carried us back in time and space.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, we were no longer at the gospel celebration. It was once again 1988. We were at the Democratic National Convention and Rev. Jackson was challenging us to never surrender, never give up, and never stop dreaming. Keep Hope Alive. Keep Hope Alive. Keep Hope Alive\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a chorus that has survived the decades. Yet, when I look around today I see far too many of us that have given up on hope, leading desolate, empty lives that feels like we exist without really living.<\/p>\n

How can we get our zest back? How do we rekindle our excitement for life? What is it that we can look forward to that will ignite our hope for a better future?<\/p>\n

In looking for answers I turned to a book by Dr. Tony Evans. In less than 100 pages \u201cGod is Up to Something Great<\/a>\u201d<\/i><\/b> shows us how we can turn our yesterdays into better tomorrows.<\/p>\n

Dr. Evans uses several illustrations throughout the book but none drew me in as much as the Biblical story of Joseph. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, he\u2019s taken far away from home to the land of Egypt. For years his life takes a series of unpredictable twists and turns \u2013 trusted servant, falsely accused of a crime, thrown in jail, elevated to prison trustee, and eventually called before the King to interpret a dream. That\u2019s when things finally start looking up.<\/p>\n

The King is so pleased with his interpretation he elevates him to second in command. This eventually leads to him later being in a position to rescue his family from famine \u2013 a generous outpouring of compassion if I do say so myself. I mean really \u2013 his parents I can see, but those nut-nut brothers who sold him into slavery? That\u2019s a serious helping of God\u2019s love and forgiveness in action!<\/p>\n

Joseph\u2019s life included nearly every conceivable reason for despair, and yet he trusted God. He didn\u2019t let his past or current circumstances define him or place constraints on his future. He made the best of what he had, and never lost hope that life would get better.<\/b><\/p>\n

Dr. Evans uses his story to point out three important principles that I think are still relevant for us today.\u00a0\"God<\/a><\/p>\n

In God\u2019s economy, nothing is ever wasted.<\/i><\/b> Every experience in our life can be used by God to enact His plan. Each escapade is like pieces to a puzzle. Alone, they may look useless, but as more and more pieces connect we begin to see the grand plan take shape.<\/p>\n

In God\u2019s timing, it\u2019s never too late.<\/i><\/b> There are times when we want to scream \u2013 Hurry up already!! Our suffering feels unnecessary, and we want relief. But as we look back over our lives most of us can think of at least one situation when sticking it out beyond when we wanted to worked out for the good. It put us in position to seize opportunities we had no way of knowing would exist.<\/p>\n

In God\u2019s plans, we all have a purpose.<\/i><\/b> This is the essence of our hope. It\u2019s why we can believe that no matter our current circumstances, there is a bright future ahead. For as long as we\u2019re still alive, God still has a purpose for our life.<\/b><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter if we\u2019ve been turned upside down, dragged through the mud, or made a million bad choices we can still hope for a brighter future.<\/p>\n

Is it always easy? No way! There are days when what I experience makes no sense to me. But that\u2019s where trust, faith and experience come in. You see I trust God to keep his promises. I have faith that while every situation is not good (in my opinion), it will eventually all work out for my good. And I have experienced his peace in the midst of my pain, and provision when I didn\u2019t have a plan. I can always depend on him to come through on time!<\/p>\n

So I say to you, no matter what is weighing you down \u2013 keep hope alive.<\/p>\n

No matter who is trying to steal your sanity \u2013 keep hope alive.<\/p>\n

No matter what happens to you THIS day \u2013 keep hope alive.<\/p>\n

And once your hope is restored, get up and get to it \u2013 right where you are with what you have! It is more than enough.<\/p>\n

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on God is Up to Something Great<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, or suggestions for other reads to keep us inspired and uplifted!<\/p>\n

Loving on Me as I Love You! Hugs and Blessings \u2764<\/p>\n

PS \u2013 Please leave a note of encouragement for the next person who reads this blog, and be sure to share it with friends struggling to stay hopeful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Madison Square Garden pulsed with energy as the crowd enthusiastically chanted \u201cKeep Hope Alive!\u201d Rev. Jesse Jackson stood onstage directing our heart-felt cries, as his charismatic speech carried us back in time and space. Suddenly, we were no longer at the gospel celebration. It was once again 1988. We were at the Democratic National Convention […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sharing_disabled":false,"switch_like_status":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[204997547,13748410],"tags":[10051,401,7816,20816,204997421,204997597,3785,122792808,204997422],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Bible-Hope.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eAxC-s8","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1744"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12641,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions\/12641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}