![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com\/dailyverse-images\/8a\/Hebrews%206-19%20We%20Have%20A%20Sure%20And%20Steadfast%20Hope%20black.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ve felt guilty at times in my grief when my eternal Hope didn\u2019t comfort me like I expected it to. I don\u2019t know about you but this world doesn’t always seem \u201clike a vapor\u201d for me as one who might have decades left to live based on life expectancy rates. Waiting for eternity feels like an eternity of its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A conversation between me and several other bereaved parents helped me sort all of this out. Many of us agreed that we were now experiencing so much more Hope than we did before our kids went to Heaven. One mom\u2019s reply hit me like a ton of bricks. \u201cHow can you feel so much hope? I feel so hopeless.\u201d How could I have missed it? Thinking back on my own grief, I too had felt swallowed up by hopelessness for at least the first three years. The best that is yet to come<\/em> didn\u2019t matter because I had no idea how I was going to survive the excruciating here and now<\/em> that lay right in front of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This mom helped me discover a powerful and necessary distinction between Hope<\/em> and hope<\/em>. Although they share the same spelling, their reliability is dramatically different. Yet, their roles are greatly intertwined. Eternal hope is a promised reality.<\/em> Everyday, get-you-through-this-moment hope is a hard-won, fluctuating<\/em> emotion<\/em>. One is constant, never-changing. The other is fleeting, present one minute and gone the next. Anguished souls can\u2019t live the abundant life Jesus came to offer in John 10:10 without either one. They are both essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eternal hope promises us a forever future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A healthy feeling of hope, the counter to hopelessness, provides purpose and the capability to exist in the present until we reach that pain-free forever future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does this fundamental hopefulness look like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefulness is the tangible foundation to our survival. It\u2019s the mussels that keep moving our feet forward each day. The glue that prevents us from crumbling when we\u2019re overwhelmed. The sticks that prop us up when we want to collapse into a lifeless heap on the ground. The whispers that remind us we are going to make it. The beauty that arises in spite of the ashes, pushing back the Dark to make way for the Light. The loyal companions that take our hand and say, \u201cI\u2019m here. You\u2019re not alone.\u201d The meaning and purpose that are cultivated through loving well and seeking what really matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As we start seeing that maybe, just maybe, we won\u2019t be devoured by grief, the hope chain begins to pull us out of the pit of despair. It\u2019s the banner behind the blimp that reassures, Life won\u2019t always feel this hard.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Take note that hopefulness won’t fall from the sky, It requires our intention, attention, time, effort, patience, and prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where does hopefulness come from? The exact same place we get our promised Hope\u2013Jesus Christ, Our Living Hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus made it possible for eternal Hope with His sacrificial death on the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Jesus helps reverse hopelessness with His love, faithfulness, peace, strength, and sustaining grace. Every ounce of provision-whether it be in the form of a comforting friend, a needed opportunity for respite, the supply of physical needs, or His tender presence-can be traced straight back to Our Redeemer. We must not ignore the importance of our own role in all of this. Restoration requires our intention, attention, time, effort, patience, and devotion to asking for help through prayer in every moment of struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you feel hopeless right now, you\u2019re not alone. Your faith isn\u2019t weak. There\u2019s nothing wrong with you. Acknowledge that it’s a valid emotional response to your circumstances. The broken, difficult world we are residents of is a highly skilled robber of hopefulness, the energy that pushes us out of bed each morning to keep living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, our hopefulness and Hope-assuredness were each ransomed so we can experience the fullness of our purpose here on earth while we wait with eager anticipation of our Promised Paradise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Waiting the rest of our earthly days doesn\u2019t have to be spent white-knuckling our faith as we sit idly looking ahead to Heaven\u2013waiting, waiting, waiting for perfection<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefulness can be cultivated even amidst the great imperfection of this world<\/strong>. Our lengthy wait can feel more sustainable and possible when we make meaningful investments into God\u2019s Kingdom\u2013connecting with, ministering to, and loving others who also struggle to live well in this miserably broken world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t have to sit and wait<\/em>. We can choose to \u201cdo\u201d while<\/em> we wait<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. John Walker. “The wrong fight is trying to make life easy. The right battle is to live well in a difficult world.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know how deep you are in the pit of despair right now. But I invite you to borrow my assured Hope AND my encouraging hope as you wonder whether you\u2019ll ever be able to find your way out. I\u2019ve been there. I stared at every inch of despair\u2019s walls for days, weeks, months, and years. Take comfort that this dark pit doesn’t have to be your scenery forever. Light is ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hope is restorable no matter what lies your hurting heart is thundering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can make it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And you will, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c………Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” -Isaiah 49:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.\u201d -Isaiah 40:31<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.\u201d -Romans 15:13<\/p>\n\n\n\n “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” -Romans 15:13<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.\u201d -Jeremiah 29:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.\u201d -Romans 8:24-25<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.\u201d -Hebrews 10:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hope of eternity is an assured comfort and essential truth when life overflows with pain, loss, and deep suffering.\u00a0 Knowing there will be “no more death, crying, or pain” helps us press on through the wilderness of suffering. Eternal Hope doesn\u2019t erase our pain. It does, however, remind us that this world is not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Cultivating-Hope-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Cultivating-Hope-600x507.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"survivingmypas","author_link":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/mDL4JaaEkZY\/maxresdefault_live.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/community.thriveglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled.png\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"