About the Author

ALIZA LATTA is a writer, artist, and pastor who is a huge fan of telling stories. She creates content for Canada’s largest youth conference, Change Conference, and is a church planter in Ontario, Canada. Her artwork and writing have been featured in publications for LifeWay, Dayspring, and (in)courage. She is...

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things we love
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  1. Aliza,
    I read your youthful words and it so describes my son (age 21). In his/your generation there does seem to be a very prevalent lack of hope and it saddens me. I didn’t raise my son to feel hopeless, but I know that he does. This is where I need hope…that our God who is truly able can reach young people like my son with the message of hope that only comes through His son Jesus Christ. I pray earnestly every day that God would soften his heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh. I pray that my son will come into relationship with his Savior. I keep holding onto hope.
    Thank you for your insightful post!
    Blessings,
    Bev

    • Bev, as I read your comment this morning, my heart just went out to your son. The lack of hope saddens me, too. I’ve been praying for your son this morning, and I’ve been praying that he finds hope in Jesus’ arms. I’ve also been praying for you, too, because that has to be tiring for you. Thank you so much for sharing with me!!

    • Hi Aliza,

      Your words in this post are so encouraging, which is pretty perfect for this website! I enjoy writing myself and it brings me so much peace to write and read posts from others, especially during harder seasons. You mentioned at the end of your blog post what area we need the most hope in. My hope is to not let fear control my life and halt my steps. Last week my grandpa passed away. He was a strong believer and accomplished so much in his life with the Lord’s provision. I can only pray that God guides my path rather then let fear falter my confidence. Thank you for sharing your beautiful words! I pray the Lord continues to bless your writing journey. Have a wonderful day!

      • Oops I meant to leave comment, not reply to one! While I am replying, Bev, I read your comment and I am praying for your son tonight. I am 20 years old so I understand the hurts and doubts this generation can have. I pray the Lord provides peace and understanding in his heart!

        -Allie

  2. Thank you Aliza for your words. I too am a member of Generation Y and also recently started believing that it’s ok to not be ok. Currently I need hope with my broken friendships. Plural. That Christ can restore and produce forgiveness in my heart and the hearts of those who betrayed me, after many months of tearful prayers and an aching heart.

    The only way to have hope with anything in this often-times messy world is Christ. As St. Patrick prayed…

    Christ be with me, Christ within me,
    Christ behind me, Christ before me,
    Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
    Christ to comfort and restore me.
    Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
    Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
    Christ in hearts of all that love me,
    Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

    If we always have Christ, we always have hope.
    Stephanie

    • Wow, I lo-ove that prayer. I haven’t heard it before, but those words resonate deep. I also totally get where you’re coming from with the broken friendships. Those are hard, eh? Especially forgiveness. That one’s hard, too. Keep praying that prayer, Stephanie. Christ is with us. He is with me.

  3. I have been plagued by depression and anxiety for my entire life, since I was too young to even know the despair I was feeling. I have prayed and prayed for God to heal me, but it seems to be my “thorn in the flesh.” I have prayed as I fall asleep at night for God to just take me home, that I can’t handle the pain anymore. But every morning, I wake up again, with just enough hope to carry me one moment at a time. I am scared that I will always be sick, that I will always be out of control of my moods and emotions. I need hope that I’m going to survive, and not just survive, but live. I am so so so so tired.

    • Sharon,
      I read your post and my heart aches for you. I have/do suffer from depression and anxiety (OCD). I know for some people it is caused by situations and experiences, but in other people, like myself it is a definite chemical imbalance. Have you tried medication to treat your symptoms? I know for a long time I was made to feel that if I just had more faith I would not have these symptoms (that it was a weakness on my part). Nothing could be further from the truth…I had/have an illness and with thanks to medicine and counseling I am able to lead a relatively normal life. I know the awful pain of depression and anxiety…know that I will be praying for you!! Don’t give up…there is hope!
      ((Hugs)),
      Bev

      • Bev,
        Yes, I have been on medicine for 12 years. It really does help, but whenever there are significant changes in my life my condition is aggravated. In the last 1.5 years I’ve gotten married, miscarried twins, switched jobs 3 times, bought a house, etc. Things are starting to look up, but I truly believe that I am experiencing spiritual warfare because I have been working so hard to deal with my issues and dig up the root causes of my problems and make positive changes. I have become aware of lies that I have believed my whole life and I think that makes the Enemy angry and he’s definitely been on the prowl.

        • I’m reading Stop the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick. It might be an encouraging book to you. I’m sorry that you are going through so many tough things. I also believe when you are in the right place spiritually that the Enemy tries to tear you down. *hugs*

          • Thank you for the book recommendation! I always love a good book. Your encouragement means so much.

        • Sharon,
          Wow…yes stress (both good and bad stress) aggravates depression and anxiety. Also, the closer you get to dealing with your issues and just knowing that you are a dearly loved and cherished child of the King who delights in you, the enemy will do his best to hinder you from believing the truth. Praying that the truth of who you are in Christ will prevail and the enemy will be bound! We are more than conquerors!
          Bev xx

    • Dearest Sharon – I am praying over you right now as I type. I want you to know that you are not weak, oh no not even in the slightest. In fact, you are so incredibly strong. I read your words and they come from a woman who is strong and brave and bold – and I know that because you are honest and real and open. I pray right now that Jesus holds you tight and close – today and tomorrow and every single day after that. You are loved, you are seen, and you are significant. And I fully, fully believe that. Sending you my love today.

      • Thank you Aliza. Your words are life affirming and your prayers are strengthening me. I am going to record your words in my journal to always remember them.

    • For Sharon,
      I’ve been where you are right now. I went through many, many years of it. My heart cries for you, but there is hope! On Nov 9, 2012 I entered a psychiatric hospital with anxiety so extreme I could no longer function. I was afraid of people, afraid to leave my home. It was a living hell. Every day I would wake up crying, then cry all day, and fall asleep crying at night. I remember I would quietly sing the Matt Redman song Ten Thousand Reasons over and over and just focus on those words to get me through the next minute.
      Flash forward exactly one year. On Nov 9, 2013, I arrived at church early to make coffee and I could hear the worship team practicing. They began to sing Ten Thousand Reasons and I stopped in my tracks. Only God and I knew what that song had meant to me. To hear it being sung on the anniversary of that day was overwhelming. I remembered all that I been through and where I was today and the contrast was astounding! Now I belong to several charitable organizations and have done public speaking. I have found an amazing love-filled church where most people have heard my testimony. I’m no longer fearful. I am joyful! The Lord saved my life and He is no respecter of persons. With Him all things are possible! I will join my prayers to yours and agree with you for wholeness and restoration. He has an awesome plan for your life!

  4. I need HOPE in being free from all the false strongholds in my mind that tell me I’m not good enough, I’m a bad Mom, so in so doesn’t like me, I’m doing such in such wrong………etc.

    • Yes! Because you ARE good enough, Elizabeth! Being enough is something that I seriously struggle with, too. And it really is a daily struggle. But you are enough. We are enough.

  5. Sharon-precious sister and child of God! You are not alone and you are loved. I share your struggle and for years lived thinking it was my cross to bear and I had no hope of release. But That is a lie from Satan -the thief that comes to steal,kill and destroy. Jesus is our healer And the lifter of our heads. At almost 40 I still have days I struggle and it seems darkness shrouds me…..BUT Jesus beat the darkness on the cross….and by speaking scriptures of hope out loud…and telling Satan to get lost….and not beating myself up for feeling depressed…..the darkness flees every time. Don’t give up sweet girl….and don’t accept this as your thorn in the flesh….because it is not so much flesh as it is a spiritual fight. God has something awesome and specific for you to do. Satan knows this and is working hard to bind you from the freedom that is yours in Jesus. That freedom may be a process…like me…it took years and is still going…..but every fetter of depression and anxiety that I break off each day…..gives me just a little bit more energy to focus on the very things God has for me.

    • I am so overwhelmed by your words of encouragement. I am speechless. You remind me of my mom, who has always loved to tell Satan to “get lost!” Thank you so much.

  6. And Bev -I am with you….yes to Medicine and good counseling! In the midst of it-we need others “Godly counsel”. It is not about having more faith but it is about being able to hear and comprehend Gods great love and acceptance of us….right where we are.

  7. Thank you for your words of Hope today. I needed that. We just moved quickly from my family home to a new, smaller, unfamiliar place we now have to call “home”. I need hope that everything is going to be ok and not to give up.
    Thanks!

  8. Hope now; hope always!
    Psalm 131:3 (The Message) Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!

  9. Aliza, thank you so much for this – for your transparency, your lovely words, and for shining the light on this issue. My husband and I are pastors, and we meet so many people – some generation Y, but many who are not – who struggle with hopelessness. This message is exactly what they need.

    • Thank you for your encouragement, Amy! You’re right – I don’t think it’s only Generation Y who feels this way. We all need hope – I’m so glad you and your husband share that with others!

  10. I need hope in living with chronic illness. I love the saying ” it’s okay not to be okay” I would love to hear and feel validated by those words, as others have a hard time understanding my illness. I do know that God understands and he alone is my hope!!

  11. I have been thinking and praying on this so much the past week – to sit and grieve and not be ok, but to prepare my heart for what is coming. I feel hope being restored in my life and I need hope as I move into a season of change, I need hope in my new marriage, I need hope in what God is doing with and for my family. I want to move into this new season refreshed and walking in the peace of Christ – hope is so precious to me right now.

  12. I am generation X and this definitely echoes my life. At almost 50 I am only just getting that it is okay not to be okay, and it is still uncomfortable. I hold the hope that, simply, I will find a place to live that I can afford and settle down in by the end of the month. On a bigger scale, that one day someone will love me just the way I am (and am so amazingly grateful and ecstatic that God does even when I doubt it). And even more, that there is enough active hope in myself and in others that we can change, affect, heal and brighten a world that just seems to be falling apart … especially for women and children.

    For Sharon, though, I pray for your hope. I am you and sometimes hope is even harder than getting up and taking any step during the day … every day. You are amazing for being alive today, for continuing to move forward, even if it’s a shuffle. You are amazing even in the darkness when all is swirling noise. You are what is glowing in the very middle of everything that is wrong, is crooked, is overwhelmingly too much to take, because your heart is God’s and he holds you. It doesn’t matter your level of hope or that it doesn’t look like anyone else’s, It is yours and It is dear to Him. You are deeply loved just the way you are. While you wait for tangible healing, for that string of days where you wake up and know in every cell that it’s going to be okay … maybe not perfect, but okay…. keep trusting. He can use you. I pray for your hope.

    • Thank you for speaking life to me. You are reminding me of that TobyMac (I think) song about speaking life and people coming alive when you encourage them. Thank you for being Jesus to me today.

  13. My family and I most need hope for my step-mother, who is currently on a ventilator, because her lungs were not working properly after a recurrence of her cancer (which God took care of in a MIGHTY way.) Also we have hope for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis as a dear family we know has two children with the disease. <3

      • Oh man Lorna. My mom has cancer right now, and that’s where I’m finding I need the most hope, too. It’s a horrible thing. But I am soooo happy to know that God took care of her!! He’s amazing like that, eh? If you want to get a shirt for your friend and don’t win through this giveaway, this is the link to the store: http://www.hashtaghope.bigcartel.com/

  14. I’ve been in recovery from Anorexia for almost 8 years… In those years, God has blessed me with three beautiful, healthy boys (6, 4, almost 2). My struggles are different now. I’m a stay at home mom, and some days am just surviving. I still struggle with Anxiety and Depression from time to time. I try to stay busy, and help lead an Eating Disorder Christian-based recovery group and am on leadership for a local MOPS group. I have found serving to be helpful in my recovery. Where I need hope the most is in my negative self talk… I still feel like a failure, worthless. Will these feelings ever go away?!? I’ll never be enough. Enough of a daughter, mom, wife, sister, friend. I’ll never be “fit” enough. My house will never be clean enough. You name it, and I feel inadequate. I need more hope that this will not always be this way…

    • Oh Brooke! I know what it’s like to feel worthless and like a failure. And I also know our stories are very different. But I absolutely believe that you are enough. Just as you are. (Easier said then believed, huh?) But I know that it’s the truth. And I pray you’ll believe it’s the truth, too.

  15. In the moments of physical pain/discomfort, mom guilt, and when thinking about and praying for others with circumstances that are hard to understand.

  16. You have provided such truth. May you be blessed abundantly for sharing your heart and God’s word.
    I pray that whomever receives the giveaway prize will be blessed and drawn closer to God. He is an AWESOME GOD! He loves you more than you can ever imagine. He has engraved you in the PALMS OF HIS HANDS. Not just one but both hands, your name is forever engraved.
    God bless & believe.

  17. Hope for being free to be. So many insecurities in a culture that is so imperfect- but we are surrounded by the illusion of perfection and comparison in our over connected lives via social media. Reminding myself that I am enough- and my best is enough if I am trying.

    • I know, comparison is so addicting, and yet so toxic. I have beeeeeen there. (I’m still there, let’s be honest!!) You are free, Rachel, and? You. are. enough.

  18. The refinding of a way through life and its challenges has been paralyzing at times and hope-a hope that reignites self value while affirms that I am capable of being loved-can be fleeting. I long for a sustaining and consistent hope-one that I can grasp without it slipping away like vapor. An every day hope.

  19. Hope. It’s the word He keeps giving me and a message we all need. When I look at my family and how it looks so much different than I had planned…Hope is the reminder I need. Because it’s always there, even in the most broken moments. Love this!!!

  20. … and hope to Bev and Kerry and Kim. Your struggles allowed me to think beyond my own and I just spent time outside of my own darkness because you were willing to share. There is nothing like a brief flash of light. What a blessing each of you is to me in this moment!

  21. I need hope that my broken heart and marriage can be put back together. My husband of 13 years suffers from an addiction that has torn our marriage and my self-esteem to shreds. I suffer from depression and hopelessness. I know that God is a God of miracles and He can heal my husband and my heart. I know that my hope and identity and worth are in Christ. But satan’s lies are so loud and have taken up residence in my mind for so long that they are my default. I have a hard time forgiving my husband and letting go of my pain and suffering. My heart knows Scripture and it knows truth, my mind however is resisting the renewing Christ desires to do in me. My hope lies within the surrendering of my mind, my heart, my body, my soul. God wants all of me.

    • Kelly, I’m just praying right now that you will believe the things you just wrote. That yes, God IS a God of miracles, and that He can heal your heart and your husband. Because He is head over heels, madly in love with you. Sometimes, these things are just hard to remember when we hear the lies of so many other things. Praying His banner of love over you right now.

  22. Aliza! I love this!

    My fave line is where you wrote, “There are so many days where I feel like a disappointment.”

    I feel like that has been the story of my life. No one in my family ever spoke hope or believed in me. That is where I need hope…hope to know that the Father is pleased with me and that He loves me beyond all reason. In my head I know but it takes some time for that truth to make it’s way to my heart.

  23. I need hope in being 46. Never have had a date. No children. No legacy. Wonder if anyone cares about me. Hope? Will I ever find a mate. Kids that a lost dream. I need hope for my dreams to come back and not be lost.

  24. This is such a lovely message, such a needed reminder! I need hope most right now in believing and trusting in Gods dreams for me, in embracing the hope for the dreams He has given me. I seem to have to wrestle fear and doubt constantly, as I try to cling to the hope of Gods faithfulness in these things…

  25. I’d love this for my sister, who is trying so hard to fill the emptiness in her life. Bad friendships, empty relationships, and struggles with college leave her broken. I do my best to encourage her and love on her, but I’d love to give her something that will remind her of these truths when I’m not around.

  26. love this!!!! i need hope the most and constantly in my journey as a foster mama……

  27. I need hope wherever I am especially in the place where my faith and doubt intersect.

  28. I love this. I need hope that God has a place for me and that my anxiety and worry will not help me get there. I need to trust in HIM and not myself.

  29. Aliza, I find hope in brave words like these. I share your growing pains as part of Generation Y. I also have found so much hope in these comment threads — women like Sharon and Bev responding to each other, building one another up. 99% of the time I find the internet to be a desolate, hopeless, ugly place. (in)courage has been such an incredible source of solace. The Lord’s presence is so tangible in this place, and I am endlessly thankful that these women have stepped up with their hammers and nails and stories to create a beach house where we can all come and find that solace. I’ve learned that it only takes two brave people to really make a difference: one to step out and share their story, and one to step out and say “me, too.”

  30. I need hope for the depression and anxiety that sneak up on me when I least expect…hope that I can learn to walk in the dark yet also embrace the light as much as possible.

  31. As a fulltime mom, it is sometimes difficult to have healthy perspective on the kind of fruit I am bearing. Kids take a long time to become, and some days seem to last painfully forever with sibling squabbles and endless resistance to schooling and the always-evolving dishes/laundry/ grocery conveyer belt that is my reality.
    I need hope that my inadequacies are not their fate, that while the Lord is working on them and in them, He is most assuredly working on and in me, helping me to become who He created me to be.
    When I forget or doubt for even a second that I am created and purposed and lavishly loved, I lose momentum and the dailiness threatens to take me down.
    I need hope that there is meaning and beauty here, amidst this pile of precious children, as we seek God and live lives to glorify Him.

  32. I need hope in the area of finances. I want our finances to be better. If they don’t I know that once I’m in heaven the way our finances are won’t matter one little bit.

  33. As a part of GenY, I need hope for every day of college (and paying for college!!!), and hope for every time someone tells me that I’m getting a useless degree and I won’t ever find a job….

    “For I know the plans I have for you….plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope!”

  34. I need hope to know this world is not hopeless. I need to hope to know that I can make a difference in just one life. I need hope to know that He will carry me through this journey. I need hope to know I am on the path He has purposed for me. I need the hope that comes only from my Jesus…

  35. Where do you feel you need hope the most?

    I need hope the most in my loneliness. More days then not I feel lonely. I try and mask the fact that I can go days without anyone checking on me. Some days are harder than others. I ask myself all the time “how did I get to this place?” “Why am I so alone?” I know one day things will change. I know God has the perfect person for me.

  36. I loved your post and It could not have come at a better timing… I being in my forties and unemployed and feeling like I’m loosing my best friend of over twenty years… never been married… Yeah I’ve been feeling hopeless… forgotten and so unloved… No Im not suicidal but very depressed and recently starting battling depression and anxiety…. I so need this support group and will pursue… would appreciate all the prayers and yeah winning something would be sweet… Thanks…

  37. I think it’s easy to overlook those who bravely out on a smile and a fine only to find out later that their brokeness was just a layer deeper.

  38. I mostly feel the need for hope when dealing with finances. There’s never enough money and always too many needs of my kids that I just can’t meet.

  39. I need hope that God really is in control. That he allows pain for a purpose. That I am not alone in the loss of my pregnancy. Your words affirm what I know in my head but have a hard time accepting in my heart…its okay to not be okay.

  40. I feel I need hope most while watching my kids growing up. I need more hope with raising my adult children and I worry more about them than my teenagers. My oldest has left his family and has had no contact with anyone for several months. He lives across the country for us. I worry but I have hope in The Lord he will find his way home.

  41. I personally feel that I need hope the most in the restoration of relationships. We are not called to only be in a relationship with Christ but also to be a part of the community of believers even if sometimes they hurt us.

  42. I feel I need the most hope in the area of knowing who I am in Him and trusting God for the love, confidence, and intimacy I need to live out the freedom and healing He has given me.

  43. Thanks for this encouragement to HOPE today.

    I need to pursue HOPE and not fear for the future. I want to trust God and His good plans!

  44. OH…so many places. I needed this post today. So, so much. The school year is coming to a close. My brain feels like mush. One of “my girls” that I’ve been loving on for awhile isn’t doing well. I need to get a second job to be able to stay here and continue ministry. My knees hurt terribly and I’m trying to train for a 1/2 marathon. I’m single and 25 and have had 6 people try to “set me up” in the last two weeks. My personal devotions have been flat for several days.

    I’m just praising Jesus that His mercies are new every morning!

  45. I am 20 years past the generation Y but sometimes no matter what generation you are there is sadness and in need of hope. Hope for knowing that there is not to many more generations ahead of you and they are in heaven cheering us on but hope in helping the generation behind to finish strong and for myself to finish strong.
    So where I need HOPE right now is that I am not messing up my children, that we are giving them a firm foundation to stand strong with roots that run deep.

  46. Hope for my mothering journey… that I’m doing all I can to point them to Jesus each day. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

  47. as my husband & i struggle w/ childlessness, i need hope that my life still counts NOW despite not being a mother, nurturer & lover of our own children. whether God fulfills this desire of our hearts or not, i need to be reminded that He is still a God of love & that His plans for our lives are bigger or more grand than we can possibly begin to fathom. i need to HOPE in God & His good plans!

  48. I need hope to know that life won’t always be like it is today. To know that sad days will be followed by happy days. That lonely times will be followed by times where I am surrounded by those I love and that love me back. That the days full of pain will give way to days full of peace.

  49. I desperately need in hope in knowing that I have some value to someone, anyone. I need hope that I am not a complete and total failure in raising my son to be a kind, loving, Christian young man. I need hope that for all of my failings in my lifetime, I have touched someone and given them a little spark of happiness that has eluded me for most of my lifetime. I need hope that one day I will find a little happiness for myself, if only for a moment or two.

    • Wendy, I am praying for you right now. You are not a failure, no matter how many times the world may have told you “you’ve failed”. That does not mean you are a failure. I am praying Jesus gives you an overwhelming amount of joy, so much joy in fact, that seeps out of everything you do. thank you for joining in with us here today!

  50. Wow, where do I not need hope?! This post and this ministry have my heart written all over it. Absolutely love! Probably the most significant place I need hope right now is in contentment.

  51. Since my husband of 35 years died, I feel my family is falling apart. The joy and peace that used to fill our home now feels heavy, empty. This is something deeper than grief… it is almost an absence of hope or of life. The doubt and confusion that was never there before now looms overhead, casting a shadow of guilt and uncertainty. I pray. I wait. I hold on to the tiny mustard seed of faith I have in my heart, believing it will sprout anew.

  52. The last few years I’ve lost everything, and nearly myself in the process. My marriage is struggling to recover from all that has happened. Where I need hope today is just in the rememberance that God will take all things and turn them to good for me. More changes are coming, a possible geographical separation from my husband, and I’m afraid. Afraid to move forward, afraid to stay in one place. Afraid to trust God and let go. I feel paralyzed this morning as I sink into my chair and write out my fears in my prayer journal. So much has happened, so much still needs to happen.

  53. I feel I need hope every moment of every day.
    Everyone needs hope in their lives.
    We need hope when we wake up to our parents yelling.
    We need hope that motivates us to continue to drag ourselves out of bed every morning despite the fear.
    We need hope when we show up to school every day despite our failing grades and bullying.
    We need hope when we resist the peer pressure and say “no” to drugs once again.
    We need hope when the school day is over and we are forced to face the issues we face at home everyday.
    We need hope when we go to church and pray to god, and we trust in him to make it all worth while.
    We need hope when we lie awake in out beds remembering all the bad things that have happened in the past as we try and fall asleep.
    We need hope when we make the choice to stay alive on this earth and do it all again tomorrow.

  54. Beautiful! I just gave birth to baby #3 about 3 weeks ago and am struggling emotionally (baby blues I’m guessing). It’s so not me . . . I’m a pretty joyful spunky person. So this is an area I need to remember that it’s okay to not be okay and lean into Jesus for strength each day, knowing He can empathize. Thanks for this encouragement today!

  55. I need hope this morning to believe God will bring HOPE AND HEALING to the beloved ones in my life! My heart and spirit are very heavy this morning seeing their hopelessness. HOPE IS A PERSON AND HIS NAME IS JESUS!!!

  56. What beautiful words.. they truly inspired my soul <3 I feel like I need hope most in faith and knowing it's all going to be okay. Back in 2008, my boyfriend unexpectedly passed away. Since that time, I've struggled with hope and faith. Despite having a wonderful life now with a true soulmate, I sometimes fall back on past fears that it all could be taken away at any moment, so what's the point? Then I remind myself – every laughter, every tear, every moment – THAT'S what's worth it. I need hope in reminding myself that every day is a gift, and every day is a blessing waiting to be seen. Not something to fear or shy away from.

  57. My hope is in The Lord…… Yes it is! And yes it is a much needed commodity in today’s “hopeless” society. I’m hoping that our house will sell before we need to foreclose! I’m hoping my husband will find a better job!
    And always remembering that faith is the substance of things “hoped” for.
    And all the people said AMEN!!!

  58. Hello all,

    I feel like I have been through the ringer and back… I bought Rain on Me, by Holley Gerth and have found so much encouragement in there after my accident in 2010. I have continued to have trials that I never could have made it without God and friend support. My husband in 2011 almost passed away, had car accident, then my daughter, at age 14 started cutting because things seemed hopeless and out if control. She was with me when we had the car accident that put her over the edge.. My daughter has been bullied, did homeschool in her ninth grade as a result of social phobia… She got addicted to heavy metal music and mental illness settled in. Later in 2013, she was taken away by ambulance to a mental hospital out-of-state in lockdown… We wee allowed to see her and it ripped my heart out to see her there and the other kids were hurting so badly as well… Most of the staff were nice and the food wad good and I kept praying, “thank you God that my daughter Grace is safe and that Your angels will watch over her”.. By 2013, she had to go back to school into a small therapeutic class with no windows.. Feeling helpless and spending many days crying for mercy and justice for not only my daughter, but the other kids in the class who have emotional/mental issues… My heart goes out to the youth who are so hurting and left to feel hopeless and need to be in more appropriate private schools paid by the school district.. We are now working to get her in a great therapeutic class that has more care and windows… Please pray for justice for these kids, especially Grace! God can do more than we can immeasurably ask for or imagine.. Ephesians 3:23… Thank God for his mercies that are new every day! Lamentations 3:23

    As for those with anxiety and depression, along with prayer and good supplements of vitamin D, balancing hormones with red raspberry, b complex, GABA, cherries for melatonin has helped me through the crisis, thanks to advice from Natural doctors and Vitamin shoppe…Praise God!

    • I want to encourage you. My parents found out I was cutting when I was 15 and they went through the same things you’re going through now. Although I still struggle with depression and take medication, I’m still here and life has and continues to be full of blessings. Your family is under attack by Satan, but Grace will be okay. She belongs to Jesus and no one can snatch her from His hand.

  59. I need hope in my home. I feel like i am learning that there is a journey that has to be taken. Things and relationships don’t get fixed overnight. I have to place my hope in Jesus, and he will guide me through the journeys that I might think are taking too long 🙂 I need hope to find beauty in the journey.

  60. Hope is needed when I reflect on relationship with adult step-son and his wife who have decided that I’m not needed in there life….hope in my Jesus to bring joy and healing for us all

  61. Beautifully written truth. Thank you. I need to be constantly reminded of the hope there is in Christ as I stay home and am mommy three small children. I’m living my dream, but daily feel so defeated and hopeless.

  62. Sorry for some typos… Praying and spending time in God’s words, asking friends to pray for you and with you and pleading for mercy will help us through the battle… The battles today are much more intense and need to have the FULL armor of God on… Just want to add that.. Have a great, victorious day all!

  63. I need hope that my husband will get better. He’s been struggling with severe chronic pain for over a year now and no doctor has been able to nail down a cause and fix it. Some days we can have hope but after encountering dead end after dead end, it gets hard to get excited about anything. And then it gets hard for me to get excited about anything at all. So the pain issue has bled over to affect every area of our life and our relationship. We love each other and we’re sticking together, but we desperately miss the way we were before the pain.

  64. I need hope the most when it comes to school. Hope that I’m choosing the right classes that im praying about the right questions. That I’m looking at the right universities. Hope that i wont disappoint my parents. Hope that in the future my choices will prove to be the right ones…

  65. I need hope in my marriage. Your posts have been a huge part in my faith this week to know I’m loved and to love. The lord is working and signs keep coming my way. Your posts have been a huge part of these signs. Before this week your posts weren’t on my feed as often or I would pass them by and I would tell myself to just go back later and read them. But never go back to read. Thank you and as I have said before on your blog, your my sister/friend that I need right now helping me get through this.

  66. I am needing hope the most right now, to get off 200 pounds and to be able to get off of this walker I am on and get back out into life! That is what I want more than anything in this world, other than a closer walk with God.

  67. Such a powerful post! Thank you, Eliza. I am in an older generation at 58, but I still connect wholeheartedly with what you’re saying. I love the message HashtagHope sends, too. And your designs. 🙂

    I want it ok to not be ok in my life. I’m tired of being strong and hiding behind “I’m fine.” I need hope to be the “real me,” brokenness and all. I need hope both with dealing with chronic illness and in baring my soul to Jesus, allowing Him into my heart’s deep crevices of stuffed down pain.

  68. I need hope in my relationship with my brother. His addiction has caused so much unhappiness for him and our family and I need to work on loving him unconditionally.

    Kim J

  69. This is an incredibly beautiful post, filled with beautiful hope. Your heart and His shine through your words and fills me with it, too.

    I find myself some days giving up hope in the midst of letting go of dreams I have needed to set aside. But then God goes and does the impossible and fills me with even more hope as He sets new dreams in my heart. I think the key to real hope is keeping our eyes on the One who gives it.

  70. I learned my lesson in HOPE in 2002. *I am stuck like a dope on this thing called HOPE and I can’t get it out of my heart* The Lord spoke HIS HOPE to me after a family tragedy and He planted Romans 15.13 deep into the soil of my heart. It has grown and thrived ever since. And, because of McQuillyn, Emily, and Gary I now know what I am – I am a hope-ologist!
    This is a great post and I love the movement! Here’s to HOPE!

  71. I need hope the most today- my husband lost his job, our house needs to sell, and we’re moving in 2 weeks. Hope!

  72. I need hope right now in my husband and I’s situation…we are currently waiting for our permits to go to the Netherlands so we can work with a church and local community there—it’s been a much longer wait than we ever anticipated. Learning lots though!

  73. I need hope the most in dealing with my addiction. I need to know that I will not be a slave to it for the rest of my life. I need the hope that Jesus can, and will deliver me from its grasp.

  74. Wow. Aliza, can you see the heart cry of millions of women in these responses. We need each other! Hold on sister. Keep sharing. Keep fighting. Keep after the King. Bless you.

  75. I need Hope in that being my Mother’s Caregiver God will continue to always be with me even when I feel I’m in the darkest place. I need Hope that as dementia starts to creep in & take over my Mother’s mind that in her moments of clarity she can recognize her family, myself, the memories in the pictures she looks through. I need hope that in the end when God calls her home, that HE will have brought me through an amazing, yet rough, journey and I will be okay.

  76. I remain prayerfully hopeful for my son who served two tours in Iraq and came home a stranger! A young man who went in to defend America and came out disgusted with the politics of America being in Iraq/Afghanistan and our media/society. There is alarming suicide rates among our young men & women who have served in this war when they come home and become civilians. So I pray for hope for them and my son.

  77. I really apreciated this article — thank you so much for your words and perspective, Aliza. I’m at a point in my life (college, become financially independent, etc.) where I’m having to accept that it’s sometimes okay to not be okay. I’m struggling with feeling hope as I look at my future, but reminders like this help me keep moving forward. Thank you!

  78. May God hold each one of you under the shelter of His wings and love all your pain and brokenness away. In Jesus name Amen.
    I prayer that I will remain hopeful the friendship I started with Mark who has gone MIA for the past 2+ months will be restored. He has a good heart he needs help with the thing that frustrates him and cause him to distant himself from hearts that care about him. I pray that God will draw him closer to Him and help him. I’m not giving up on him I believe that our meeting has the hand of God written all over it. Please pray for Mark. Thank you.
    Blessings!

  79. Sharon, if you see this- i would love to email you. Some things you said about the roots causes of depression popped out to me! Send me your email- I’ve been walking that road. Love to you.

  80. I am struggling with changes – going from single to living with 5 other people has been daunting…

    Hoping for success in the long run 🙂

  81. I need hope for tomorrow. Once I manage today, tomorrow stands looming. I trust God. He is the Hope that actually drags me into tomorrow, sometimes. Especially on those days that loom large and overwhelming. He stands ready to steady my steps and hoist me over whatever crevass I think I am facing. Yes. I need hope for tomorrow.

  82. Roxanne, Melissa- all of you- my heart breaks for you. I will write down your needs today and pray over you by name.

  83. I am not of generation Y. I am MUCH older, yet still in need of hope. I am not “ok” as I struggle with the physical difficulties of cancer treatments. I was once a strong vibrant woman, I am a mere shell of the person I was. Christ is the only strength I have. I HATE telling people I can’t do . . . but I simply am physically not able to. Hope????? Even us older people need hope!

  84. I need hope in loving me for me. Accepting who I am and who I was made to be. Thank you for this post. While I may not be a part of your generation, I have dealt with these issues since I was a young girl.

  85. I need hope in finding worth within myself. For years I’ve struggled with PTSD, panic disorder, depression and an eating disorder. Through it all, the one thing that brings me back into relapse, is believing the lies that I am worthless. I need hope that my worth truly and undeniably lies in Jesus.

  86. Wow…amazing to think about, but so important to remember! Just coming off a very exciting time in our family…my daughter just graduated from high school, and your post made me realize a subject I need to adress with her….it’s okay to NOT be okay from time to time! In all of the excitement, and all of the “your future’s so bright” and “you will go far” I realized the pressure that’s probably put on her! Even though I truly believe in her, I do think I need to also give her an out, and let her know that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes! SO glad I read your post, and can look at this from a different point of view! Blessings to you, Aliza 🙂

  87. For our future. It seems like we are stuck a community where our church fell apart and now just waiting on God for the next thing. In this long waiting room it feels like there is no hope. Especially when we have no idea or lead or even a hint for what is next.

  88. Currently I need hope in knowing that things will be ok, I need hope that the things currently happening in my life will clear up one day and it will all make sense. I need hope in the future.

  89. It’s ok to not be okay………that is the truth, to rest in. We are in the palm of His hand. He knows us and loves us. He will bring encouragement and hope. There is healing to be had in those “not okay” moments. I find it bothersome and annoying and embarrassing sometimes , to not be “okay” . But I am so not okay right now, and guess what?? It’s ok!!!!! He is at work within me, I am His treasure, as you are, He desires to bring wholeness, that is why He brings up wounds (He does it) of the past that can feel so confusing and messy at times. AUGH!!!! I’ve been “here” countless times, He always, always comes through!! I hope that this brings hope to someone today. I was going to speak of the area I need hope in, but after reading a number of these posts, I just want to bring encouragement to someone! You are greatly loved and cherished and taken care of , even when it doesn’t feel/look like it. He knows and He is there, loving you.

  90. I need hope most to emanate from my life that others see and hear, so that they will ask me where I get mine so I can share with them Truth and Life and the Hope eternal.

  91. Hope – the feeling that what is wanted can be had…

    Hope, it’s such a powerful word, one that holds so much meaning to many, including myself.
    I have been battling depression and anxiety for over 3 years now. I have seen many low points and every single time it’s been hope and my faith that grabbed onto me to help pull me out.

    I have spent hours in states of anxiety, stressed out about my life, worried for my future, angry with myself for meaningless things – I have felt nothingness, the fear of having NO HOPE – and I know NEVER want to feel that way again.

    I need hope everyday. Every hour. Every Minute.

    And I see it.

    I see it in the sunshine through my curtains when I wake up, in my coffee cup at breakfast, in my family’s eyes when I give them hugs, in my friends when they smile at me, but most of all I’ve seen hope in myself, that little glimmer in my eye when I look in the mirror. It’s there, it’s always there, even when all the bad is overwhelming it, I know where to look to find it.
    My hope has been my refuge, my savior in my darkest times. Hope is my little solider telling me to “March on!” everyday, every hour, every minute. Because the life I want is worth fighting for.

    “To live without Hope is to Cease to live.”
    – Fyodor Dostoevsky

  92. I need hope in my marriage. We have gone thought so many trials but things always resurface which has caused me to suffer from anxiety and some depression. I feel so broken at times and to be strong for my kids is getting harder because they are just getting bigger and begining to understand more.

  93. You are wise beyond your years! This past year my son (24) has been experiencing such depression and loneliness. It breaks my heart! My husband and I try to help where we can. Living 2 provinces apart are difficult.
    Seeking hope in our finances. We should be planning for retirement but it seems we get one step ahead and something happens that push us 3 steps back. My husband barely made it home from work last night to find out today that fixing his truck will cost $4600. Stress… We try to be faithful and positive…it’s just so hard.

  94. I need hope in my finances and future – I am coming up on 1 year of marriage and a few months away from motherhood, and right now I am the financial anchor for my family. My husband is great at trusting God for the future and I’m just not good at it at all.

  95. Oh I love this! I agree that our generation seems to be especially hopeless and searching. I’m 22 and have felt the times of hopelessness and doubt. I think I need hope the most for my future plans – so much is uncertain, and although it’s freeing to see the doors wide open to do anything it’s also incredibly scary.

    ~Rachel

  96. I need hope in accepting God’s love for me…that’s it’s real..that I’m truly loved and worth something.

  97. This was really, really beautiful. I need hope in loneliness. I raise 3 kids by myself and it’s hard and overwhelming, but mostly it can be so lonely. Lately it’s been dragging me down and I’ve felt so hopeless. It is hard not to feel very alone in a couple driven society. This was such a poignant and timely post for me. Thank you.

  98. I need hope that things will get better for myself and my family. We have had a really rough four months. We lost a place to live in February and in March we lost our daughter I was carrying due to issues. I have a four year old now and I hope that we find a home before long term memories really start to stick. I also hope that the next time we take the chance with having another baby that we can be more prepared and able to handle the issues. There is just so much going on and it is a daily struggle but necessity to hold hope even through depression.

  99. Hope for so many areas right now! Just to know that I am seen, heard, that my life matters – has purpose. For son, marriage, finances, etc

  100. I am 26 years old and a mother of 4 children under the age of 6! I am working full time and never get time to myself why? Because I put everyone first before myself (kids) I just throw my needs on the back burner…..I work 2-11 everyday and get my kids from daycare. I spend many sleepless nights in bed crying from being so exhausted and asking god why my life is this way!!! In the midst of all my struggle when im on my knees crying out to god I feel his loving arms around me and he says Jasmine trust in me that everything will be ok, Jasmine I gave u this beautiful children to love and protect and train them up in the way they should go!!! Jeremiah 29:11 is my verse that god has placed on my heart to get thru my days!!!! Dwelling on this I know that I need hope the most going thru the daily struggles of life.. god never said this life would be easy. There will always be good days and bad

  101. Hope… It’s the only thing that has kept me going the past four plus years. I need hope in my family situation and hope that I can overcome my past. My parents abused me for years, and I have since struggled with depression, severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts and a general sense of despair. I need hope that God is real and that he really does love me and that his word is true. I need hope to cling to this faith that I question so often. I desperately, desperately need hope. I want to believe that it is going to get better from here. I want to believe this pain truly will end. I need hope.

  102. Aliza,
    Thank you for sharing this inspiring story! As a fellow member of gen. Y, I can say the struggles and hopeless you face is real. I’m a mother of two very beautiful blessings, who enrich my life and give me purpose. Today has been a rough day around my house, I am potty training my daughter (well I am trying) and there are good and bad days with that just because I feel like my floors are disgusting with accidents that I can’t keep up with. And then there’s my son who got me kicke out of the gym this morning for bad behavior. I’m overwhelmed and feeling hopeless…. I want to have it all together but when I try to pick up the pieces they all seem to fall apart again… And then I fall apart. Definetly in need of hope today… Hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel… Preferably close!

  103. Thanks for your story… it helps… and I am desperately holding on to Hope. I need hope right now that they will find a way to curb my pain. I have migraine headaches that they are now telling me are rebound headaches from too much pain medication. Seriously? I didn’t think I was over-medicating. I was taking it as needed only. Apparently if the pain lasts for more than 10 days in a row you are not supposed to continue the pain meds…. So, I am in limbo, worried about keeping my job. It is just hard to stay strong with so many days in pain. I am clinging to God in a whole new way and reaching out to friends for help (which is new). I did my decade of therapy and healing and moving forward a decade ago. I thought I was done with this stuff. I guess there is more to learn to lean on HIm alone. =)

    Thanks for sharing your story of Hope….

    Lina

  104. I need hope that our season of unemployment is just that – a season. And someday we will be in better financial circumstances.

  105. Where do I need Hope the most?- in the battle fighting for integrity and my character-
    It almost feels like everyday we have to defend something or someone that there is a large battle and assault against our integrity and our character.
    This week has been hard – one of the hardest and today – today that is where i need the most hope!

  106. HOPE…Isaiah 40:31

    My hope is in the Lord, but sometimes that truth does not embrace me as it should.
    I am in my 40’s and have been with my husband for 26 years, married for 18 of those years. We have two wonderful children, 16 and soon-to-be 14. We are getting by financially, live in a beautiful area that blesses me each day as I am surrounded by His beautiful creation, and I work in a wonderful, Christ-centered environment. BUT…
    I am feeling lost, desperate, angry, hurt, afraid, crushed,…overwhelmed! My spirit is broken.

    I used to be an incredibly positive person…still try to be with my children and friends. However, during my walk over the past 26 years, I have slowly had bites taken out of me. I have come to the point that I do not have anything left…when it comes to my marriage.

    Over the past several years my life has been incredibly challenging. I have had SO MANY cherished friends and family members die and suffer with the nasty C word. One died of a brain tumor, three had mastectomies, one (an ultrasound specialist) diagnosed herself while providing a scan for a doctor and had a liver transplant, one was diagnosed, treated, and is in remission…the list goes on.
    This past August my nephew, who was 19, was in a horrible accident and drowned. His mother mentioned to me yesterday that she lives each day either heartbroken, faking it, or angry. She contemplates suicide because she wants to be with her son, but I remind her that she’s got a beautiful daughter and wonderful husband who need her.
    My mother was diagnosed with shingles this past Dec in her eye and on her face, my youngest sister was in the hospital with heart issues, my daughter, who is 16, has had a boy contacting her through Skype, trying to have inappropriate conversations… AND on top of all of this, my marriage is failing. My husband is depressed, negative, manipulative, has anger issues… He belittles me, yells at me, punches holes in walls, says the word divorce, tells me I should find another man that will treat me better…
    I am so tired, so broken, so lost.
    I compare myself to a turtle…when I met my husband I was so open and out there, full of life, happy, positive…Now, I feel as if I cannot crawl back far enough into my turtle shell. I have curled up into a tight ball as far back as I can possibly get, afraid, alone, and devoid of hope at times.
    I am tired of being the strength and leader of our family. I give, and give, and give, but am not being filled.
    My children are amazing, don’t get me wrong. They do fill me as only children can, but…
    I feel badly because instead of giving my everything to my immediate family, I find myself pouring
    (Song on the radio right now…”Make me broken”)
    myself into the lives of my friends and family members outside of my home who need help. They love me, they appreciate me, they fill me.
    I believe that God gave me the gift of compassion. Recently I was told that He gave me the gift of mercy.
    I want to be that wonderful positive and optimistic person again. I want to smile and laugh genuinely. I want to have someone beside me who will comfort and protect me. I want to have someone beside me who will teach my children by example what a good father and husband is.
    Please, I want to be filled with hope that God will provide that for me.
    During my church service this past Sunday, the Lord gave me the word “Trust”. This is my focus. When I find myself falling, I remember the word TRUST. My father told me after the service that the Lord had given a word to him as well, for me. The word was “Redeem”.
    It makes me smile to think about how much our amazing Father loves us. How his hands hold us every step of our journey. He provides what we need when we most need it. I know this, I believe this, I am lifted and embraced by this truth. But…

  107. I need hope to realize that I really can have victory through Christ. Thank you for this post!

  108. I need hope in getting through the summer at home with four kids ages 2-10. I’m a teacher and love my kids but the days can get so long. I need to have hope to relax and have fun as they are growing so quickly.

  109. I need rest and hope for a new job. And hope that there will be no repercussions from the position I just left.

    Thanks for a very encouraging post!

  110. Where do I feel I need hope the most?
    When I saw this post I almost jumped out of my skin with excitement! At the beginning of this year I prayed for God to give me a word to focus on, a word to change my life and the word he gave me was HOPE! Over the past several months he has used this word in so many ways. In joyful exciting circumstances and also in disappointing heartbreaking times that I thought I would never face. Through it all what he has taught me is that my hope has got to be in him. Because he is constant. He’s faithful. He’s good. He’s there. He loves me. When my hope lies in him I have complete assurance and peace. Hope in God never disappoints.

  111. Oh how I wish I had heard these words when I was a teenager. Stuck in the pit, feeling completely devoid of worth, I tried to take my own life. Praise God He didn’t see fit to let me come home just yet. But I still struggle. This side of heaven we will all continue to struggle. Today, I suppose I need hope most in the area of believing that my story will one day be used for His glory, that those years weren’t wasted. Thank you for your beautiful post!

  112. I need hope when it comes to not worrying so much and letting God take care of it!

  113. I need hope in finding the path God has for me and let God continue to heal passed hurts I need to really get it down deep that he is enough. And I don’t need to have others approval . And to see truth. In the things and people I deal with . I want freedom and to know God loves me like no one eles can .

  114. I need hope for my son who is not walking with the Lord! As i read through others needs, it makes me thankful that we have such an amazing God that hears each and every one of these needs/desires/hopes and He holds those in His hands! He does Hear and will give us hope and strength to continue to walk through it all in this journey!

  115. Awesome stuff! I need hope in following the path God has planned out for me even though I can not see how to make it happen. Thanks for the chance to win.

  116. Where do I need hope the most?
    I need hope in the situations where I am at a complete loss as to what to do, or what I should do. Like when I and my positive personality end up working with a pushier personality, and I didn’t know what to do when lines were crossed , no apologies are offered, and when forgiveness, or was it simply compliance?, when that was only wearing me out. I didn’t have the guts to take a stand, to make myself heard. I realized I’m not even sure what my stand should be. I don’t have all the answers to the situation yet, but God has been leading me, teaching me, picking up the pieces, healing me, giving me hope.

  117. I need hope the most on my job. Every day I work with inner city youth to encourage them to go to college or apply for training programs. Many days it is an uphill battle because they see little value and worth in their future, and the enemy has stolen their desire to dream big for themselves. SO I need hope on the days when I am discouraged and the battle has made me weary!

  118. I feel that I need hope that I will not have any more regrets from now until I see Jesus face to face.

  119. Hope… hope that I live to see my birthday this year. I have been in a long battle, and through hope, faith and trust I have survived. Outlived the odds and at times often thrived… but I grow weary this time. And while I still hope, my hope gets lost amid the piles of other things that need my attention, my focus, my life. I have surrendered my will… and I have peace. I feel this is yet one more hurdle to overcome.. but I am dry, weary and tired. Mostly tired. Hope, a heap of hope would do my heart good.
    Thank you

  120. Thank you. This touched me deeply & right on time.

    I KNOW that Jesus is my HOPE. At least, intellectually. I know what the Bible says about Who God is & who I am in Him. Intellectually. But I struggle to know that I am enough. Actually. Experientially.

    God gave me a word a few years ago. “Hephzibah” It means “My delight is in her.” I have it tattooed on my shoulder above a gal dancing her heart out to worship Jesus because she knows that He is dancing over her. That’s who I am. Really.

    But lately I haven’t felt very delightful, or delighted, or delight-able. Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis.

    There have been terrible hurtful things happening all around me & to me. In my marriage, family, friends, church. Physically, spiritually, financially. I know it’s just ‘life’, and is the same for everyone. And for a long time I cried out to Jesus about everything. I believe what His word says is true. He is all we need in every area. He has & will provide everything we need in every area – faithfully, forever.

    And yet the pain & struggling & death just keep coming. Everywhere I turn.

    I feel desperate. I don’t know how to just “rest in Him”. I don’t know how to just ‘be’. To ‘be enough’ just because His word says I am. I feel like I’m not ‘doing’ enough.

    I see people around me doing great things for God & to change the world. I read blogs by amazing women who pour out their hearts to touch ours. (Some are less than half my age!) These people are experiencing the same cruel world that I am. Yet they’re making a difference.

    Meanwhile, I’m not a good Christian, wife, daughter, mother, friend, employee, business owner, leader – because I don’t pray enough, read the Word enough, love enough, call enough, work enough, clean enough, reach out enough, visit enough, donate enough. I’m not strong enough, healthy enough, pretty enough, smart enough, sexy enough, skinny enough, fast enough, energetic enough, determined enough. I don’t ‘feel’ like I’m good enough, and nothing & no one around me is enough to change it.

    I need someone to talk to who will understand. But nobody ‘gets’ me. They are either too spiritual or not spiritual enough. And if I think of someone who might understand or relate, they are so wrapped up in their own problems & circumstances that I don’t want to burden them with mine.

    So lately, I’ve been trying to escape. In all kinds of unhealthy & unspiritual ways. This, of course, makes me feel even more like a failure. So I look for another escape.

    But I KNOW. I know my HOPE is in Jesus. I know He is more than enough & that I am enough in Him. I know that spiritually God sees me as perfect because I’m covered by the blood of Jesus. I know that if/when I ‘Turn my eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory & grace.’

    But I can’t see His face. Mine is in the way. And I can’t see Him dancing over me because I’m too busy dancing around trying to escape all this pain.

    But even though I feel like I’m constantly letting Him & everyone else down, I know He’s with me. I know He still delights in me. I know He loves me perfectly & completely. I know it intellectually. I’m waiting & HOPING for the time when I KNOW it in the depths of my ‘be-ing’.

  121. This may appear to be a teensy bit off topic, but really is not OK to eat ice cream under the covers…

  122. I sometimes need hope that there really is joy and redemption on the other side of deep suffering. Thanks for this beautiful post!

  123. I need hope as a mom who didn’t dream of being a mom when I was little. All of the dolls that I had were my sisters (only child here), and really, no one makes me feel less human, less prepared, and less worth anything than my daughter – she’s beautiful and perfect and sweet, but it’s that sweetness that kills me. “I don’t deserve her” and “what if I break her?” are thoughts that haunt me.

  124. I need hope most in my marriage. As a sexual abuse survivor, intimacy has always been difficult. Now, dealing with infidelity and how to move forward in this marriage and “hope” to want to want…..

  125. I GO THROUGH DEPRESSION OFF AND ON FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS. AT THAT TIME MY HUSBAND CHEATED ON ME SEVERAL TIMES AND HE SAID HE COULDN’T PROMISE IT WOULDN’T HAPPEN AGAIN SO I TOLD HIM TO LEAVE, 6 MONTHS LATER MY TWO SONS MOVED IN WITH HIM, THEY WERE 15 AND 17. I WAS DEVASTATED. MY WHOLE FAMILY LIVED JUST DOWN THE STREET AND ALL I COULD DO WAS DRIVE BY THEIR PLACE ON MY WAY TO TOWN. I CAME FROM A BROKEN HOME AND SOMEHOW TWISTED IN MY HEAD THIS WAS ALL MY FAULT, I TRIED SUISIDE TWICE AND FINALLY FOUND A GOOD THERAPIST AFTER GOING THROUGH MEANY. ONE THERAPIST SAID I WAS THE WEAK ONE IN THE FAMILY BECAUSE THEIR FINE AND I FELL APART. THE HOPE I NEED I’LL BE HAPPY INSIDE AGAIN AND NOT BE DESPONDENT WHEN SOMEONE GETS ANGRY WITH ME. THANKS FOR READING THIS

  126. I struggle with feeling hopeless the most right now with chronic pain and a besetting sin I just cant seem to get under control

  127. I most need hope for my children’s futures and for health, as we are aging. Thank You, Jesus that You are already there – fully present- in those future days!!

  128. I need hope in the now. I have no problem seeing hope in the past and future, but I don’t realize that hope always in the present. Love this project!

  129. Love these t-shirts so much! I also love your wise words that come into my inbox. Please don’t ever stop. Thank you!!
    Blessings~

  130. Sing with me …

    LYRICS

    To everyone who’s lost someone they love
    Long before it was their time
    You feel like the days you had were not enough
    when you said goodbye

    And to all of the people with burdens and pains
    Keeping you back from your life
    You believe that there’s nothing and there is no one
    Who can make it right

    There is hope for the helpless
    Rest for the weary
    Love for the broken heart
    There is grace and forgiveness
    Mercy and healing
    He’ll meet you wherever you are
    Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

    For the marriage that’s struggling just to hang on
    They’ve lost all of their faith in love
    They’ve done all they can to make it right again
    Still it’s not enough

    For the ones who can’t break the addictions and chains
    You try to give up but you come back again
    Just remember that you’re not alone in your shame
    And your suffering

    When your lonely
    And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
    You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
    Cry to Jesus

    To the widow who struggles with being alone
    Wiping the tears from her eyes
    For the children around the world without a home
    Say a prayer tonight

    -Third Day

  131. Where do I need hope the most? Right at the present time… for my husbands job. He has been laid off for six weeks and he only has six more weeks of unemployment and then no income. He is our sole support, but I know God is good and will answer prayer!! LOVE the sayings on these shirts!!!!!

  132. As you know Aliza, The Lord filled my hope exactly where I needed it with a MIRACLE healing. Praising Jesus daily! Now I’m standing in the gap in prayer and driving 2 hrs weekly to take my sister Stacy (suffering from alcoholism) to Celebrate Recovery out by her house. She needs more of Jesus’ love to overcome her broken, hurting heart. I would love to win the tank shirt w/the feather for her!!! She needs to know she is loved.

  133. I need hope in the quiet places. When the world isn’t screaming at me and the whispers fill with fear instead of life. I need hope when my mind won’t stop spinning and the screams ring silent to everyone but me. I need hope in the recesses, the valleys that are overlooked by life.

  134. For about 18 months now, I have been divorced though I tried to save it, to stop it. Over these months, I have tried to honor God but in that, I have felt worse about those decisions because as my (ex) husband says, the Bible is what drives us apart right now. He believes that I put everything before him. In his eyes, church, kids and my job have come before him. Though I have tried to reconcile time and again, I have allowed myself to be more hurt. This latest issue has absolutely devastated me to the point that I no longer want to do anything. I do not look forward to my children’s baseball games. I am no longer planning activities. I feel that I am just going through the motions. This man was my first kiss, my first boyfriend, my first love…I am not sure what I am supposed to do because I have no passion to do anything like I did.

  135. I need hope in my whole life and my family we have been having problems and it doesn’t seem to be stopping.

  136. Aliza, I appreciated your honesty. We all need hope and through faith in God and Jesus we can overcome anything. Isn’t it something that it is always okay? No matter what happens or how it happens it has always been okay.

    When I think back at the things that, at the time, I felt were the worst thing that could happen to me, turned out to be the best thing to happen to me. At the time I lacked the faith, I’ve had enough happen good in my life to have faith most of the time.

    I consider it my major job each day to cling to faith and flee from fear. It is not always easy but definitely rewarding.

  137. Beautifully written, with wisdom beyond your years.

    I HOPE for community, since we have just moved to a new town…and I am hopeFULL I will find it.

    Thank you for sharing your heart today.

  138. I need hope the most in humanity. Humanity has drifted so far from what God created us to be and how He wanted us to help others. Even the body of Christ is guilty of this because they knowingly & unknowingly kill their own. We, the body of Christ, should be the examples/role models of Jesus and His love. Jesus is our only hope of salvation and reconciled relationship with God our Father.

  139. I need hope for the journey of everyday life…as a daughter. ..sister…friend…wife…mother…and at work. #HopeFaithLove

  140. I need Hope the most in the relationships with those Christ allows in my life, so that I may feel the strength of Christ’s Joy through those lives that touch my own!

  141. I need hope the most at work. Currently in a job where I don’t feel I’m being used to my fullest potential. Most days I feel useless, unwanted, dumb and stupid. Question why I went into this field. Yes some days I just want to pull covers over my head and quit.

    Fortunately I have a loving husband who tells me daily that I am valuable, worthy, smart, capable. This helps my attitude greatly. We also pray a lot about the situation.

    God will one day change my situation, but until then I will try my best to be a good Christian for Him!

  142. I need help in letting people go in my life. Letting my child move forward with going off to college, letting my children move out and go start their own lives. I need to have more faith and hope in Christ.

  143. I need hope in parenting. Sometimes I just feel like I’m at a loss. I’m a single adoptive parent and I took on a lot, but I know God would support me. Sometimes He feels farther than He is.

  144. As a pastor’s wife, I need hope to know I am not a failure and that it really is ok to be weak sometimes.

  145. The place I need hope most is in the deep places in my heart where doubt and unbelief try to reign. Where promises are being held onto so tightly that they hurt to even think about. Hope sometimes seems useless as though it has become a fairy tale idea and is too unrealistic to think exists. Hope, real hope is something I desire, but it seems unattainable.

  146. I need hope that God is bigger than my weakness, anxiety, and fears and that I can depend on His strength, that He can make me new.

  147. Divorce is so messy. Hope doesn’t naturally appear. My biggest fear is the desperate lack of hope in my 19-year-old only daughter. Her world is shattered. My prayer is that Jesus will become the healing she needs, the hope she longs for.

  148. I need hope for my 19 year old daughter who suffers from anxiety. She is an awesome young woman who just finished her first year of Bible college and I am so proud of her. She has dealt with depression and anxiety for years now and I just don’t know how to help her, because depression is something I have battled with myself. She desires so much to be a missionary and be a light in this generation and I know she can feel so defeated when her anxiety gets the best of her. She was on a mission trip with her school at Mardi Gras this year when she had her worst anxiety attack yet. I want her to know the victory that comes from Hope…the Hope that can only come from God!!

  149. I need hope for my son. My husband passed away nearly 3 years ago. My son is 10 now and it is hard on him not having a dad. Most of the time he is fine, but there are times that I worry because the world is such a hard place as it is. But my hope is in the Lord and He is a perfect Father and Husband (now if I can just remember that all the time!)

  150. 2 years ago I struggled with anxiety. With the help of others and God I got through it, but in needed hope. I think I need hope when I am around my non Christian friends. To give them hope too.

  151. i need hope where i have been failing so much in my goals. trying so hard to achieve a dream that i’ve been working on for years. not even small victories to propel me on. it feels so hopeless.