Learning to hope

When I entitled this blog Hope, Be Undismayed, I got the idea from a passage that I had been studying at the time. I got the idea because I had, what seem to me, been facing trial after trial in my life and I needed a daily reminder to hope.

Sometimes I've succeeded in keeping hope, and other times I have miserably failed to hope. Recently God has blatantly been calling me out for my unbelief. I haven't believed in a very long time that God can do anything he so desires. He can give my husband a different job, He can change me and grow me, He can bring ANYONE to salvation even in the most dire of sinful situations.

Yesterday, on Mother's Day, I received a phone call from my sister, Megan. I was being sinful at the moment and almost ignored her call in order to continue to be sinful but the Holy Spirit would not let my heart rest and rather than argue with the Holy Spirit I just decided to even in rebellion answer the phone. When I answered the phone my sister was extremely happy, i haven't heard her so happy in a long time. And without even me needing to enquire further she said that the reason she was so happy was because she went to church that morning with a friend. She went on to tell me like a kid in candy land how she wants to keep going back. That there was just something she couldn't quite place her finger on leading her/pushing her to go back to want to go back. She told me how she was sad that the service had to end, she wanted it to go longer. She was excited because she knew in her heart that her life could change.

My sister, was full of hope, she hasn't been hopeful about anything in a very long time.

God convicted me during that conversation because as I was listening to my sister express her hope I realized that I truly had none for her. I couldn't resist being skeptical and thinking to myself "yeah, but this isn't going to last. Something will come up, she won't get a ride, her boyfriend will degrade her and keep her from coming. Give it 2 weeks and she'll be right back where she started." I mean that's been her track record whenever she has said that she was going to start "changing" her life.

While the skepticism was running through my head one simple and powerful thought came to mind. "Don't you believe anymore that your God is in the Miracle making business?" And after that I sought to encourage my sister on the journey, ended the conversation, came inside and explained to my husband all that just occurred including my skepticism and was encouraged by these words from him. "Christians of all people have the most reason to hope, Sara don't let skepticism keep you from hoping and praying for your families salvation."

My momentous moment came with a simple phone call from my sister that dared me to hope again.