I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.” 
Lamentations 3: 19-24

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My life has been permanently shaped by an unrelenting hope in God. The first 19 years of my life were hellish, and His loving presence was the scrap of wood that kept me afloat in those dark, stormy years. My prayers to Him and His prayers and actions for me saved me and grew our relationship.

When I was 19-years-old, I surrendered to Jesus completely. At the time, I learned the Scripture that says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom. 8:28). Trusting this to be true, I began handling personal storms better. As I learned to live with God in my heart and as a permanent part of my awareness, my trust and hope in Him grew, as did my holiness and peace.

Despite this, I experienced years of prodigal wandering and testing God and Christianity for truth. To my surprise, I further discovered His great love and compassion and this further healed me.  He re-formed me through iterations ever more closely aligned to the character of Jesus, as, paradoxically, I became more “me.”

In the years since that period in my life, more trials and even severe situations have tested me, crushed me, and pruned me under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I continue to be a follower of Christ because He is real, alive, and actively involved in my daily life. Knowing this gives me unshakeable hope to get through anything in this life. I am eternal and cannot be defeated permanently as long as I remain close to Jesus.

Next Steps

Talk with God like the real person that He is. Ask Him to help you learn what it is to hope in Him, and ask Him for the gift of prayer so that you can communicate more frequently and naturally with Him. Then get ready for the adventure of your life because you will never be the same. He will respond. The Creator of the Universe will answer you!