Tag: hopelessness

hope or hopelessness

Seeking Hope – Where Are You Looking For It?

Posted on by Evangeline

When life challenges you and your circumstances make you feel like the situation is hopeless, where do you find yourself seeking hope?

When I went through dealing with health challenges, whether my own or those of a loved one, I found it harder to get through when I sought hope from sources other than the Lord. But, when I addressed the spiritual aspect of the challenge, it was very helpful to seek hope through focusing on God’s healing Word. Even now, as I’m pressured by external sources, looking to Jesus becomes easier when I concentrate on His promises of goodness and health. For instance, an affirmation of Psalm 107:2,20 reassures me:

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so; He has redeemed me from the hand of the enemy. He sent his word, and healed me, and delivered me from my destructions. (emphasis mine)

Feeling Hopeless?

If you find that you’re feeling hopeless about something today, remember that you are not alone. Abraham felt a deep sense of hopelessness about having the child that God had promised him. However, instead of giving in to that hopelessness, he held on to the Promise. Romans 4:18 TPT gives us insight about that:

Against all odds, when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it. He took God at his word…

I find that scripture so encouraging!

No matter what you’re facing, choose to find and believe God’s promise about it.  God always keeps His promises so expect it to be fulfilled because.

As we enter into the holiday season, a time when hopelessness can begin to raise its ugly head, I encourage you to be seeking and finding HOPE in God’s Word. It’s the best Source of hope that I know!

My friend, where have you been seeking hope apart from Him?

 

feeling hopeless choose hope

Here’s Help if You’re Feeling Hopeless About Your Fertility (or Anything Else)

Posted on by Evangeline

If you’re feeling hopeless about the status of your fertility, you can find help in many ways and from many sources. Sources like your gynecologist, a fertility doctor, a close friend, your parents, books, online forums, etc. But one thing I’m sure of (from personal experience)– the best help will come from God. When you address the spiritual aspect of infertility, you are increasing your opportunity to overcome infertility. And that’s reason to be hopeful!

If you feel hopeless, it’s not because there’s no hope available in your life. It’s because you feel there’s none.

Put an End to Feeling Hopeless

When it feels hard to find hope, look for ways to change things. In the Bible’s account of Abraham and Sarah’s infertility, we see how in spite of hopeless circumstances, Abraham chose to maintain hope.

When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. Romans 4:18 MSG

There are always actions we can take to move past hopelessness and feel better.

  • If a hopeless thought comes to your mind that things are never going to get better, remember a situation in your life when things looked hopeless but did improve. Doing this simple exercise will remind you how feelings will typically pass over time.
  • Express gratitude regularly. Appreciating the present moment will take your attention off of feeling hopeless.

So it boils down to making a choice. You can choose to pay attention to your feelings and have an attitude of hopelessness or, you can choose to focus on God’s love for you and what He has said in His Word. Yes! God has spoken about infertility. He’s even made promises about fertility. Here’s a good one to know:

And He will love you, bless you, and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your body…there shall not be male or female barren among you. Deuteronomy 7:13-14 AMPC

Therefore, choose to remember these thoughts when you are feeling hopeless: You are deeply loved. You are empowered by God’s Word. In Jesus, you are a recipient of the outcome of His promises.

Those are all reasons to be hopeFULL! 🙂

Feeling hopeless about your fertility? Focus on God's love for you and what He has said in His Word. Yes, God has spoken about fertility! Click To Tweet

An Eye-Opener for Me and a Pledge to You

Posted on by Evangeline

Well, last night was an eye-opener for me. I was with a small group of ladies, talking about my desires for my coaching business in 2019. Little did I know how the conversation would turn.

As I talked about my fears of finally stepping into what I know God is asking me to do…stepping into fertility coaching fully…I expressed how I thought I might not be relevant to younger women who are of childbearing age. But one of the ladies in the group, someone who I had not previously known, surprised me with her response. She shared that she had struggled with infertility for 10 years between her second child and her third child. Her mother was not alive during that time. She longed to speak to someone who had a mother’s heart. She had a real need to speak to someone who had experienced infertility and would share wisdom and encouragement with her from a biblical perspective.

Boy, was I convicted!

Now, I’ve decided that even though I may not be a marketing expert, even though I may not be savvy in using Instagram or other social media, I am putting myself out there. More than I have in the past.

Are You #TTC?

So to those of you who have known me through my blog, my books, or my fertility Facebook Groups, you will begin to see and hear more from me. And to those of you who will discover me in future posts, I pledge to do my best in making your season of infertility one that will not be filled with hopelessness.

If you are trying to conceive, I want to help you to develop and maintain a hope-filled focus so that you are confident in God’s promises of fertility!  ♥

If you are #TTC, I want to help you develop and maintain a hope-filled focus so that you are confident in God's promises of #fertility! Click To Tweet

Sometimes You Feel Empty in the Season of Infertility

Posted on by Evangeline

Empty.

It’s hard to get through the day feeling empty. Especially when every day seems to be filled with emptiness.

Empty womb.

Empty arms.

Empty heart.

Feeling empty

Emptiness is HEAVY. But how can emptiness have weight–isn’t that an oxymoron? I’m not sure how it happens but I know the emotions of emptiness and hopelessness are so heavy and burdensome and yet we readily tote them around as if we have no alternative. What do you do when those feelings of emptiness tempt you to carry them with you throughout your day? What if there was someone who wanted to carry that weight for you? Would you give it to them?

Well, the someone who has made that very offer is Jesus. He wants you to see Him as your burden lifter and carrier; the One who stands at the ready to pick up and carry all the weight of barrenness so that you can be yoked with Him, filled with His Spirit, and experience the fullness of His rest, peace and joy.

Will you let Him?

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” ~Matthew 11:28

Bring Back Your Hope

If you’ve lost hope for something in your life, bring your hope back to life by finding a promise of God that relates to your situation. Believe that the promise is true for you. If you find it hard to believe, ask God to help you believe it (Mark 9:24).

empty - unbelief

Then speak that promise and expect it to manifest in your life. You’ll have to be persistent in speaking that promise…your enemy, the devil, will do all he can to distract you from believing and speaking it with confidence. Despite that, continue to thank God that His promise for you is sure and worthy of your trust. Rest assured, your hope will be renewed and your confidence increased as you fill the emptiness and renew your hope by taking a stand on the promises of God.

When emptiness, hopelessness, and other negative emotions overtake you and make you feel like something is missing from the very core of your being, Jesus’ love and grace are available everyday to comfort and guide you through the struggle.

Illustration Sources: https://www.betterhelp.com (empty) and http://www.joshuanhook.com (unbelief)

 

The Danger of Hopelessness During Infertility

Posted on by Evangeline

Infertility and hopelessness--don't give up jpg

Hopelessness during infertility. The two seem to go together. But do they have to?

The danger of hopelessness is a loss of your joy, a critical element in maintaining hope. Hopelessness is spawned from giving up. Giving up on something means losing faith or belief that the thing will ever happen.  It’s an act of surrender to an enemy. You feel forced to give up and give in.

In the case of infertility, giving up is the choice someone makes when they declare that they are abandoning the fertility promises God  made. It’s a decision that infertility is incurable or unsolvable. As hopelessness swirls into every area of life and becomes a consuming power, it pulls all kinds of negative and dangerous thoughts into one’s mind. One might think that infertility is too hard for God (it’s not–Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:27). Or she may choose to think that God’s promises are not for everyone (they are — 2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Peter 1:3-4).

I frequently hear from women who are considering giving up on the thought that they will ever conceive and give birth to a child. They feel inept, broken, forgotten by God, and are sick and tired of trying to stand up to infertility.
Keep calm--infertility and hopelessness

But I want to offer an alternative to the hopelessness. There is no need to abdicate your position of authority over infertility when you are focused on Jesus, the One who is the cure for everything. Focus is everything.  Keep your focus on the Problem-Solver instead of on the problem.

 

Decide now to continue to trust God’s promises of fertility as being solid ground to stand on. They are never shaky because God does not lie; they are not like quicksand because they are based on the Solid Rock, Jesus. His promises are His forever-settled Word— God’s Word is His bond.

 

It can be tough to continue to have hope when your faith has become weak and you feel like giving up. But that’s the time to take this essential next step:

  • Speak and sing words of God’s praise to yourself and thank Him in advance of the manifestation of His promises. Do this repeatedly, every day.

Those words will begin to bring the joy back into your situation and soon you’ll feel strong again because “the joy of the Lord is our strength!”

 

“Sometimes you want to give up, but you can’t–something deep inside you won’t let you. No white flags, no bailing out, no throwing in the towel for you. You have to keep going; you must carry on you just take the next step…and the next…and the next.” ~B. J. Gallagher

 

HOW CLOSE ARE YOU?

You may be closer than you think!

infertility and hopelessness - don't quit - you're close

 

“Keep Calm” image courtesy of Keepcalm-omatic.com

What’s the Answer?

Posted on by Evangeline

What’s the answer to your problem today?

Do you think your answer depends on what the problem is?

                • Infertility
                • Unhappy Marriage
                • Lack of Money
                • Poor Health
                • Hopelessness
                • Strained Relationships
                • Failing Business
                • Loneliness
                • Depression
                • (Fill in the blank)

Regardless of the problem you face today, you can make it through because JESUS is the answer to any and all of your problems!

Be encouraged by this classic song by Andrae Crouch, “Jesus is the Answer“.