CAUGHT UP in HOPE

I was at an event this past weekend when I ran into a close friend of my parents. He immediately came up to me and gave me a warm hug. After the initial greeting, he said, "God is so amazing, isn't He? Could you have ever imagined being where you are today from where you once were--in the midst of tragedy?"To be honest, I couldn’t imagine being where I am today from where I once was yesterday. I only hoped through it all. And though hope may not be able to see the future, it was enough to see above the pain of the day, which allowed me to enter purpose for that day. Days turned into weeks. Weeks, months. And months became close to 5 years. Hope carried me. Purpose centered me.  And, are you ready for this:  it was adversity that chiseled me.I would have never imagined that I would see adversity as God’s most effective tool to refine me and develop me. I mean, who wants pain in their life?  Hope however, knows that God is in ultimate control of all things. And whether we caused the adversity or the adversity happened to us, I have learned that we shouldn't be concerned with the source of the adversity, but rather how we respond to it.The Bible breathes, "And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Essentially, it takes hope to know, purpose to go, and adversity to grow. Again, hope carries us, purpose centers us, and adversity chisels us. I didn't understand everything that I went through, but I did understand that hope was enough to get me through. And hope doesn't necessarily remove the adversity, but it opens up the channels for God to use the adversity.I echo my parent’s friend when I say, “God is amazing and I couldn’t imagine this present purpose from my past problem.” I couldn’t imagine because I was too caught up in hoping. Hoping in my God’s faithfulness in spite of my recklessness. Hoping in Jesus.Hope, I learned, is Jesus!