{"id":867,"date":"2011-01-26T20:56:14","date_gmt":"2011-01-26T20:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/redletters\/2011\/01\/you-can-find-hope-in-troubled-times.html"},"modified":"2011-01-26T20:56:14","modified_gmt":"2011-01-26T20:56:14","slug":"you-can-find-hope-in-troubled-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2011\/01\/you-can-find-hope-in-troubled-times.html","title":{"rendered":"You Can Find Hope in Troubled Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s an inspiring post from my friend Jim Daly at Focus on the Family.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

I was recently talking with a friend, and he began to
\ndraw a parallel between a mutual acquaintance of ours and my childhood. The
\nperson in question is a real survivor and currently managing a rather chaotic
\nexistence. He said it reminded him of me and the untraditional life of my
\nyouth.<\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

While there are similarities, I suggested there was a
\nsignificant distinction between the two. Unlike this friend of ours who appears
\ncontent with his<\/font> <\/font><\/span>troubled lot, I managed to
\nsurvive abandonment and loneliness because of one main thing: I lived in a
\nconstant state of hope, always praying and <\/font><\/span>dreaming that I might someday,
\nsomeway, trade chaos for order and an unconventional family life for a
\ntraditional home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas Fuller once wrote that were it not for hopes,
\nthe heart would break. This is why the apostle Paul urged the Romans to “Be
\njoyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer<\/font>“<\/font><\/span> (Romans 12:12).<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Hope in that which is noble can ease pain and bring
\ncomfort. Hope will help to keep despair and despondency at bay.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here at Focus on the Family, I’m always thrilled to
\nreceive word from listeners and readers who tell us that the ministry has
\nbrought them hope in times of trouble. I’d like to share an excerpt of one such
\nletter with you today, from a listener who appreciated our recent program with
\nDr. Kevin Leman:<\/span><\/p>\n

“[I] tuned into the program Game Plan to Revolutionize
\nyour Marriage.  I am just finishing up the second part and you are saying
\nthat the program is to give women hope and that is EXACTLY what it has done for
\nme.  My husband, a great man of God, but with struggles and has found it
\ndifficult to express his love for me in a way that I can understand.  It
\nhas left me feeling lonely and unappreciated. Your two programs have infused me
\nwith new life, new hope, encouragement and new inspiration and power to love my
\nhusband… Thank you, thank you, thank you! <\/span><\/p>\n

I cannot express enough how important this program was
\nto giving me hope to keep fighting for my marriage and to not flee, as I have wanted
\nto on many occasions! Praise the Lord for your lives and ministry!  I
\nentered this new year feeling almost no hope for change and not feeling strong
\nenough to live another year like this past year was in our marriage, but thanks
\nto you guys I have HOPE and know that God is going to give me the power to
\ninfluence my husband to the greatness that I know is in him, that the Lord has
\nplaced in him.  Thank you! <\/span><\/p>\n

If you’d like to hear this program, you can listen by
\nclicking <\/font>here.<\/font><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It’s encouraging to read of such a reaction, but it is
\nthe Lord who deserves all the credit. To Him we give all glory and praise.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s an inspiring post from my friend Jim Daly at Focus on the Family. I was recently talking with a friend, and he began to draw a parallel between a mutual acquaintance of ours and my childhood. The person in question is a real survivor and currently managing a rather chaotic existence. He said it reminded…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-swaziland"],"yoast_head":"\nYou Can Find Hope in Troubled Times - Red Letters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2011\/01\/you-can-find-hope-in-troubled-times.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"You Can Find Hope in Troubled Times - Red Letters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here’s an inspiring post from my friend Jim Daly at Focus on the Family. 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A tireless advocate for fatherless children, Davis has spent most of his adult life calling U.S. believers to become the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to the 143 million orphans living around the world. Through those connections, thousands of orphans now have the bright and hopeful future--one that is filled with opportunities and the love of the one true Father. Davis speaks hundreds of times each year at churches and conferences, mobilizing the church to action on behalf of the poor. He is the author of four books. His most recent novel, SCARED is a fictionalized account of his first-hand experiencing living and working with orphans in Swaziland, Africa. Davis' blog is the premier resource for the latest developments in Christian orphan ministry. Davis also currently teaches courses as adjunct professor at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. When not traveling the globe, Davis resides in the mountains of Colorado in the small community of Palmer Lake. He and his wife Emily have seven children, including two adopted daughters from Russia.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/author\/tdavis"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}