28 Days Of Hope

WEEK THREE – HOPE GIFTS
DAY 16

Where To Start
Read David’s Hope story in Psalm 119:9-16 and then watch the DAY SIXTEEN video.

Memorization brings renewal.

Philippians 4:8

DEVOTIONAL

WEEK 3 – HOPE HABITS
DAY SIXTEEN

The amount of hope you have is linked to how you decide to focus your mind. God wants to renew your hope and your patterns of thinking. During the day, you have thousands of first thoughts that come into your mind. The National Science Foundation explains that most of them are not helpful. They might be fearful, selfish, impure, mean, or false. You don’t have to believe, harbor, or entertain them. Here are the three steps you can take as God renews your mind. 1) Recognize your first thought. Start thinking about what you are thinking about. It begins with awareness. 2) Reject the thought if it’s not from God. You are the air traffic controller deciding which thoughts should land. 3) Replace your first thought with an intentional second thought. Scripture tells us to think about what is true, noble, and good. Hide the word of God in your heart. Have it ready in your mind. I call this habit the Power of the Second Thought.

I didn’t find hope until I lost it. When I played professional soccer, I was paid to keep the ball out of the back of the net. When my career ended tragically, I was fighting for my life for a year. It took ten years to fully recover. It’s never how I wanted to spend my twenties. My mind would go into the ditch with anxiety, despair, and hopelessness. The restoration started between my ears. As I started to hear the cruel voice that would say my life will never get better, I recognized that thought, rejected it and replaced it with Scripture, like Psalm 46:1 or Isaiah 41:10. I share this habit because I know it works. Have a go-to Scripture that you memorize for the most difficult situations you are facing now.

Put on the spiritual armor of God instead of getting beat up. God will strengthen you in the deepest way.

Whatever you dwell on will grow in your life. If you focus on problems, they will grow in your mind. If you fix your gaze on God, He will be magnified in your thoughts and soul. David learned to memorize Scripture and hide God’s Word in his heart. He learned to meditate on Scripture until his mind, heart, and soul were filled. I began, in my twenties, to read and highlight Bible verses that gave me hope. Then I memorized the same verses and shared them with other people. Hope is caught as much as it’s taught. I filled many note cards, then pages, with Bible verses.

God’s plan for your life is not that you will be empty. He wants to fill you with The Holy Spirit and Scripture.

There is an overflow that happens that is real when we abide with Jesus. I went from the lowest point of my life to finding a new source of hope that continues to fill me years later. When you find a great habit, you realize, “I should have been doing this earlier.” It becomes sealed into your daily rhythm, and it feels natural. You don’t want to ever go back to that barren feeling of hopelessness. Memorize God’s Word and you will have the mind of Christ.

Just Choose Hope

HOPE POINT

Memorizing Scripture provides us with protection and purity.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What could the Power of the Second Thought look like for you?

Would you consider yourself someone who actively recites God’s word? Explain the benefits.

If you were to commit to memorizing more Scripture, which verses in the Bible would you start with and would you find a friend to join you?

What obstacles have prevented you from memorizing Scripture and are you willing to overcome them?

PRAYER

Gracious God, You made our minds with complexity. We know that Your word is beneficial for our thoughts and hearts. Our souls are nourished by Scripture. In Your wisdom, You gave us just what we needed to hear and think about. Renew our minds as we spend more time in the Bible. We give You the glory, Jesus, amen.