Several years ago I catch
a phrase from a pastor that I respected because of his work with hurting
people. He said, “I am a broker of
hope.” That small phrase has continued
to ring in my heart even though the pastor who I heard it from passed away a
few years back.
Hope has not gone
away. The work he did and the lives he
has touched continues. It is amazing to
hear stories of how someone made a difference because they took some time to share
and care for another person. What they
did may have been big or may have been small.
But what sticks out is that they did something. They saw a need or a person with potential
and spoke in to that person’s life.
Job 11:18 NLT
Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.
I have been watching a
growing story. A pastor in Florida has
been posting in social media (Facebook and twitter) his time with a man in his
community that recently chose to give up drinking. What caught my eye is this pastor is walking
with the man through his journey to be sober and closer to God. He has shared about many of the firsts.
Most of you know that I
spend a good deal of time with homeless friends in our community. In conversations I have learned so much. One of the characteristics that stick out is
the desire to help others in need. The
help covers all kinds of areas, and it is rarely and almost never for a selfish
reason.
Mother Teresa said many
years ago, “if you can’t feed 100 people, feed 1.” It really is that easy. Offering hope to another person is as easy as
meeting a simple need. It is a high
calling, and my desire, to be a broker of hope by meeting the needs of people
that I come in contact with. It might be
a meal or it might be a few minutes of time.
By giving people some of what we have offers hope and opens doors of
potential.
Proverbs 23:18 GWT
There is indeed a future, and your hope will never
be cut off.
What does the future look
like for you? Is it full of possibilities or troubles? Are you are
excited about it or dreading it?
Those answers can be real
intense and tell you a lot about life. Your future is in the hand of God.
God will not cut off your hope, yet I meet often people that have no
hope. Their hope is gone, stolen, cut off and simply slipped away.
That is why it is time for us to put hope where people can reach it. Hope is unreachable for some people, but we
have hope and help at our fingertips.
The purpose of dream
centers, such as the one we started, is offering people help and serving them
by putting hope on a shelf where they can reach it. People need hope.
Are you giving the people around you hope? If not, you are living
for the wrong thing.
How can we offer people hope?
It all begins with us seeing God and
accepting hope for ourselves. We pass on what God has given us by serving
others. That is where people will see hope lived out and hear it loud and
clear.
People will see hope
living and breathing, not sitting and souring. Hope makes us get out of
our chair and do something. Hope gives people a desire to do something
with their lives. Most importantly, hope
gives people the opportunity to see the one who gives real hope.
Proverbs 29:18 NASB
Where there is no vision, the people are
unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.
Offer somebody hope today.
Hope may just change their life for eternity!
NOTE: some of this post was first
shared in September 2009
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