I strongly remember the breakthrough I had following my very first Alcoholic’s Anonymous meeting in 1993.. I left the rooms and drove in my car to the park on the harbor above the flat my new husband and I were sharing in Sydney and I had a sense of angels surrounding me, as flood of tears just poured out of me. Inside I had the feeling “I am home” along with the strong sense that just possibly I may never need to drink again..I found hope.. I must say I was tempted to drink one other time but I took one sip and stopped myself… I have been sober ever since.
This experience has been on my mind today after reading a chapter in Joyce Meyer’s book Power Thoughts : What You Say Can Change Your Life. The chapter is about the hope of God restoring the ‘dry bones’ of our life back to life.. I found myself crying reading these final words to that chapter Talk Like A Prisoner of Hope. In the chapter Joyce speaks of two other miracles Jesus performed, bringing Lazarus back to life and healing a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. I was moved to share these words here because so often in our life we can feel that there is no hope, that certain things cannot change..but the truth is that if we can sustain a spirit of hope often things do turn around.. we may even experience a profound mental change.
As prisoners of hope, we must be filled with hope, we must think hope, and we must talk hope. Hope is the foundation on which faith stands.
Some people try to have faith after having lost all hope, and that doesn’t work. Refuse to stop hoping no matter how dry the bones may seem, how dead the situation may appear, or how long the problem has been around.
God is still God, and Zechariah 9:12 teaches us that if we will remain positive and be “prisoners of hope”. God will work miracles on our behalf.
At times hope does seem lost and sometimes certain things or situations do need to be let go, but there are also many times it pays to hold out hope and keeping a positive state of mind may just help us to turn the old dead situation around.
Emerging From The Dark Night 
Inspiring ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
💙🦋🙏
LikeLike
Thank you so much for this reminder! I am so glad you had this experience after your very first AA meeting. My experiences of God’s saving grace haven’t been as profound, but they are and have been there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That doesn’t make them any less significant. You are loved. ❤💙❤
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is so beautiful! Your words bring peace to my soul as I have been clinging to hope as the foundation for my current journey with Christ. Blessings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is so lovely to read.. to spread hope is so important especially when life can be full of so many challenges.. keep strong ❤
LikeLike
Please keep reading and being fed, where doctrine is concerned, from the Bible. Where it’s true that Meyer and other writers can and do write things that inspire our thoughts and feelings, let your doctrinal beliefs be defined only by the Bible. Read 1 John 2:27, where it’s written (and this is my paraphrase) that you need nobody else to teach you, but that the anointing within you will teach you ALL things, and will not teach you a lie. That is a wonderful promise. The Lord is so glorious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That makes more sense. Direct conscious contact with the source and the Holy Spirit is more to be trusted. I honestly don’t think God intended for there to be a middle man (or woman) in A A we sat there is no other authority but a loving God..that makes more sense to me. Thanks for your kind wise words. 💙🦋
LikeLike