“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

Watch in Hope

Whenever I’m going through a hard time, I pour out my heart in prayer to the Lord. Those prayers become hopes that I’m lifting up to the Lord. The hopes are almost like balloons floating in the sky—drifting up to God, waiting for Him to answer.  

When bad news comes, it’s like someone sticking a pin in one of those balloons and bursting it. At least, it feels like that.

If I’ve learned anything on this journey, it’s that it is so very important to take that burst balloon immediately to the Lord. He’s not shaken by bad news. He doesn’t see the burst balloon as “the end.” In fact, often it’s part of the process of what He’s doing. He’s the restorer of the burst balloon.

When I’m going through a hard time, my emotions are more vulnerable. At times they feel raw and tender from the intensity of this journey. Again, I’ve learned that I must take those vulnerable emotions to Him, especially when they involve a burst balloon of hope, and ask for His sweet covering over them.

I truly didn’t expect the bad news about my tumor growing that I got a few days ago. I had been praying for the tumor to shrink. I was surprised that it was the exact opposite. It felt like my balloon—my “hope” balloon—had been burst. As soon as I could get alone with the Lord, I talked to Him about all this. He lifted the weight of that burst balloon, and restored peace. How grateful I am for that.

Sarah Young, in one of her devotionals, says, “Hope is a way of seeing—a type of vision that defeats discouragement.”  I’ve been choosing to walk in that “way of seeing.” I find my hope in Him, and I know He’s taking care of us. I wait with hope to see what He intends to do.

“Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him” (Psalm 42:5).

I love how again and again in the Psalms, David says, “I shall again praise Him.” He’s honest. He’s struggling. But he knows where he’s headed in the midst of his hard time. He’s confident that he’s going to praise God again—he just needs to work through his discouragement. But he declares in faith how he’s going to end up as he works things through. His example is a good one to follow when we face hard times.

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5). I love how the Word speaks so very clearly into the things we are walking through in our lives.  I take courage from the Word!

“Lord, how we need You! We are so thankful for Your specific Word to us. Amen.”