Is there a place you struggle to find hope? Lost hope is cold and so lonely it smells like defeat. It’s a dark place where tendrils of hopelessness shackle your ankles to the basement floor.That place sounds familiar to me from not so long ago, but thankfully I’m not there anymore and I pray you aren’t either. When I was a kid, I often dreamed of running, then stumbling and falling, never making any forward progress, then my dreams nightmares came true. The struggle is real, perhaps a little too real, and life is hard, perhaps a little too hard.
Struggling to find hope
How do you get out of the dark dungeon where hope is absent? Can’t I just push a button and emerge into the sunshine? Like an elevator opening in the basement, I want a ride straight to the penthouse with fresh air and a spacious view. Good grief, I’d settle for an ejection button that slings me from my circumstances into the sky where my parachute opens so I float gracefully back to earth. Then again, I need real hope.
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” Hebrews 6:19 NLT
The gift of hope
For my birthday, someone gave me that button. Okay… my birthday was five months ago, and they roll around fast these days, so it was a belated gift. Eight weeks after the cake settled into my thighs, I got a message from a friend:
“I have a birthday gift for you.”
He and his wife delivered a small gift sack containing a handmade leather journal wrapped in tissue paper. Not only is it exquisite and perfect for me, but he also personalized it by adding a smooth wooden button attached by black leather straps; a button he made with his own hands.
“Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and announce His works with shouts of joy.” Psalm 107:22 HCSB
Journal back to hope
There are stacks of journals in my office; some completely full, others blank. Their pages are filled with hope, naive prayers, desperate problems, and heartbreak. Unimaginable pain from an unimaginable end is recorded only for my eyes and the Lord’s.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Feeling the smoothness of the blood-red leather, my mind searched for a special purpose for the special gift. Meandering around in my despair, it came to me. This is my gratitude journal. Everyday, I start with thankfulness, for ordinary things and extraordinary things. Whenever I wind those straps around that button, I remember God’s faithfulness. And I remember hope. It was there all along.
“I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.” Psalm 77:11 NKJV
My hope is built on nothing less
When you remember God, you remember hope, because acknowledging His faithfulness changes your outlook. What are you thankful for? When you have trouble answering that question, beware. Ungratefulness and discontent lead to a place of poor choices, despair and more hopelessness.
starting your day with gratitude changes your attitude #Findhope Click To Tweet
Give thanks, in all things, give thanks
Will you cultivate a habit of gratefulness to start your day? Take the 21 day challenge, even if you don’t have a button, you will be blessed. Start today with one thing, and start today.
Thank you Lord for ….
I’ve been using a prayer guide to pray something for my grandchildren each day. On Tuesday the prayer is for thankfulness, Psalm 100:4. And the comment offered is simple but profound so I share it because it is also a reminder to me. “Gratitude is important because you can’t be thankful and rebellious at the same time.” (cred. To Steve Canfield, Life Action).
I LOVE everything about this
Love this! I have been using private prayer journals for only the Lord and myself too. Started about a month after the Lord mercifully lifted me out of the miry clay and changed my life so drastically in December 1985. He has used these journals to grow me and teach me and love on me. It is such a blessing to put my heart thoughts in writing… to the Lord. Thank you Vickie Henderson, God uses you mightily!!
You have traveled a hard road and you still radiate gratitude. Thank you
I love this… I’m reminded of the day I was driving home to Alabama from Illinois ( we were there for 8 yrs) for my Dads funeral. He had died suddenly in his sleep at age 71. He was never sick, still worked and sang tenor in his church choir. To say I was in shock is an understatement . I couldn’t pray. I didn’t know what to pray for! He was already gone. No bringing him back. And then it hit me. That verse. IN ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS. And so I started …. thanking Him, for the Dad I had, for how long I had him and for His peace and comfort in knowing that my sweet Daddy was being held in the arms of Jesus. Thanking God in this desperate time was THE thing that got me thru. I might need to get a journal though. Some days it’s difficult to remember to be grateful!
That is so very beautiful. Thank you for sharing your sweet moment with the Lord