#HopedealersSample

Day 2: Defining a HopeDealer

Scripture: Psalm 40:1-3, NLT

You're going to read the word HopeDealer a lot in this devotional, so let's make sure we all know what I mean when I use it. It's a promise that I claimed for myself when I first started getting sober. I was not only a drug user in my past, I was also a drug dealer, and I wanted to reclaim that idea, so I started calling myself a HopeDealer. I even started signing all my social media posts with the hashtag "#HopeDealer". And it's stuck.

But I'm not the only HopeDealer in the world, nor do I want to be! I want everyone to become one! But what is a HopeDealer? There are so many facets and ways to describe a HopeDealer:

A HopeDealer is someone who has gone through pain and now has a purpose.

A HopeDealer is a survivor who is willing to tell their story.

A HopeDealer is someone who has found hope and who is willing to tell others about it.

A HopeDealer is a flawed person bragging on a flawless God.

These all get at the truth, but the more I've thought about it, the more I realize: a HopeDealer is really just anyone who is willing to say YES.

YES to sharing their pain.

YES to finding the hope.

YES to owning their past.

YES to acknowledging their present.

YES to embracing their future.

In other words, anyone can be a HopeDealer.

If you’ve overcome the pain of a divorce, you can be a HopeDealer.

If you’ve worked through the grieving process, you can be a HopeDealer.

If you’re managing your depression or anxiety, you can be a HopeDealer.

If you’ve walked through an addiction to pornography, you can be a HopeDealer.

If you’ve kicked heroin, you can be a HopeDealer.

If you’ve shredded tons of weight, you can be a HopeDealer.

If you’ve beat cancer, you can be a HopeDealer.

If you’ve overcome an eating disorder, you can be a HopeDealer.

There is no limit to who can be HopeDealer, because we all have some HOPE to give!

That's what a HopeDealer is. But what does a HopeDealer do? We will talk more and more about this throughout the reading plan. But what I am challenging you to consider is this:

A HopeDealer is one willing to share their pain and their past with anyone who needs what they have! That means a HopeDealer looks at the dark cave that is their story and, rather than be afraid of or intimidated by it, steps into it. And they take a pickax with them because they know they're going to find plenty of precious stones to mine, bits of gold and diamond that the pressure and hardship of their lives have created. HopeDealers bring those riches up to the surface so they can share it and enrich the lives of those around them. HopeDealers turn their hurt into hope and they never hoard it.

A HopeDealer can be anyone, anytime, anyplace. If God has given you a HopeDealer story, I'm going to encourage you to say YES to that story and to start telling it. And I want to show you how.