Hope is anticipating a positive future.
During the Christmas season, sometimes reality does not live up to our expectations. We feel discouraged, which can cause despair. We give up thinking that our lives will ever work the way we want them to, or that our lives and struggles have meaning. We need an antidote to despair.
One way we can anticipate a positive future is to purify our memories. Our old hurts and resentments weigh us down with discouragement and self-doubt. So does our unforgiven-ness.
We cannot change the past. But we CAN change how we think about the past:
- how tightly we cling to our interpretation of it
- how much blame we assign to people
- whether we forgive ourselves and others
Each one of us is on the battlefield of Good and Evil every day. Satan is “the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning.” He likes nothing better than to sink his claws into us, and dish out lies to us about ourselves, our relationships and our worth.
He has been at it since that momentous day in the Garden of Eden. But his successes have really escalated over the past 50 years with the lies of the Sexual Revolution.
How can we be hopeful in the face of all that?
God has been at work restoring the cosmos since the day of the first human sin. We can help by letting go of our old wounds and allowing Him to restore US! We can look forward to a better, more hopeful future.
Here at the Ruth Institute, we offer a Recipe for Peace. No matter what may be going on in your life, we think you can contribute to creating an atmosphere of peace within your own families, work places and circles of friends. In this way, we can participate in the peace of Christ the King. How do you remain hopeful? How do you forgive others? How do you let go of blame? Share your thoughts with us at #RecipeForPeace.
Join us on the Ruth Institute Facebook page, and learn more about the #RecipesForPeace campaign.
