Journal Entry ~ 02/27/18 (I just noticed this in my draft folder, so I'm posting now)

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. - 2 Peter 3:8-9

You have to have hope to be patient and wait on the Lord. Hope is the confident expectation of better things to come. Hope happens when you believe that God is at work, and His plan is for our good. Hope is the faith to believe that God’s ways are better than my ways. If we don’t have faith, we don’t have hope. How do we get confident that better things are to come? How do we find that hope? Experience. If you know someone who has a great deal of faith, they have hope - and they got that hope through experience. It comes from taking little steps of faith and then seeing God act. It also comes from reading the stories of His faithfulness in scripture. When you don’t have a lot of stories yourself, you find hope when you listen or read stories of people who have great hope. If you don’t have a great deal of experience with the Lord, then get with someone who does and get the Word open in front of you at least once a day. We build confidence in the word of God and the promises of God when we experience His faithfulness to us. 

The same is true when you’ve lost your hope. We all have those days - the ones where we wake up and we wonder what’s the point. We grow frustrated because things feel like they’re never going to change, and we just want out. We despair when we look at our situation, and we feel like giving up. Those are dangerous days. It’s critical to recognize when our thoughts go to despair because we are so vulnerable to the enemy in those moments. He will tempt you with the most vicious lies, he will destroy your faith, and leave you with no hope. When you recognize your thoughts are heading down into the pit, get with someone who has a strong faith or get the Word open.  He will respond to your obedience by restoring your faith and your hope. 

God tells us in this verse that He wishes that none should perish. None. His desire is for our good. He is at work right now in the lives of those loved ones I pray so desperately to be saved. I have the confidence expectation that my prayers will be answered because I have seen Him do it over and over in the stories I’ve heard and the Scripture I’ve read. I know better things are to come. I have hope. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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