God is the source of our hope. Hope means you have something to look forward to, something to cling to, something you’re counting on. You may not know how and you may not know when, but you know something good is going to happen in the future. That is hope. Hope that it’s all going to work out. Hope that you’re going to make it through. Hope that every promise will be fulfilled. Hope that the plans for your life are good.

Your goals and good works are not the source of that hope. Your perfect plan and perfect follow through isn’t the source of that hope. What’s the source? GOD. I pray that GOD, THE SOURCE OF HOPE. Repeat after me, THE SOURCE.

We’re currently dealing with termites in the darling little turquoise beach cottage we’re staying in. In literally one week we noticed the baseboard trim in 2 areas begin to crumble. This is a new house. Thinking it was some sort of water damage, my husband touched the affected areas of the wood and it caved in then termites began crawling out. Ummmmm yuck.

Did you know that termites can completely chew through a 2×4 in 2 weeks? Did you know active termites can destroy your house from the inside out while your floors are clean and the candles are lit?

The professionals came out to the house to look for one thing. THE SOURCE. Where were the termites coming from. If they could find the source, they could save the house. Less than 2 feet from the deck is a tall palm tree. In the top of that tall palm, they found the source. There was the termite nest and there sat the queen. Now, mission on to hide bait in the wall for the worker termites eating the house so they take it all back and poison the source. If the source is wiped out, the destruction ends.

God is our SOURCE OF HOPE. All hope flows from him. If our connection with God is poisoned, all hope ends. How do we become connected with this source of hope? YOU TRUST HIM!

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace BECAUSE YOU TRUST IN HIM.” Repeat after me: Because you trust him.

Your trust in God opens the flow of hope. Hope feels like joy and peace. Hope feels like happiness and burdens lifted. Hope feels like assurance for the future. Hope feels like a deep knowing you’re going to be okay. All of this flows from your TRUST IN HIM.

My friend, if you don’t trust in the source, then you are disconnected from your hope. If you don’t trust God, then the whole world looks really scary. If you don’t trust in God, governments have the power to ruin you. If you don’t trust in God, that sickness could be the end. If you don’t trust in God, everything can come crashing down at any minute.

I’m an adrenaline junkie. I love every adventure that takes my breath away. I’ll climb that. I’ll jump off that. I’ll ride that with my hands in the air the entire time. And I can do it because I trust I’m connected to something. There’s a bungee. There’s a parachute. There’s a rope. There’s a seat belt. I’m trusting there’s something securing me. And as I trust whatever I’m secured to, I can have extreme joy and complete peace as I’m flying or falling or hanging upside down. If I didn’t trust it, instead of joy there would be complete panic. Instead of peace there would be anxiety.

When we are filled with panic and anxiety, could it be because we’re not trusting the source? Is there a disconnect with our source? When the connection with our source is severed, the flow of joy and peace is halted.

My sister, that is NOT God’s desire for you. He does not wish for you to be filled with panic and anxiety. He doesn’t want you overwhelmed with fear. In fact, do you know how many times the Bible says, “DO NOT FEAR” or something similar like “don’t be afraid” or “don’t worry”. 365 times. That’s once for every morning of the entire year. Every day God is telling you, TRUST ME. God says, “When you trust in me, your worry, your fear, and your anxiety is replaced with joy and peace.”

Life is not a kiddie ride. It’s not the carousel with the fancy horses. It’s the wildest ride in the park! It’s the wooden roller coaster that shakes you so hard you get a few bruises and walk away spinning. That’s life. And you’re going to need to be securely attached to something or you will never find joy or peace. When you know God’s got you, you can throw your hands up and enjoy the ride. But until you learn to trust him, there will be no joy or peace.

Trusting in God doesn’t mean life becomes easy. It doesn’t mean things work out the way you thought they would. It doesn’t mean everyone plays nice. Trusting God means you go through it and come out of it with HOPE.

If you still have the source of hope, you can keep coming back. If you have a path to the source, hope will continue to flow.

Our little termites have a source. As long as their source remains, they will keep coming back. If the source gets wiped out, they cannot survive.

As crazy as it sounds to compare God to a Queen termite, he is our source. And if our source remains, then we can keep coming back again and again and again. No matter how many disappointments we face. No matter how many things fall apart. No matter how hard times get. Our source will sustain us to survive. But if we become disconnected from our source, then all hope is gone.

How do we become disconnected from our source of hope, which is God? How does that happen? Well first, you must know the source will never leave you. Romans 8:38-39, Paul writes, “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God will never stop loving you. He will never turn away from you. Ever. Nothing you could do would separate him from you.

But my sister, you could separate yourself from him. You could reject the source of hope and stop the flow. How? By no longer trusting him. By trying to control this on your own. By trying to make things happen under your own power.

If you don’t trust him, you lose all hope. And without hope, there is no joy or peace.

No God, no joy.
Know God, know joy.

No God, no peace.
Know God, know peace.

Anything you’ve been trusting in outside of God will disappoint you. God is your source of hope. His promises are for you. His plans are for you. His blessings are for you. You can be confident in this and just keep coming back!

Trusting in God looks like you just coming back to God as your source. Over and over again. Don’t let fear block you. Don’t let worry get in your way. Don’t sit stuck in overwhelm. Come back to God and be filled to overflowing with hope as you trust ONLY in him.

One final thing that hits me about trusting our source. If you don’t trust the airplane, it doesn’t make the airplane fail. You just don’t get to take the trip. If you don’t trust the parachute, it doesn’t make the parachute bad. You just never get to jump.

A failure to trust the source doesn’t cause the source to fail, it simply causes you to miss the opportunity. God has overflowing joy and peace for you on this journey, but you have to trust him as your daily source and your eternal hope. Will you?

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