Keep your hope alive

‘Having hope will give you courage...’ Job 11:18 NLT

Hope is a powerful force. It arouses your mind to explore every possible angle. It enables you to overcome the daunting obstacles. It’s absolutely essential to the life God wants you to live. It’s the fuel your heart runs on. It’s the single biggest difference between those who persevere and those who give up.

Hope is what makes couples say, ‘I do,’ without any guarantees, and later, after all the broken promises, pick up the pieces and try again knowing it can get better. It’s why composers agonise over a score and artists over a canvas, believing some glimmer of beauty will emerge from the struggle.

As an old man Henri Matisse was crippled with agonising arthritis. When asked why he continued to wrap his swollen fingers around a brush every day he replied, ‘The pain goes away; the beauty endures.’ Labouring to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo grew so discouraged that he wanted to quit. But every morning hope pushed him up the ladder to fulfil his magnificent vision.

Hope is what made Abraham leave home without knowing where God was taking him. It made Paul challenge the powers of Rome. It’s what fuelled the Old Testament prophets to keep taking on City Hall! This is not blind optimism, but faith focused, and hope—in God. ‘…You have been my hope…my confidence since my youth.’ (Psalm 71:5 NIV) You can survive the loss of many things, but not the loss of hope. Nobody experienced greater loss than Job, yet he wrote: ‘Having hope will give you courage.’ So keep your hope alive by trusting in God!



Ruth 1:3–18, John 6:41–69

I LOVE IT! Hope is my favourite thing in the whole world...it never runs out or goes away. HOPE, faith, and God are what got me from here...July 11th 2009 - Depression ...to where i am today!

I have felt sick with the flu all weekend. I was allowed to go out and do whatever i wanted for most of the day yesterday, but i was feeling sick, the girls were not here, and it was so cold...that i only went out for a few hours.

I went for a drive...just drove. I headed into the city, not really knowing where i was going. I ended up getting off the motor way at Khyber Pass and driving past my old apartment. I always thought that seeing that place again would give me the creeps...but it didn't really. It made me feel happy...for some weirdo reason.

I headed back towards Onehunga, and had a wander around Dressmart. Then i went to Botany, and bought myself a plunger. The drain in the bathtub here had gotten clogged up with all of our hair, i think...and was not draining. My new plunger fixed that in like 2 seconds...so that was nice. Having a shower yesterday morning with my feet in the freezing cold left over water from the day before was NOT NICE.

Today, i have just hung out with Nicole. She came home because she stayed the night at a friend's place in Howick last night. We have both felt tired and fluey so have had a very lazy day.

A very lazy weekend really. Jorgia comes back tomorrow morning...i think.

Tomorrow, it is one year, since i left that world behind me. One year since i last did that drug. How time flies, and how amazing is it, how much can change in just 12 months. I still cannot believe it, every single day...just how blessed i am.

Goodnight.