The past two months have been extremely windy here in Anna Maria. The swells that were created by the atmospheric conditions have been great for surfing and the wind has been refreshing for beachgoers, but not for the fishing enthusiast.
Recently, there were consecutive days of the right amount of wind for surfing. The portion of the beach I walk out on to begin my morning walk is where the surfers gather to catch the waves. Each morning, and occasionally at sunset, the gulf was sprinkled with surfers.
One morning, the waters were mostly calm and the breeze was minimal. I noticed there was one gentleman, only about ten yards off the shore, sitting on a surfboard. He kept looking back as if he was anticipating the next big wave. But nothing.
A swell finally came, the lone surfer hopped up on his board, rode it for about four feet, then dropped to the sand. When he landed, the water barely came up mid calf. I had to laugh at the scene. But then a thought came…was this novice surfer hopeful or hopeless?
How do you live your life? Do you live it full of hope or depleted of hope?
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3 NASB
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT
I choose to live a life of hope. Yes, even when situations and surroundings seem hopeless, I choose hope. This hope can be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to the dictionary, hope means a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, and a feeling of trust. Friend, living with the expectation of what is to come eternally fills me with so much joy compared to if I were to live with the expectation of what is to come here on earth. If you haven’t noticed lately…this world has gone crazy. I desire to be with Christ in heaven one day. And do you know what? He desires for you to be with him as well. Putting your trust in Jesus Christ gives you reason to live a life of hope and joy. Glory!!! Just the thought of it gets me giddy.
In the meantime, until He calls you and me home, let’s choose to live life much like that lone surfer on an almost calm day…full of hope.
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Romans 12:12 HCSB
May God’s breathed words, penned through Paul, be my prayer for you as well:
I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 ERV
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie
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