14 Days of Praise & PositivitySample

Never Lose Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ROMANS 15:13 ESV

Easter is my favorite holiday. I think the color palette really hooked me early on, but I especially love all the traditions. Decorating eggs, getting dressed up for church, enjoying a Honey Baked ham for lunch, and of course, celebrating the resurrection as a believer. There’s so much hope and joy in Easter, but we also remember the sad parts of the story that led up to that miraculous day. All the exuberance and positivity of Easter Sunday couldn’t have been celebrated if Good Friday hadn’t happened.

The heaviness of the whole Easter story takes my breath away. The same Jesus who rose for us on Sunday also suffered on the cross for us on Friday. We wouldn’t have one without the other. So many times in life, we hold conflicting emotions at the same time—joy and pain, happiness and sorrow, shame and pride, the good and the bad. Both are okay, and both have their place. You don’t have to have “Easter Sunday energy” every hour of every day, but always remember that Easter Sunday happened after Good Friday, not before.

Likewise, we will sometimes endure the unimaginable, but that doesn’t mean good things won’t come again. I appreciate the good days even more because I’ve survived the bad ones, and I’m grateful to be here. When everything seems lost, and darkness has taken over, always remember that hope is on the way!