When Circumstances Look Hopeless, Hope Prevails!

Dr. Michelle Bengtson was one of the first "strangers" who reached out to me when I was going through my Myeloma journey in 2019. It didn't take long for me to count her as a new friend. Her posts about hope encouraged me for many months.

In this special Hope UPGRADE, she tells us a little about her own journey, and encourages us to hold onto hope in our own tough circumstances."When everything around me looked hopeless," Michelle says, "hope was all I had to hang onto."

Like Michelle, I (Dawn) believe hope is no small thing to hang onto! It is solid. It can be counted on—because our hope is in the God of Hope!

Michelle continues . . .

My husband and I were on the way to his oncologist appointment. As he drove, my cell phone rang. Across the screen scrolled my doctor’s name and phone number.

Thinking they were just calling to confirm an upcoming appointment I had scheduled, I answered and was greeted with the words no one ever expects nor wants to hear—“I hate to have to tell you this, Dr. Bengtson, but you have cancer. We need to schedule you for surgery.”

Wait. What? This must be a mistake.

They must have the wrong person. I’m healthy.

We’re on our way to see my husband’s doctor. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been given another bad report, but me?

“Dr. Bengtson? We need to schedule surgery. Would now be a convenient time to do that?”

I could hardly think straight, much less talk on the phone and access my calendar.

“Um, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to call you back.”

As my husband and I sat in the waiting room of his oncologist’s office, we sat in silence, holding hands. Neither of us needed to say anything… we knew what the other was thinking, and words wouldn’t change anything.

In as short as a minute, my mind started going down the “what if?” rabbit trail. But I knew how very counterproductive that usually was.

I had just written my book, “Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises,” and turned it in to my publisher two weeks before.

As I sat in silence, I thought,

“You have just written the script for the next phase of your journey. Either you can go down the slippery slope of worry, fear, and anxiety, or you can choose to trust God and remain in His peace. This did not take God by surprise, and He already knows how He’s going to help you navigate your future.”

In that moment, a calm assurance came over me consistent with Philippians 4:7 (NIV), “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

There was no earthly explanation.

There was no earthly explanation for the peace I felt. It had to have come from God.

As time progressed, I underwent surgery, and began treatment. My approach during that time was different than most. I told my doctor that I didn’t want to know how many treatment cycles she expected, because I didn’t want to wish my life away, waiting for treatment to be over.

I wanted to wake up every day thankful that God gave me a new day, and ask Him how He wanted me to spend it.

As I went through treatment—while my husband dealt with his own cancer—life could have felt very hopeless. Yet through my husband’s first bout of cancer, we were told by doctors to get our affairs in order because he wasn’t going to live.

The doctors were wrong, and God had another plan.

Through that experience, I learned that doctors diagnose and make their best guestimate, but the Lord’s report is the one that I choose to listen to and hold onto.

Jeremiah 29:11 assures us,

“'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”

Because I could look back over my life and see God’s faithfulness so many times before, in this new journey, when life seemed hopeless, hope in God was all I had, and it was enough.

I learned that when live seems hopeless, there are ways to hold onto hope:

1. Think back on your life, and record previous times when God was faithful to you.
2. Look in the Bible for examples of when God was faithful then.
3. Turn off the negative outside influences like the news and media and, instead, listen to praise and worship music.
4. Write down promises in Scripture that apply to your situation.
5. Pray and ask God to give you a greater measure of faith.
6. Repeatedly thank God in advance for what He is going to do.

Jesus warned us that in this world, we would experience trials, but because of Him, hope prevails!

How will you maintain your hope when you face seemingly hopeless situations?

Dr. Michelle Bengtson is an international speaker, and author of the award-winning Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey through Depression, the award-winning companion, Hope Prevails Bible Study, and Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises. A neuropsychologist in private practice for more than 20 years, this doctor knows pain and despair firsthand. She combines her professional expertise and personal experience with her faith to address her patients’ issues—both for those who suffer and the ones who care for them. Michelle blogs regularly on her own site and is the popular podcast show host of “Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson.”

Pack a Travel Bag for 'Rough Road'

Dianne Barker's practical approach always makes me smile. In this Lifestyle UPGRADE, she encourages the wise choice to prepare now for any bumpy roads ahead.

"'Slow… rough road ahead.' A huge orange sign alerted me to upcoming danger," Diane says.

I (Dawn) never expected the rough road of terminal disease to rearrange all the elements of my life, but on that road, I also discovered God had already built into my life all I would need to face the struggle. Dianne's insight here is rock solid!

Dianne continues . . .

I saw the warning just in time to change direction and avoid the jagged route.

Life doesn’t afford us the courtesy of a caution sign.

Unexpectedly, we find ourselves on a precarious journey with no alternative course. If we’d just had advance warning!

• That dreaded diagnosis putting everything on hold.
• That surprise announcement the company is downsizing and we’re being let go.
• That family situation that disrupts all relationships.

Rough Road. And sometimes a long road.

A wise driver keeps crucial supplies in the car—flashlight with extra batteries, a blanket or quilt, and water.

Have you packed a travel bag for life emergencies?

My emergency travel bag is filled with God’s Word, and I began packing it as a young mom with many needs.

Memorizing Scripture related to my needs not only changed my thinking and my habits but also gave me a dependable supply of truth to navigate rough road.

Encountering a wall of worry, I relied on 2 Chronicles 16:9 to get me through it.

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him…”

Skidding across a patch of discouragement, I held firmly to Joshua 1:9.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

At a mammoth pothole of impossibility, I grasped Matthew 19:26 for stability.

“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”

Hovering at a ravine of hopelessness, I caught hold of Jeremiah 32:17 to steer me away from the cliff.

“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

I’ve been all those places. Had it not been for truth packed in my travel bag, who knows where I would have landed?

If you’re traveling a smooth road today, use this time to pack your travel bag with truth to carry you through the bumpy places ahead.

This will get you started.

1. God is faithful. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34).
2. He will be with me. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
3. Whatever he allows to touch my life will be for my good. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Continuing the journey, I don’t know what peril lies before me. But I know this:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’ (Lamentations 3:22-24).

What truths have you packed in your travel bag to give stability, courage, and hope when you encounter rough road?

Dianne Barker is a speaker, radio host, and author of 11 books, including the best-selling Twice Pardoned and award-winning I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life. She’s a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, and Word Weavers International. Visit www.diannebarker.com.

Graphic Adapted, from Road Traffic Signs.

Prayer Changes Me

Shonda Whitworth has faced some tough times in her life, but through it all, she discovered how the Lord uses circumstances not only to teach us, but to change us. In this Trials UPGRADE, she points us to the One who uses even our prayers to make us more like Jesus.

“Prayer changes things,” Shonda says, “and the more I pray, the more I change. Undesirable circumstances motivate me to pray. But as I spend time in prayer about my situations, the Lord changes me as I walk through the hardship.”

I (Dawn) discovered this powerful truth last year through some tough circumstances of my own. Shonda shares how God refines our character through these tough-times prayers.

Shonda continues . . .

When I understood the power of praying the Scriptures, I wrote verses on index cards. On one side I wrote the passage, and on the other side, the prayer. I carried these cards with me everywhere.

By writing out the Scriptures and praying them out loud, my knowledge of the Word improved, my relationship with Lord deepened, and my faith increased.

After devouring books on prayer and attending prayer conferences, I taught classes on how to pray effectively.

Then one night my faith was tested when the call came that my older son had been arrested and charged with serious crimes. With my heart ripped apart, my first prayer after receiving the shocking news came from a familiar passage:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 KJV).

Circumstances drove me to my knees in prayer. Through the process of my son being arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison, I sought the Lord in prayer more earnestly than ever before.

While searching the Bible for Scriptures to pray, I noticed it is filled with judicial themes.

I began to make my appeals to the courtroom of heaven.

When we think of trials, we think of justice with punitive results. Some judges are known to “throw the book” at the guilty.

But God, the Judge of all, is not like that.

Our Righteous Judge desires to give us—the guilty—mercy.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (NLT).

We can petition the courtroom of heaven anytime, from anywhere. Here’s how:

1. We Need an Advocate.

An advocate is an attorney. In the courtroom of heaven, only one Advocate meets the qualifications—Jesus.

First John 2:1 says,

“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous” (NLT).

Jesus, our Advocate, paid our penalties by the shedding of His blood. By accepting Jesus’ representation, our record of wrongs is expunged in the courtroom of heaven.

Without Jesus’ representation, we will be judged according to the sins that the prosecutor presents to the Righteous Judge.

2. Silence the Accuser

Every courtroom has a prosecutor, and in the courtroom of heaven he is our accuser—Satan. He opposes our petitions before God by presenting our unconfessed sins to the Righteous Judge.

Matthew 5:25 says,

“When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown in prison.”

When the accuser brings an accusation against us in the courtroom of heaven, we must confess our sins to receive mercy. This places them under the blood of Jesus, erasing them from the record books.  

3. Enter Your Petitions

A petition is a request presented to the court—also known as prayers.

When we petition the courtroom of heaven, we ask for God’s will to be done. God’s Word is His will. When we petition with God’s Word, we have confidence that God will answer us.

“Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). 

To file petitions, find Scriptures based on your need and pray it with assurance. Remember, trust God with how and when the answer comes. 

In order to receive mercy when making appeals to the courtroom of heaven regarding our circumstances:

Jesus must be our Advocate,

We must repent to silence the accuser and

Wwe must petition God’s will.

The Lord uses our prayers in the courtroom of heaven to refine our character.

My perception of my son’s incarceration has shifted. Petitioning the throne room of God through these trying times showed me that prayer changes me.

How might you see God changing you in YOUR touchest circumstances as you come before His throne in prayer?

Shonda Whitworth writes, teaches, and speaks at conferences and retreats to share the hope of healing and restoration we have in Jesus. She is the author of Appeal to the Courtroom of Heaven: Petitions for Prisoners and Prison Families. After her son landed in state prison, she realized the hardships families of prisoners encounter. She and her husband, Eldon, founded Fortress of Hope Ministries, a nonprofit organization that offers hope to families affected by incarceration. Shonda transparently shares her testimony of living with a son in prison at www.shondawhitworth.com/ and fortressofhopeministries.com/

When Life Throws a Curveball

Dianne Barker speaks clearly and wisely about many of the issues women face. In this Perspective UPGRADE, she writes about the inevitable curveballs in life.

Dianne prayed: "I didn’t see that coming! Lord, is this from you?"

I (Dawn) understand curveballs—believe me. A recent unexpected medical diagnosis sent me reeling!

Dianne's wisdom about life's curveballs is excellent.

Dianne continues . . .

I thought we’d agreed on plans. Still celebrating a national bestseller, Twice Pardoned, I asked the Lord. Where do we go from here?

Without giving Him a chance to answer, I responded to my own question.

I’ll just continue writing bestsellers, of course.

Then I got this curveball.

Being a fan of baseball, I researched the meaning of curveball and learned it’s a slow pitch causing hitters to be off-balance and swing too early. An experienced pitcher using a curveball can impact the game.

You’ve seen a hitter, anticipating a fast ball, scrunch his face and sling his bat after being tricked by a curveball he didn’t expect.

The ink was barely dry on Twice Pardoned when God began leading me from a very public life as successful journalist, speaker, and bestselling author to what I now call a shrunken life.

Caring for my parents and my husband’s parents as they declined in health kept me out of the publishing loop for fifteen years. No bestsellers.

I believe in the sovereignty of God, and He used that time to draw me to himself.

Looking back, that hard place was a sweet period of my life.

During that time, I discovered a simple explanation of the word sovereignty while having a conversation with my son who was home from college for the weekend.

I don’t remember the discussion, but I must have been bombarding him with concerns and fears. He made a comment that changed my life.

“If God isn’t in control, who is?”

What I know about sovereignty:

• God IS in absolute control.
• Everything that comes to me is filtered through His loving hands.
• Whatever touches my life, He will use it for my good and His glory. 

That’s what I know. And that’s truth to trust in when life throws a curveball.

When that happens, I say to self:

God must have a lot of confidence in me to trust me with this challenge.

And after sufficient grieving, I manage to praise Him in spite of my questions and fears. I don’t know the outcome, but I know the One who controls the outcome.

And He loves me.

“…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3).

“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand...” (Psalm 31:14-15).

Life is unpredictable, but my response to curveballs can impact the game.

I choose to live by this decision:

“I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High” (Psalm 7:17).

I don’t welcome curveballs. But I’m certain the Lord will lavish me with love and use my experience for good while gaining glory for Himself.

Knowing that replaces my fear with expectation.

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him” (Psalm 62:5).

Let me ask:

How do you respond when life throws a curveball?

Dianne Barker is a speaker, radio host, and author of 11 books, including the best-selling Twice Pardoned and award-winning I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life. She’s a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, and Christian Women in Media Association. Visit www.diannebarker.com.

Getting Needs Met ... or Not

Dianne Barker has a knack for pinpointing issues we all struggle with, and the biblical truth that helps. In this Perspective UPGRADE, she examines a question we may ask in the middle of stressful circumstances.

     

"Overwhelmed, I cried out to the Lord," Dianne said. 'What about my needs?'”

I (Dawn) believe the Lord understands our struggle. Humanly, Jesus had physical needs during His time on earth, and He looked to scriptures for strength. That's exactly where we need to go.

Dianne continues . . .

I went into marriage expecting my wonderful husband to meet all my needs and make me sublimely happy.

Our first few years were pretty much carefree. When I left a successful journalism career to be a stay-at-home mom, I had no regrets. Making a nest for my husband and our two young children brought me great joy. Meeting their needs had highest priority, although I carved out some time to continue writing.

Life has a way of piling stress upon stress.

As our children grew, we enjoyed the normal progression of family life: music lessons and recitals ... Little League and Scouts ... choral concerts and competitions.

We enjoyed our hectic life and managed the good stress.

Then heartbreaking stress caught up with us as our aging parents declined in health. I gladly poured out my life caring for them.

Increasing, daily challenges drained my time and energy, taking an emotional toll, and weariness sent me to the Lord.

“What about my needs? Doesn’t anybody care about my needs?”

He surprised me with an answer.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

I’d always viewed that familiar promise as assurance he would meet my physical, financial, and spiritual needs. A gentle voice in my spirit said, “I will supply your emotional needs. That frees you to meet the needs of your family.”

It was a jaw-dropping moment.

The Lord continued encouraging my heart with these words: “…as your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).

My circumstances didn’t change, only my perspective.

When you’re weary and feeling your needs aren’t getting met, consider having a conversation with yourself.

• God placed me here—in this family, in these circumstances—on purpose. He thought I had something to contribute. He surely has a lot of confidence to entrust me with such a complicated assignment.
• I feel inadequate, but I’ll never be stronger than I am right now because God is my strength. And he won’t be stronger tomorrow.
• The One who engraved me on the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:16) is fully able to supply all my needs. Knowing that, I needn’t depend on anyone else for this impossible provision.

Many years have passed since the Lord interrupted my pity party with an amazing promise. He met my needs and renewed my strength day by day, enabling me to pour out my life with joy, serving my precious family.

Circumstances are temporary. Our parents are in heaven and our children have left the nest. I look back on those challenging times with gratitude for the faithfulness of God.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

I’ve never regretted the decision to trust him to supply my needs. He’s surpassed my expectations. 

Who are you depending on to meet your needs?

Dianne Barker is a speaker, radio host and author of 11 books, including the best-selling Twice Pardoned. This post is adapted from I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life. She’s a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, and Christian Women in Media Association. Visit www.diannebarker.com.)

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Engin_Akyurt, Pixabay.