November Devotions: Real Storms, Real Hope
Photo by Johannes Roth
MONDAY
He’s the God of Hope
Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope! (Rom. 15:13 TPT)
Romans 15:13 is what following Jesus really looks like. God is big—bigger than we think. He didn’t invite us into a “weak” relationship with Him that leaves us vulnerable and cowering when storms come. When we know the truth about Him, we radiate with hope.
In fact, we have so much hope that we start to realize, “Oh. This storm doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t have the strength to conquer me or to stop God’s plans, because He is so much bigger than this storm.”
Consider these points:
He’s the God of Hope. In every situation, that’s who He is.
When the storm is loud, we can have perfect peace as we trust in Him.
Epic joy fills our hearts because the Lord is who He says He is. Joy comes as we believe Him.
Today’s journaling question: Where do you wish you had hope? Talk to God about that area, and write down anything He shows you. Pay special attention to verses—or even verse “pieces”—that come to mind.
May your Monday be blessed, and may you experience the Lord’s hope everywhere you turn.
TUESDAY
He’s the Invisible God Who Can Be Seen
By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. (Heb. 11:27 ESV)
In Hebrews 11, the Greek word for “he saw” means to stare at or to discern clearly. (This is based on Strong’s Greek #3708.)
In other words—Moses saw the Lord clearly. In some way, he looked at God, and kept looking at Him, and that was why Moses was unafraid. That’s what we need too, in every storm—to stare at the One who is invisible.
Consider these points:
God is invisible, yet we can see Him.
Making God our focus gives us courage.
Looking at God allows us to leave behind old places to “adventure” with Him into new ones.
Today’s journaling question: Write about some ways you can “see” God. It could be through your imagination, Scripture, etc. Be creative as you answer this question.
May your Tuesday be blessed, and may you come to realize God’s beauty in a new way.
WEDNESDAY
Hope, Because He Goes with You
Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble in dread before them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. (Deut. 31:6 AMP)
Many of us don’t really understand what it means for God to be with us, but it’s time for us to look at verses like Deuteronomy 31:6 and take them seriously.
He is with us. This means we get to be strong. We get to act with courage. We never need to be afraid or tremble because of the size of the army that stands in our way.
How is such courage possible?! Because He’s with us. He will never let us go, and He will never fall short.
Consider these points:
We are the children of God. We aren’t merely human, dependent on human resources and human strength.
God goes with us.
We aren’t alone.
There is no need for us to fear the dark.
Today’s journaling question: Where are you struggling to trust the Lord? Talk to Him about it, and write down Deuteronomy 31:6 in your journal. That’s your verse, because you’re a child of God. Renew your mind—speak the truth to yourself—until you start to believe that Deuteronomy 31:6 is real for you.
May your Wednesday be blessed, and may you come to see Jesus more and more clearly.
THURSDAY
Your Hope Won’t Be Cut Off
There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off. (Prov. 23:18 NIV)
No matter what happens, the Lord is our strong and faithful hope.
In hard times when a positive future seems shaky, it can be a good idea for us to speak aloud where our hope is: “My hope is in God. All my hope is in Him. I will not be afraid. I will not react in panic. I will stand strong, trusting in the Lord to save me.”
Consider these points:
God cannot be defeated, so our hope cannot be defeated.
The enemy cannot touch our relationship with God without our permission. So we don’t ever have to be afraid of losing this special thing we’re building with the Lord.
Our hope will endure.
Bill Johnson says that anywhere we don’t have hope, we believe a lie.
We shouldn’t see the hard places as signs of potential loss. Instead, we should see them as places where we get to meet with the God of Hope.
Today’s journaling question: What is true about God’s hope in your life? Write out several statements that you can use as declarations. “God is for me. God is with me. He loves me without ceasing.” And so forth.
May your Thursday be blessed, and may your heart rejoice in your God of Hope.
FRIDAY
Hope Awakens the Heart
“Is My word not like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?” (Jer. 23:29 NASB)
Does your heart feel “hard” toward the Lord and the promises He’s made you?
If the Lord has made you a promise, you get to hold on to that promise with the greatest hope. His Word is alive, and it is powerful enough to crush any darkness that comes against you. Your struggles, your fears, the areas where you are asking questions—His Word is like fire and like a hammer that can restore life to hard, cold places.
Consider these points:
God has not rejected us. He is fighting for us.
He does not condemn us or give up on us. He is working—even now.
He causes streams of water to flow in the “desert areas” of our hearts.
He’s easier to please than we think He is.
Life is coming. Life and more life.
Today’s journaling question: Does your heart feel like it’s drifted away from something you KNOW God has told you? Go sit before the Lord. Write about that promise, and ask Him to tell you something about it that you don’t understand yet.
May your Friday be blessed, and may your confidence in the Lord rise up strong.
SATURDAY
Hope, Because of His Delight
The Lord your God is with you;
his power gives you victory.
The Lord will take delight in you,
and in his love he will give you new life.
He will sing and be joyful over you. (Zeph. 3:17 GNT)
The love of the Lord comes first. When we know He loves us, we can step into the amazing destiny He’s carefully, personally—with His fingers and His song—built for us. We need to know, really know, the love of the Lord for us in order to step into our destiny.
Consider these points:
God is with us. Therefore, we have hope.
Because of Him, we have victory over this thing that’s trying to destroy us.
He delights in us.
What was dead is about to come back to life. The Lord joyfully pours new life into our hearts.
He sings—because of us. He responds to us with a level of joy we don’t understand yet.
Today’s journaling question: Do you feel like the Lord delights in you? Why or why not? Ask Him about it and write down what He says.
May your Saturday be blessed, and may you know the Lord’s peace at a deep level.
SUNDAY
Hope, Because of His Strength
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in people.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes. (Ps. 118:8–9 NLT)
The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope. (Lam. 3:24 GNT)
Other people might seem strong. They might seem fully able to take care of us—but it is better to trust the Lord.
At the end of the day, trusting in people doesn’t help us. Real strength, true protection, and the fire of hope are found only in the Lord. He is genuinely all we have. That is why the Bible calls Him our Rock.
Consider these points:
The Lord is our prize.
He is our trustworthy refuge.
Trusting in people isn’t the answer. Trusting in ourselves won’t fulfill our hopes.
We get to live in a way the world doesn’t understand—we get to take refuge in God, who loves us the way the sun loves heat and fire.
Today’s journaling question: Where in your life do you wish you had greater trust in God? Tell God about that area, and write down at least two verses about His strength. Remember those verses. Over the next several weeks, remind yourself of them.
May your Sunday be blessed, and may your heart OVERFLOW with the hope of the Lord.
Interested in reading more about dating, relationships, and your walk with God? Here are a few articles on related topics:
Why You Don’t Need to Be Afraid
What Is God Saying to Your Heart?
Your Solid Foundation Even When Things Are Changing
For more information on sex, marriage, and finding the person who is right for you, get a copy of Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. Click here to learn more. You can also order the book in Spanish.