How Hope Changed Me

Hope.

An expectation of obtainment. To expect with confidence.

I hope that I get that promotion.
I hope that my children don’t get hurt.
I hope that I find an amazing man to marry.

Everybody hopes in something. For something. If they say they don’t, they’re lyin’.

Just sayin’.

I hoped that one day I’d find my knight in shining armor. I didn’t know when he’d arrive on my doorstep so while I waited for him, I made a list of things that I desired my future husband to possess. Tall. Musical. Loves Jesus. Sensitive. Funny. Respectable. Admirable. Honest. Trusting. Protecting. Handsome.

I hoped for a lot.

Finally, he found me. And I found him. We were smitten with each other from our very first date. Apparently, he liked me so much that, unbeknownst to me, he put a down payment on my wedding ring the next day. And ten months later, I got a new last name.

American author Catherine Marshall said, “God is the only one who can make the valley of trouble a door of hope.” I had no idea how applicable this quote would be in my life one day. But nine years into our marriage, everything crumbled. Actually, it crumbled before that but I just didn’t know it. 

My marriage died. So did my hope.

But then, God. On the days when I could barely lift my head from the pillow, God gave me strength. When the images would come flooding into my mind, God gave me peace. When the pain bombarded me and suffocated me like a blanket in 100° weather, God comforted me.

He will provide the same for you. Strength. Peace. Comfort. Hope.

Now I can’t promise that He will remove the storms from your life. I can’t promise that you’ll have a comfortable, pain-free existence on this earth. I can’t promise that you’ll get everything you want and dream for.

What I can promise is that when you are weak, He’ll be strong. When you think you can’t take another step, He’ll carry you. When you are in despair, He’ll be your hope. We find these truths in Isaiah 40:30-31:

They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.”

Hope in the Lord.

Hope in the Lord.

Hope in the Lord.

Cindy Beall

Cindy Beall is a writer and mentor to women. She and her husband, Chris, speak openly about their difficult journey through Chris’ infidelity and pornography addiction that nearly destroyed their marriage and ministry. Through God’s grace they have inspired thousands of couples and have returned to full-time ministry where Chris serves as the Oklahoma City Campus Pastor at LifeChurch.tv. Cindy’s first book, Healing Your Marriage When Trust Is Broken, released in August, 2011, with Harvest House Publishers. www.cindybeall.com

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