Become a Prisoner of Hope

We are living in a time when the affairs and troubles of life have caused many people to lose hope. Millions of people are living right now have lost hope; hope of their dreams ever coming to past, hope of ever getting physically well, hope of finding the right person to get married to, hope of being a better person, hope of ever getting out of debt, and the list goes on.

Instead of becoming a prisoner of hope, they soon become a prisoner of fear, doubt and hopelessness. They know that one touch of God’s favor could push them into their destiny or that God could take them out of the situation they are now in, but too often they have been disappointed so they stop hoping, stop expecting.

Similarly, many people surrounds themselves with negative people, people that have no problem speaking negative and people that have lost hope themselves.

Jesus saw a man at the pool one day sitting with the lame, the cripple, and blind, and he was there for 38 years in the same position, doing the same thing repeatedly and still in the same depressive paralyzing state,  getting the same results and hanging out with the same people waiting for the moving of the water, waiting day after day, year after year for his breakthrough. Jesus asked the man, ‘will though be made whole? I notice you have been in this same situation for 38 years, but do you want to be healed, do you want to see again, do you want your life to be whole? I am not going to give you what I have for you unless you want it, I am not going to touch you but if you want it then you can have it.’ The man in response to Jesus’ question replied, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.”-John 5:7

Jesus did not asked him the reason he was not healed, but if he wanted to be made whole. Isn’t it interesting that when you hang out with certain people after a time you start thinking and acting like them?

The cripple man at the pool had lost hope. Thirty eight years of doing the same thing and getting the same results. Thirty eight years of hanging around the same people, people that could not help him, folks that were sick and in need of help. He was in one stage of his life for thirty eight years; never moving to the next level of his life and not realizing when his breakthrough was right before him, because he allowed his thinking to be corrupted by the people he hung around with. He got frustrated and lost hope of ever getting well because of his thinking. His thinking controlled his behavior.

That is what will happen when you hang around negative people and allow negative thoughts to shape your perspective and influence your decisions.

Isn’t it interesting how we can be in a place of healing and deliverance but each day our problems remain the same? We go to church for our breakthrough and to be inspired, but we went home the same way we went.

[tweetthis] Whatever you become a prisoner of that is what will control your life. Be a prisoner of Hope[/tweetthis]

This was the situation the man was in.

The man had the one who controlled the angels but he could not recognize his day of deliverance because he had lost hope. He had been in the same position getting the same results day after day, years after years and so he lost hope.

But can I tell you that Jesus is passing by you today and he wants to restore your hope. God did not create us to go through life feeling defeated and living below our privileges. We are kings and Priest unto God (Revelation 1:6), royalties don’t walk around feeling depress, and accept self-defeating thoughts. No they walk around with their heads held high knowing that they are royalty.

You are child of the King, and that makes you royalty.

However, many people have lost hope because of where there focus are. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:19

[pullquote] become a prisoner of hope, not a prisoner of doubt, fear and hopelessness. To become a prisoner of hope is to live in expectancy, always expecting increase, blessings and for your situation to change. Whatever you become a prisoner of that is what will control your life.[/pullquote]

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

Things will come to get us discourage and even knock us off our feet, but the Bible encourages us to always look up (Colossians 3:1-2)

How to Become a Prisoner of Hope

  1. Be around people that will encourage and lift you up when you’re down or feel like throwing in the towel. The man at the pool hang around people that were depressed and lost hope and so their attitude rubs off on him, soon he too had lost hope
  2. Always encourage yourself by speaking the promises of God over your life. The Bible is filled with encouraging promises of God, e.g. instead of saying you will never get well, replace those negative words with the Bible verse that says ‘healing is the children’s bread’- Matthew 15: 26
  3. Know your strength and who you are. Many people have lost hope because they do not think they are good enough, they are not as beautiful or talented as the other person, but God does not need these things to take you where he wants you to go. David did not have any military skills but God used him to defeat Goliath, not with a sword or spear or any other military weapon but with a sling shot and a stone.
  4. Speak life over yourself and your situation. Many of us when we are going through different situations instead of speaking life, ‘I will get out of debt’ ‘my marriage will get better’ etc. they soon start speaking negative things. Replace these with positive thoughts, even if you don’t believe them.
  5. Spend time with God reading the Bible, praying and going to church often. Life can sometimes cause us not to want to pray or read God’s words, but it is when we are going through different things that when we should pray more and read God’s words more as we will find strength when we do.

[tweetthis]You were not made to live defeated, fearful, hopeless, but you were created to live an abundant life. A life of hope[/tweetthis]

I want to encourage you to become a prisoner of hope, not a prisoner of doubt, fear and hopelessness. To become a prisoner of hope is to live in expectancy, always expecting increase, blessings and for your situation to change. Whatever you become a prisoner of that is what will control your life.

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