Hope Unstoppable: 31 Day Devotional Read online

  Hope Unstoppable

  Addison Moore

  Hollis Thatcher Press, LTD.

  Contents

  Foreword

  Preface

  1. Day 1

  2. Day 2

  3. Day 3

  4. Day 4

  5. Day 5

  6. Day 6

  7. Day 7

  8. Day 8

  9. Day 9

  10. Day 10

  11. Day 11

  12. Day 12

  13. Day 13

  14. Day 14

  15. Day 15

  16. Day 16

  17. Day 17

  18. Day 18

  19. Day 19

  20. Day 20

  21. Day 21

  22. Day 22

  23. Day 23

  24. Day 24

  25. Day 25

  26. Day 26

  27. Day 27

  28. Day 28

  29. Day 29

  30. Day 30

  31. Day 31

  32. Hope

  33. Perils of Lingering

  34. Building Intimacy

  35. Bearing Fruit

  36. Grace

  37. The end is the beginning

  38. Biblical Evidence for HOPE

  39. References

  About the Author

  Edited by Paige Maroney Smith & Marion Making Manuscripts

  Cover Design: Gaffey Media

  Hollis Thatcher Press, LTD.

  Copyright © 2020 by Addison Moore

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to peoples either living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, places, and characters are figments of the author’s imagination. The author holds all rights to this work. It is illegal to reproduce this novel without written expressed consent from the author herself.

  All Rights Reserved.

  This eBook is for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase any additional copies for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Copyright © 2020 by Addison Moore

  Table of Contents

  Ignore the water beneath your feet and keep your eyes on Jesus.

  Foreword

  I am not a pastor, a preacher, or a Bible school teacher. I am simply a sinner who found her way into her Savior’s loving arms. I believe that Christ was born to man in the flesh, died, and rose again and is the Son of God. I believe in the triune Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

  For everyone who needs a glimmer of hope, this is for you.

  Preface

  First and foremost, I want to say hello, I want to hug you, I want to look into your beautiful eyes and tell you that Jesus knows all about the things you’re going through, and that He is well able to deliver you through the storms of this life.

  Are you in search of hope, my friend? Have you fallen into a pit of despair? If you haven’t already given your life to Christ, there is no place like a hopeless pit to give Him your all. He died to give us so much more than we can ever imagine—an eternity of peace that’s free of pain, and free of chaos and disasters.

  Not one of us is perfect. We all sin. The good news is Jesus paid the price for all of our past, present, and future sins on the cross. All we need to do is acknowledge that He is God, our precious Savior, invite Him into our life, our hearts, seek His Word, His will, and do our best to obey Him.

  Did you catch those words—do our best? We’re back to that whole no one is perfect thing. He knows that. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, the triune Godhead, knows and acknowledges that. Thus, the brilliant idea to come to earth to save us.

  My desire is for you to find hope within these pages. I pray you’ll find the mercy, love, forgiveness, and grace you need to survive through His Word. I pray you find the strength and power to forgive yourself. If you’ve asked for His forgiveness, He’s already given it to you. I pray you realize you are His child and come to know your spectacular place in His kingdom.

  You are special, one of a kind, and He has amazing things in store for you. No matter what your past holds, no matter what life has branded you, the only thing you truly are is a child of the Most High God.

  You are His, bought at a price, paid for in blood, and the same Holy Spirit that resurrected Christ from the dead is living inside of you, waiting to resurrect your life and turn it into the masterpiece it was always destined to be.

  There is no circumstance too difficult, no door that cannot be opened, and no dead end that cannot be turned into the busiest of thoroughfares. God may be taking you down to the studs, pruning you so far back you feel as if there is no part of you left. That’s exactly what He did for me. I felt naked, frightened. It felt downright dangerous during the darkest time of my life. But I held hard to this good news: He is in the restoration business, and He is interested in restoring you to all you were meant to be. And once He restores you from the inside out, He will help you to help others. That’s how it works, and it’s beautiful.

  God has a plan. It’s a good one. It’s all yours. Open your heart and your mind to Jesus and receive the indescribably good things He has in store for you. He is willing to restore, rebuild, repair, and resurrect.

  You are not your past; you are born anew. God is truly interested in making all things new. He is interested in making you new, in doing a new thing in your life. So shed your old skin. Get ready to move out of that pit you think you’re stuck in. God is coming for you. He is about to break down walls, remove the chains, pull you into His world, shine His magnificent light over your path, and turn your life as you know it into a shadow of its former self.

  There are times in all our lives where hope is but a dream on a distant shore. We see hope as an illusion and we feel there has been a grave oversight by the Lord as well on the subject matter. It’s the darkest part of the pit. The part where questions like has God forgotten me get asked a lot. It’s easy to surmise that we’re all alone in our agony, that the enemy has won, and we have been launched into outer darkness. It’s hard to understand why even with incessant pleading for relief to come that the night just seems to elongate rather than dissipate. It’s not for us to know the why but to know that Jesus is with us in the storm.

  Mark 4:35-41 tells us this: That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

  He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (NIV)

  This is a clear example of the turmoil life springs upon us. First, it was Jesus who suggested they go to the other side. Did He know a storm was coming? Probably. Did He seem concerned? Not so much. In fact, He went into the stern and took a nap. Once the terrified disciples roused him, He quickly rebuked the wind and the waves. He then turned to His disciples, and although we don’t know the tone or inflection He used, He questioned their faith.

  This says so many things. Jesus didn’t look as if He was at th
e helm, or in control. He appeared to be nowhere in sight, fast asleep, oblivious to the circumstances. What this tells us is that He is there on the boat with us during life’s storms. He is not panicked. It most likely does not matter if He is asleep. He is STILL in control. Our faith should be rooted in Him, and perhaps while we fully trust in His guidance along the stormy journey, we can catch a nap with Him if we want. I marvel at the brilliance of this analogy.

  Jesus could have inspired any scenario to demonstrate His love for us during the storms of life, and He chose a nonconventional way to alert us to the fact that even when we don’t feel His presence, we are not only to have faith, but He doesn’t want us to be afraid either. Let’s see what happened next. Mark 5:1. “They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.” (NIV) Essentially—they reached their destination and Jesus went on to restore a demon-possessed man. In other words, business as usual. His disciples were no longer afraid but in awe at what He accomplished.

  It’s interesting His disciples were so awestruck. After all, they had witnessed Him doing many miracles up until this point. But in this instance, Jesus showed He was more than merely a healer of humans. He had authority over the elements as well. Jesus is telling us He supersedes the elements in our lives that are causing disruption. He’s asking us not to be afraid. He is telling us He is still in control. He is asking us to have faith. When there isn’t anything else to hang on to, we should wrap ourselves around our faith in Him and trust He has ultimate control over our situation. Not only will the storm pass, but we will end up at the destination Jesus had predetermined us to arrive at all along.

  Don’t believe what you see in the natural. Jesus is supernatural.

  Do not go by what you see.

  Trust Him.

  No fear.

  Just faith.

  Enjoy this thirty-one day devotional. After that, there are a few chapters on the storms of life and how to emerge with the hope Jesus desires you to have and died to give you. I pray you find peace and a newfound joy within these pages.

  I certainly pray you find hope and hope unstoppable.

  Day 1

  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

  —Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

  In times of hardship, it is difficult to believe that there was any good plan for our lives. Often, it’s our own hand that landed us in the proverbial dungeon to begin with. But the Lord assures us through His Word that His plan for our time on this planet is for good and not for evil. We have a choice to make. Believe Him and His Word or the world and its cold and cruel intentions. The enemy doesn’t waste his time in destroying us. And sadly, more often than not, we’re more than eager to go along for the ride. Sometimes we don’t wait for God or even bother asking Him to help us get to the other side of our troubles. We look for an exit ourselves, and that’s where the real trouble begins.

  Anytime we think we can do something without God—that in itself should be the first red flag. It was for me. One seemingly plausible solution led to one seemingly gargantuan mistake until my life began to unravel like the cheap sweater I was knitting it to be.

  God has a better way, a better plan, but it involves a word our culture finds umbrage with: surrender. Most of us aren’t raised, or cultivated by society to think in terms of gifting ourselves wholly to anyone else’s desires, but despite our renegade cowboy beliefs, it’s truly the only path to peace. God outlines for us in perfect clarity what He expects from His people in His Word. The deeper you delve into what He expects from you, the closer you follow along in obedience, the wider and smoother the path before you will span out.

  God really does have a perfect plan for your life, a perfect will, a perfect way, and the only way we can arrive is to allow Him to cut off all the chains that bind us to the world and to spiritually yoke, tie, bind ourselves to His Son, Jesus Christ. From that moment on, every action, thought, and plan should be looked at under the lens of His love.

  After this extreme surrender, there is simply no point in going on about your business like you did before. I know where it got me, and it wasn’t anywhere I’d ever care to visit again. This time, let’s do this right—step out with Jesus, pray for guidance through His Holy Spirit, and never cease in speaking to Him through your heart. It’s the safest way to get through the day. The only way He intended.

  The Bible says that Jesus has authority over all things on earth and in heaven. That means everything and everyone that’s holding you captive is under His authority. You have the most powerful being in the universe by your side, yoked with you, available to hear your heart twenty-four hours a day. He is working nonstop on your behalf because He loves you. After all, He died to ensure He could spend eternity with you as well.

  Great news. You have a new best friend, and His name is above all names, Jesus. Don’t be afraid of the dark. The only light you will ever need is with you.

  Lord, thank you that YOU are the light that will guide us not only through this day, but through this life You gifted us. Help us to see Your beautiful face in every moment of this day. Help us not to focus on the hurt and pain that the world, or even we ourselves have caused. But show us the path You have set out for us. Keep us firmly in the center of Your will and strengthen us as the day wears on, for we are weak and the world is constantly calling to us. We trust that You have determined good steps for us.

  In Jesus’ name,

  Amen

  Day 2

  Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord. He will give you the desires of your heart.

  —Psalm 37:3-4 (NIV)

  When it seems as though the lights have gone out in your world, trusting in God may be the last thing you feel like doing. In truth, that’s how I felt after stepping into a blunder of my own making. I wondered how I had fallen so hard, so fast. I wondered who I had become. It was as if the scales had fallen off and I no longer recognized myself.

  Going against your better judgment is usually a bad idea, but not taking the matter to God prayerfully was my biggest error. Don’t let it be yours. Although this mess I had landed myself in brought forth the greatest emotional challenge I have ever faced, I knew the Lord was with me. And no matter what you’re facing, He will be with you, too.

  When you find yourself in the darkest pit, lonelier in your misery than you ever thought possible, there is no other viable option than to turn to the Lord who created you, the One who knew you would make the mess, or find yourself in distress, long before it entered your mind—surrender, trust, believe He has a better way. Let your spirit press past your flesh, immerse yourself in the Word. Cling to His promises like the life rafts they are. Those promises are the life rafts of hope. My prayer for you is this: surrender every part of your life in all totality. Ask Jesus to place you in His perfect will, to open up your heart to what He desires most for you, and then to fulfill it.

  Deny the devil his due by forging through the pain and delighting in the Lord’s promises, and by doing so He will indeed gift you the desires of your heart. You are a new creation in Christ. All sin is forgotten. Do yourself a big favor and forget the guilt. Only when you shed the heavy burden of the past can you truly move forward.

  Now that you’ve accomplished that gargantuan task (sometimes you must accomplish it daily until you have truly made peace with both God and yourself), you must do good. The world provides plenty of opportunities, be it in a kind word to a neighbor, feeding the hungry, or putting a smile on for a stranger. There are many ways you can do good while you trust in the Lord. Christ led by example. Doing good to others not only makes their day brighter, but it acts as a healing balm to our souls. God is magnified through even the most random act of kindness.

  Take delight in the Lord. Even in the darkest night, our souls have the ability to glory in all of God’s riches. In the depths of both physical and emotional pa
in, God is still there, unchanging, His majesty radiating like an unstoppable beam of light that shines right through you. He will never leave you, never forsake you. Cry out to Him like the psalmist did. He will not despise a broken and contrite heart. He loves you. If you repent and choose to obey, it’s as if the past had never happened. Ask King David. He was not only forgiven for killing a man with whose wife he had an affair with, but David shunned the guilt and went on to do great things for the Lord.

  Never count yourself out even if the world has already all but erased you. God has counted you in upon the death of His Son. Forgiveness is yours. Ask for it, repent, obey. It sounds so easy, formulaic even. God already cleaned up any messes you were bound to make over two thousand years ago with the precious blood of His Son. Now fill your heart with His desires for you. He has already promised to give them to you.

  Not our will but Yours. Thank you, Father, for the forgiveness bought for us by our precious Savior, Jesus Christ. Place Your desires in our hearts so we may be a part of Your beautiful plan for our lives. Thank you for caring for us so deeply that even in a time of utter darkness, You bring the light of Your love.