Hope opens the door to joy and joy feeds our hope.  Finding hope where we are is not always easy.  It takes practice, but I believe it takes more energy to see negatively than it does to take it in stride and live in confidence.  Choose hope instead of living with the bad things that happen in life.

It appears many people today wallow in their past, whether it be failures, health, abuse or addiction.  I choose now to let it go and let it shape me.  My past is a part of who I am but I won’t let it define me negatively.  It did change me for many years with insecurity, shame and self-doubt.  God allows me to be free of the doubt and shame.  Life is not perfect but I choose to live for joy and hope now!

Overcoming 

Our past is not always our choice it is what happens to us.  What we do to overcome our past is our choice.  Choose to possess your story and make it into a story of redemption like in the song “Overcomer” by Mandisa.

Below is a quote from the Devotional “Living Toward Hope” – written by the Pastor’s at Community Church of God

“What do you need to leave behind, in order to recover that essential self that God created?  What do you need to walk away from, in order to reclaim those unique parts God designed for His purposes?”

“Dear God,  Today, give me the courage to live the life You’ve called me to, with the same contentedness and confidence as the falling snow or the pouring rain.  Please help me to walk away from roles and expectations that other people have for me and to live in peace in the exact way You created me — on purpose and for a purpose.  In Jesus name, Amen.”

Reflection question:

Are you living in hope or do you need to reclaim redemption?