From Hope Valley Devotionals (Week 8): The Promise of a Little Bit of Hope

November 7, 2019

Happy Thursday friends! As I shared a couple of weeks ago, I am excited to re-share some of the most popular devotional posts that I wrote in 2017-2018 (if you would like to see the complete list you can find it HERE!) and am excited to share this one this week! I am also excited to share that these devotional posts will soon be available (without the tie to When Calls the Heart) in a new and upcoming devotional book, February Caravan, that will be released February 1st. Stay tuned for more information to follow! In the meantime I am excited to start sharing again with y'all and I hope you have a wonderful Thursday!
The second time that I watched episode 5 of season 1, I was struck by these simple 13 words that Dewitt Graves speaks to Mary Dunbar. What stood out to me the most was the depth of what he was communicating and something that we all feel and long for on a daily basis, which is finding a little bit of hope into each of the cracks and crevices of our lives. 

We may be longing for something that is the deepest part of our hearts that we don’t see coming to fruition. We may be longing for a spouse to share our lives with, a baby that we have always wanted, a job that we could feel fulfilled and useful in, a broken relationship to be restored, a dream that we have had since childhood to finally come true, or maybe, just maybe, we are longing even to see a little bit of hope in every situation in our lives. 

Our world isn't so different then what the people of Coal Valley experienced. Everyday our world faces extreme tragedy, heartbreak, and loss. Maybe you are walking through a similar situation. Maybe you feel that there is no hope for you in the situations that you find yourself in. Maybe you are fighting an impossible situation that isn't getting better. It may seem like you have had to give up on so many hopes, dreams, and desires for your future or even for your present life. You may feel that your desperate longings and dreams are passing you by and maybe like many of us, you are hoping for just a little bit of hope.

For myself during extremely intense times of waiting on dreams to be fulfilled I find that I feel a sense of hopelessness. I am often tempted to take my eyes off of God and all of the blessings that He has given me and focus more on what I am “missing out on”. Sometimes I struggle when I see others receiving things that I long for and feel that I am missing out on and deeply ache to have. In these moments I pray that the Lord would grant me grace to help rejoice with those who are rejoicing remaining confident that God is working in both of our lives.

But it is so hard. As Dewitt so adequately expressed to Mary, all a man can ask for –all any of us can ask for is a little bit of hope. These last several years as I have fought for my life through several serious diseases I have been challenged to examine exactly what I place my hope in. Just this past month as I faced a scary and unplanned surgery with no promise of a good outcome, I found myself longing for hope. 

Throughout these past years I have found myself challenged to really examine what my hope is being placed in. For me, if my hope is simply placed in healing or my circumstances to change that is not enough. Whatever I put my hope (no matter how good it is) that is apart from God, I will always be disappointed. I am humbly learning that my hope must be placed solely and only on the Lord alone.

And when we place our hope solely on the Lord, we are tenderly met with encouragement, peace, and most of all true hope. One of my favorite passages of scriptures comes from Psalm 33, verses 20-22. It states;

“We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”

I also love how  the version, the Message, states these same verses... 

"We're depending on God; He's everything we need. What's more, our heart brim with joy since we've taken for our own His holy name. Love us, God, with all you've got- that's what we're depending on."

One of my favorite quotes that I think of when I consider this topic is from Lee Strobel who in his book, The Case for Hope says, "Biblical hope is the confident expectation that God is willing and able to fulfill the promises He has made to those who trust in Him."

Our hope is confident expectation. It is secure in God and we can trust in His unfailing love. Our path and our circumstances may seem hopeless. You may be feeling like all you need to make it through another day is a little bit of hope. I am here to tell you it is yours in abundance. Place the deepest longings that you have in the precious scarred hands of the One who loves you most. Weep through the pain, and hold on to the hope that will never disappoint. Your longings and desires may seem like they are forever out of your reach, but our hope remains steadfast in the One who is the ultimate source of Hope. Rest in that hope today.

"Lord, you know the hopes of the hopeless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them."
-Psalm 10:17-

Looking for past From Hope Valley Devotionals? You can click HERE to find a complete listing of all of the devotionals! 

*Please note that the quotes used in these weekly devotionals are the sole intellectual property of Hallmark Channel, WCTH, & Crown Media, LLC. These on-line posts are in no way supported, endorsed or affiliated with WCTH, Hallmark Channel, or Crown Media. They are simply encouragement inspired by Janette Oke and this precious show.*

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