Holding on to Hope

Dear Girl Who is Looking for Hope—

Want to know the T R U T H?

Even in tough things, the truth of Adonai’s love stands secure.

I don’t know the specifics of what you’re facing, but I know what it’s like to be hit wave after wave by hard things and shattered dreams. I’ve woken up with swollen eyes, dark from night after night of staying up in intense prayer over relationships and circumstances that have tried to crush my heart. My legs have scrambled to get my footing after getting knocked down, again and again and again.

It can feel hopeless, and yet, there’s an anchor of H O P E right there in the storm that stays secure.

The pressures of life and the expectations we place can kind of drain the hope right out of us, along with the dreams that lay broken on the floor.

It drains the strength right out of you, too. 

Yet those who H O P E in the Lord will renew their strength.

H O P E = strength.

When I’m feeling low on strength, feeling like I can’t get through this day—this month, this season, this year—I need to check myself for hope. To be honest, I don’t often find hope there. Most times, I find fear instead. When I pull back the facade that makes me look strong, I find the fear lurking there. It’s the fear of failing, fear of hopes dashed once more.

But does that kind of attitude reflect the great love of Adonai?

Do I truly hope in the goodness of Adonai? Am I rejoicing in hope in the midst of this circumstance, knowing that there are GOOD THINGS to come?

Sometimes you need to just do a heart check, and you discover that you really need a hope check too. 

Maybe your heart needs to be reminded that it’s okay to hope today. Maybe you need to do a search on the word H O P E in your Bible just to be reminded of how important it is. Maybe you need to sit down and make a list of all the good things you want to see manifest in the future that don’t seem like they’ll be a reality today—and maybe you need to allow yourself to dream while you do it.

Maybe you need to be reminded of how much God wants us to hope. 

It’s okay to dream big, and if the pieces fall shattered, still Adonai is good.

But even if the pieces fall shattered, you can’t just stay there in shards of broken hope and glass. 

Keep dreaming. Keep hoping. Keep holding out for your miracle.

Keep holding on to hope, dear Girl— there is always light and love for you, from Yeshua’s heart to yours.

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3 Ways to Get The Most Out of “Dear You”

I. Read the Scripture References

My words aren’t the ones with power—Adonai’s Word has that. I hope my words in each chapter beautifully accentuate the promises He speaks, but if you truly want to be transformed by Dear You, then you need to dive into the Book that inspired it. Read each Scripture reference given throughout the chapters, and truly take time to meditate on what Adonai is speaking. Highlight those verses in your Bible, or spend additional time understanding its meaning by using concordances or looking at the original Hebrew/Greek words. Put a star next to the Scripture references that stood out to you in Dear You so it’s easier to find the ones that are special to your heart. Take the time to write out the entire verse in the first box at the end of every chapter (“Look up each verse footnoted in this chapter. Write the ones that spoke to your heart below.”), or just write the reference and why that verse is important to you.

II. Answer the Questions

There are 10-12 questions at the end of each chapter, and it can be easy to just gloss over them on your way to the next chapter instead of working through them. However, if you really want to reach into your heart to find the wonderful and unique woman Adonai has created you to be, don’t skip these deep questions! These questions are what makes this book personal to you, helping you identify the lies you’ve believed in order to remove them, and shining light to discover your own personal talents and gifts that Adonai has placed within you. Don’t rush through the process—you won’t do it all in a day! Take 3-4 questions at a time and spread it through the week.

III. Invite Friends to Join You

There are so many wonderful reasons why doing this study with a friend will help you both go deeper! Not only will having someone else involved help keep you accountable to complete each chapter, but you’ll also be able to glean from each other’s perspective as you share what you’ve learned. It will also deepen your friendship with one another as you share places in your heart that may feel broken and allow each other to speak healing truth over those wounds. Use Dear You as a summer study together—whether its just you and your best friend, or with all the girls at your congregation! You will all grow closer together as you seek Adonai’s heart in unity.

Bringing Joy

At my grandpa’s funeral this past week, I found myself at a table with a distant cousin, catching up on our lives. She is a dear woman who makes every person truly feel important, sharing much wisdom in her words. So when she asked me two questions, I took them seriously…but I also have to admit, they took me by surprise.

“Do you have a family?” she asked.

Sitting in the midst of all our extended family, what kind of question was that? Yes? No? Is she asking if I’m married? I went the married route and told her no, I’m single. She solemnly nodded her head, but her next question was one I wasn’t expecting.

“What brings you joy?” she asked, looking deep into my eyes.

First of all, I was thinking how odd it was that we went from being single to asking if I had joy, as if marriage was the only thing in this world that could convey joy to a heart. Now, that’s not to say I don’t want to be married, or that marriage doesn’t hold a special joy all its own. But as I quickly scanned my soul, I knew that it wasn’t people or hobbies or circumstances that brought me joy. Here we were at my grandpa’s funeral, and although the grief was heavy, it wasn’t taking my abiding joy away from me. As I searched my heart, I found my quiet joy still there, burning in the dark. I smiled as I formulated my response.

“Honestly, this may sound like a really cheesy answer…but I’m Adonai’s daughter, and that brings me all the joy in the world. It’s not people or circumstances or hobbies. Knowing that I am so loved by Him, that He’s always there for me, knowing that I belong to Him…that brings me joy. That changes everything.”

My cousin nodded her head again, saying that it was good. It was a good answer, a good thing.

The thing is, my cousin wasn’t off-base in the order she asked her questions. So many girls think that a relationship, a marriage, a house full of children, will be the only things that will bring them joy. They spend their lives in bitterness and complaining, wishing that people or circumstances would finally change so that they can feel happy. They allow circumstances and people to define their happiness, and as a result, find that they never measure up.

The truth is, we have abundant life through Yeshua—He is the One Who has given us joy and meaning and purpose, and as such, no one else can take that away…because they didn’t give it to us in the first place. No other voice can define us, unless we choose to give that person or circumstance authority in our lives. When we know who we are as daughters of Adonai, we can truly know the fullness of joy we have in Him.

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16:1 NASB

Where does your joy come from, friend? What brings you the most joy—the kind that goes deep down, forever abiding in your soul? A girls’ night out, your favorite movie, or a relationship won’t give that kind of joy to you. Happiness, maybe. But everlasting joy?

Find Adonai’s joy, the joy that is meant to be eternal.