Do You Need Hope for Your Future?
When you think about the future, do you feel a little hopeless—like there is no possibility of change in your life?
Are you discouraged because it seems like God isn’t giving you the desires of your heart?
If you need greater hope today, here’s one easy thing you can do that will have a tremendous impact.
Let go of that thing that says you don’t have what you need, and choose to be thankful instead.
Instead of focusing on the problem, start speaking out loud how thankful you are for what God has already done.
You don’t have to do this perfectly. Even if all you can say right now is, “Father, thank You for giving me this desire to get married,” that’s a good place to start.
Or even a simple thanksgiving prayer like “Lord, thank You that I get to be with You today,” is beautiful worship.
It’s amazing how being thankful can change the way we see our life:
Our view of God and what He’s doing,
Our view of ourselves,
Our hope for the future,
Our expectation of coming good, etc.
Being thankful can seem like a little decision in the grand scheme of things, but it produces a surprisingly all-consuming result that even changes our “location” spiritually:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name. (Ps. 100:4 NLT)
When we choose to be thankful, we find ourselves at the very gates of our loving heavenly Father. Thanksgiving brings us right to where He lives. As we become more aware of His closeness, we also become more aware of His goodness—of His hope for our future—and our faith grows.
“Oh wow. God will do what He promised me.”
“I am going to see His goodness!”
“I will have the family He’s told me about.”
This month at Becoming the One, we’re talking about a culture of thanksgiving—and the incredible transformation that results when we choose to be thankful.
Being thankful is like dropping a bomb into the enemy’s defenses.
It violently shatters darkness—hopelessness, heaviness, every stranglehold of pain and fear.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger. (Ps. 8:2 NIV)
Beloved child of God, here are three wonderful reminders from Scripture:
His goodness in your life never runs out (Ps. 100:5).
His goodness is chasing you down (Ps. 23:6).
His rule in your life is only increasing. It is not decreasing (Isa. 9:7).
If you’re battling a sense of hopelessness, start thanking the Lord. It might feel a little awkward at the beginning, but the awkwardness will leave, and you will get to experience the wonder of His gates.
❤️ Want to learn more about His goodness? ❤️
Join a BTO group! These are safe places where you can meet like-minded believers who are interested in preparing for marriage and experiencing everything God has for them. Click the link to learn more!
Your heavenly Father loves you more than you realize! For more about His amazing, unending love, check out Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. The book is also available in Spanish.