Not Alone.
Meet Rhilyn!
As Rhilyn thought about what hope means to her, she shared that for her "hope is choosing to believe the truth that I am not alone and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am not bound to my feelings or my circumstances."
Rhilyn shared that sometimes it is hard to choose to believe this, especially in the world we live in, but she has learned it's not about the storm passing, but it is getting through the storm; learning to not give up when the storm feels intense.
"This has been a really hard year for me, and really for all us, so it has felt impossible some days to feel hopeful in the midst of it all. And honestly, there have been so many days I have let the lies overtake my mind and I have felt defeated. This is where Jesus met me, though."
One of the things she saw as a noticeable difference when she believed lies instead of God's truth was in the way she treated others and herself.
The feelings of guilt, shame, worthlessness, and so forth is not what Christ died for. By His blood, we have been redeemed. And this is the truth that she noticed was the true game changer in her attitude and experiencing hope in the midst of feeling hopelessness.
Rhilyn also shared, " 'Goel' is a Hebrew word the Lord led me to and has been teaching me about these last couple of months. Goel basically means that you have been redeemed and bought with the blood of Jesus and it does not matter how far you have strayed, there is still hope for you. I have been learning to believe that there IS hope for me, no matter how I feel about myself or my situation. And this hope has truly changed everything."
Just one final thought from me, I am grateful for this truth that God even chose to encourage me with during our conversation. Friends and family, God is so good and Christ's blood IS sufficient and enough. We do not have to question our worthiness when we have a relationship with Him. We are chosen and dearly loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is our hope. This ultimately is our only source of hope: Jesus.