Tuesday, January 28th, 2025
My older two children and I just finished reading a book that has really touched my spirit. It’s called Lost on a Mountain in Maine. It’s a non-fiction book about 12-year-old Donn Fendler who survived being lost on Mt. Katahdin (the tallest mountain in Maine) for nine days. He got separated from friends and family by dense fog that settled in at the summit. During the nine days he was soaked by freezing rain, plagued by bugs, lost his shoes, had many cuts and scrapes and found only strawberries to eat and stream water to drink during the whole ordeal.
Throughout the book he often refers to the times that he would stop and pray for his family and certainly for himself. He recognized God as his savior and truly believed that God would provide for him and save him. When asked at the end of his journey why he didn’t try to keep track of how many days he was out there he simply said that he expected to find his way out at any moment. Do you know what word that defines? Hope. Every step he took and every obstacle that he came up against did nothing to deter his hope.
In my years of walking with the Lord, the times where I struggled the most were due to a lack hope. Hope is like a light switch. When it’s on, the darkness cannot stay. And this isn’t one of those dimmer switches. It’s either on or it’s not. For me, having just a tiny bit of hope never lasted long because it was quickly overcome by fear or doubt or whatever else the enemy threw at me. Let’s look at a few scriptures on the topic. These may be good declarations if you are looking to increase your hope. Micah 7:7:
7 Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.
Hebrews 10:23:
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Psalm 130:5:
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
Final Thoughts…
What would it look like if we believed that our healing, provision, freedom, or deliverance was coming at any moment? What if instead of looking at the calendar or the clock we trusted that the goodness of God would come at the perfect time? What if all the obstacles that the enemy throws at us never deferred our hope? Lord, we desire a greater measure of hope. We want every step we take to be unwavering, doubt-free and 100% reliant on You and Your Word. As it says in 1 Peter 3:15 we want to be ready to give everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is within us.