Love Always--Day 13

Love always hopes.

FOR YOU:

Make a brain web today of the things you hope for.  What are your heart's desires?  What do you hope will happen?

Think of a time when you felt hopeless.  What did "hopelessness" feel like?  How did it turn out?

"Hope looks beyond a cure for disease, a solution for a problem, an escape from pain, to an assurance from God that life has point and meaning in spite of disease, problems, and pain. Hope looks to the promise of the final victory of Jesus Christ over all that hurts and kills. This is the hope that gives us courage to praise today and face tomorrow with expectancy even when we do not expect the problem to be solved." (Lewis Smedes, Love Within Limits, p. 103)

How do we draw on that kind of hope? It comes from being filled with the Spirit. We ask for the gift of the Spirit which Jesus came to give us. We open our hearts and minds to receive that which we need, when all things seem to be hopeless and we are tempted to despair. We believe that God who loves us, will give us the hope we need, to sustain us.

Pray for God to give you a spirit of hope.

FOR YOUR SPOUSE:

Today, write a hope list.  Each of you should have an individual piece of paper.  On that paper, write down 3-5 areas where you have given up hope in your marriage.  Write 3-5 areas that you still have hope in.

Pray together for God to deepen your level of hope and encouragement in your marriage.  

#1 Wait	Don’t talk right away about your list of how your marriage could be better. It is not meant to be a list on how bad your spouse has been! To be honest, some of you might never have an opportunity to share this list with your spouse.
#2 Confess	When you have fallen into temptation to giving up, you need to confess your sin to God. It was not God who wanted you to doubt His plan.
#3 Ask	Ask the Lord to restore hope to the very areas that you have given up hope. It might be something so simple as your husband expressing his gratefulness for your hard work. Or it could be the ability to live with your selfish spouse in love and kindness.
#4 Anticipate	Give God the opportunity to answer your prayer in His time and way. We do this by telling Him and yourselves what you want, why you think your marriage should have those things, and a willingness to do what is needed for it to be done including waiting a long time. Wives must not nag, hint or manipulate to get what they wish. Husbands must refuse to commandeer their wives into what they want.
#5 Share	It is natural to want to share your list with your spouse. If your spouse asks to hear your list, then you are free to share it with him or her. If he or she does not ask, then just keep it between you and God. Remember you ‘two,’ God and you are a team working together in hope. Each day you will seek Him for these things and watch for how He begins to accomplish this work.

 (Table Source)

FOR YOUR KIDS

Spend some time examining your children.  How naturally does hope come to them?  Where does their hope come from? Pray with your children.  Praise God for their childlike faith and ask that He fill you with hope as pure as theirs.