As we start into a new year, I need to ask myself (and you) where is your “hope meter”? I think for many, a new year means new opportunities, a fresh start and or a blank page. I think for others, depending on your “hope meter”, it may feel like more of the same, or a pessimistic outlook. Can it really be better this year?
What is your "hope meter" and why does it matter? Well, your hope meter is simply just how “hopeful” you feel. Many times, it is based on our circumstances and or our mind set. If we lean towards an optimistic mindset, if circumstances are looking good, then we very likely feel hopeful. If you lean towards a more pessimistic mindset (I personally call this one realistic) and circumstances are concerning or not looking good, then you probably do not feel hopeful.
For believers, this can be challenging because our hope cannot be in our circumstances. It must be in a person. In fact, hope is a person and that person is Jesus. Circumstances will change; therefore, our feelings of hope will change. Our hope meter will fluctuate. Our hope must be centered in Christ. It must not be based on what is happening now, but on what I am confident will happen in the future.
"In fact, hope is a person and that person is Jesus."
I do not know how God will work all things for my good here. It is His promise, but I can not know what or how that will look. I can know that one day everything will be made right. I will not have changing circumstances one day. I will not have to hope any more, because my hope will be a constant fixed reality if that hope is fixed on the unchanging Christ.
So, as you think about this year, even if your hope meter is low, remind yourself that your hope does not rest in the circumstances, but in the person of Jesus. Ephesians 3: 20 “Now to Him who is able to do for more abundantly than all that we can ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us. “
Let’s fix our eyes on this hope that is Jesus.
~Carla