Partnering with the Spirit of Hope

I want to preface this topic with this: if you have experienced or are struggling with anxiety, you
are not alone—there is hope, friend. Not just hope for the future but hope for right here and right
now. The God we serve is a God of Hope (Romans 15:13). He is bringing you freedom from one
degree of glory to the next. Step by step, He is leading you into His oasis of peace and brook of
bliss. There is rest for you even in intense seasons of anxiety.

My request of you is to be honest about where you are at with God and with other trusted people
in your life. Esther Fleece says: “God’s grace meets us where we are, not where we pretend to
be.” If you are struggling with anxiety, it is important that you bring it into the light. There is no
shame in where you are. Being honest with yourself and others is an important step to freedom.
You can probably take a survey of all the girls I disciple, and they would tell you the number one
thing that I say is: “God loves working in a process”. I don’t think God uses a process to make us
suffer longer. I honestly can’t tell you why God does what He does. What I can confidently tell
you is this: in the midst of a process with God, I have had the opportunity to learn about His
character in a deeper way than I could ever know if He immediately pulled me out of my
suffering. The truth is there will always be things to be anxious about. The second verse in James
says: “consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials”. Whenever
you experience…the author assumes that we will face trials. If we look at the life of any Biblical
character, they certainly had their fair share of trials. Although our suffering may look different
today, there is no denying it’s there.

But in the midst of anxiety, we have the opportunity to partner with the Spirit of Hope that says:
“Hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to
hope for something we already have? So, because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we
patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment” (Romans 8:24-25 TPT). When we partner with the
Holy Spirit, we are partnering with hope and waiting for something that we don’t have complete
freedom from yet. We are partnering with who God is, not in our circumstances. Our peace and
rest begins with His character. I want to encourage you to seek out who God is revealing Himself
to be to you in this season. Where do you see Him? How is He moving? Make time to spend
with Him. Let Him speak to you. Let Him lead you beside still, quiet, peaceful waters.

Father, I thank you that you are near to me, that at your core, you are kind and compassionate to
me. Thank you that you made it so that nothing can separate me from your love. Would you come
and refresh me with your presence? Would you remind me of truth of who you are? Father, in
this season, let it be one where I know your deep comfort and rest even in the midst of chaos.
Amen.

Author | Brooke DeLoach