Hope Unstoppable: 31 Day Devotional

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 the 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