Keeping Hope Alive

“Surrender to God is the only way to go from a promise given to a promise fulfilled.” 

~Mercy Lokulutu

If you had asked me when I thought I would get married over a decade ago, I would have said, “Soon!” That was my heart’s desires (it still is), and I had no reason to believe it wouldn’t come about on my timetable. But the years passed, I dated a few guys, learned a lot, grew a lot, recovered from having a broken heart more times than anyone should have to, and to this day am still waiting to be joined with the love of my life.

Keeping hope alive in my heart has been difficult at times, especially during certain seasons. There were those seasons of recovering from a break up and wondering if my heart could go through getting to know another man. The pain of love lost was so strong and yet each time, God gave me grace to heal and opened my heart to love again. Then there were those seasons when I went years, not days, not months, but y-e-a-r-s without a single date. It was seemingly a lonely desert. And yet against all odds, that is the very place I blossomed. Why, you might ask? Well, simply put, I believe it all boils down to a single choice I made - the choice to surrender to God. It has been in that place of surrender that God sent his warmth and refreshment, which in turn has allowed me to bloom. I have been encountered by God’s love in this sweet spot of surrender, and, as a result, the desert is the very place where I have learned that God is good, and He’s always working for the good of His children even when circumstances seem to be less than favorable. I thank God for this desert, because this is the very place where surrender and hope collided. 

Keeping hope alive looks a lot like surrender. Keeping hope alive looks a lot like saying yes to God’s perfect timing. Keeping hope alive looks a lot like taking acts of faith even when there’s no finish line in sight.

I was recently reminded of this while training for a half-marathon. My friend and I were on one of our long runs, and she was several seconds ahead of me. At one juncture of our course, she disappeared around the corner of a large cement wall. I knew she was running the course just around the corner, but I could not see her. In order to see her again, I had to keep running. I kept putting one foot in front of the other, and sure enough, as soon as I rounded the corner, there she was plodding along and preparing the way for me. You see, not only is she my running partner, but she’s also been my guide. She has mapped out all of our courses because she doesn’t mind, and, well, I’m still getting to know my new city.

As I contemplated this event, I became especially aware of how God does that in my life. He maps out the course for me and then goes before me to prepare the way and guide and lead me to the finish line. Yet, there are times when I can’t see him. I find myself wondering, where is He? Should I keep running? Is He still running this race with me? What is He doing? Will I see Him again? Has He forgotten me? Will He finish the race with me?

And then I have a choice.  I can choose to deny the faithfulness that God has shown me my entire life and grasp to control the situation at hand, which doesn’t seem smart or wise, or I can choose to surrender to God and in doing so I choose to believe:

God is good.

God has good gifts for me.

He has my best interest in mind.

There’s nothing to fear (except God himself).

His timing is perfect.

He’s still working even when I can’t see Him.

He’s not left me even when I can’t see Him.

He’s not forgotten me.

He will lead me directly to the finish line.

He has gone ahead and lit the pathway for me to follow.

Even when He goes ahead, there’s unity in our race.

We’re in this together until the end.

So, I choose to run the race marked out for me, throwing off every hindrance, and fixing my eyes on Jesus. If he turns the corner and is out of my line of sight, I choose to keep running toward Him in faith, trusting He's still there, and I will see Him again soon. As I do so, I consider Him who endured the scorn of sinners while dying a painful death upon a rugged cross, all for the joy set before Him, the joy of being resurrected and sitting at His father’s right hand in heaven! It is in this place of reflecting upon Christ’s surrender of His life for the world, that I have found grace and power to not grow weary and lose heart but to persevere and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Nothing in my life can even compare to the suffering Christ experienced on the cross. No inconvenience, no social stigma from being misunderstood, no pain from broken relationships, no desert, no longing that is waiting to be fulfilled. I not only choose to keep running the race marked out for me, but I do so by following Jesus’s example of keeping a victorious mindset from the first step to the last. He surrendered, after all, for the joy set before Him. It is my desire to finish well. Oh what joy lies ahead…I eagerly anticipate it with each step I take!