The Four Steps to Reclaim Hope When Life Seems To Be Falling Apart

Wayne Sutton: Have you ever hoped and prayed for something, but nothing changed? Have you ever believed God for a breakthrough only to watch things get worse? Have you ever found them have you ever found yourself wondering, God, where are you? If so, today's episode is for you because every person listening here has either been through a storm, is in a storm now, maybe you're going to face a storm. And the question isn't whether storms come. The question is how do we keep hope alive? when life doesn't make sense. So today we're talking about faith and hope and what to do when you're walking through difficult seasons. Welcome to another episode of Prosper life doesn't make sense. So today we're talking about faith and hope and what to do when you're walking through difficult seasons. Welcome to another episode of Prosper with Wayne. Remember that everyone loves the testimony, but nobody wants the test. We celebrate the miracle, we admire the comeback, we applaud the victory, but nobody volunteers for the struggle that produces it. I want to look into the word of God. We see David in his trials, in his struggles, in his literally life-threatening situations, in his abandonment almost before becoming king. Joseph in the trials and tribulations before he became a ruler, Moses before leading Israel, Jesus before the resurrection. See The pattern is consistent, both in the Word of God and in our life today, as we look at people that have overcome to succeed. Before promotion often comes preparation. One of the reasons I'm doing this podcast is to encourage you, to build you up, to send you forth. Because victory often comes after adversity. and we need to recognize that. And hope, understand this, is not wishful thinking. Many people misunderstand the word hope. But I'm going to use hope from a biblical term. Okay. Biblical hope isn't positive thinking, isn't blind optimism, and it definitely isn't denial. Biblical hope is confident expectation that God is faithful. So it's this confident expectation that there's a divine creator. Now I know a lot of you follow me because you're like, Wayne, I want to learn the part of creating health, wealth, and happiness. And some of you follow me because you're looking for the health. ⁓ know, you want the biohacking secrets. And some of you are following because you're just like, wait, I want to be happy. And I think happiness is something that is achieved, yes, through Christ. So we're going to talk today from the Bible. And if this is for you, if this is good, hit that subscribe button, hit that share button. Somebody needs to see this. So Romans 15, 13, we're going to go into the word of God. It says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Okay, listen to that. May the God of hope. Fill you with all joy and peace. Do you want to be filled? Now watching this. Do you want to be filled with joy and peace? Just in fact, in comments, type in the word joy or type in the word peace. Type in the word hope. Okay? But hope isn't based on circumstances. Hope is based on the character of God, the one who created you and orders your steps. So that takes me to the three lies that hard times tell us. And those are watching this, those who followed me, I've gone through hard times one year ago, just one year ago, I was in surgery. I had part of my colon removed. I lost, wow, I lost like 55, 60 pounds. I literally, after surgery, got even sicker. And I faced a lot of just turmoil. A lot of turmoil. But had to remember that God, in all of that, had never forgotten me. We look into the Bible, let's look at Joseph. He was sold by his brothers, falsely accused, thrown into prison. But God was still working the entire time. So me, I saw a decline in my business. I saw ⁓ I laid literally on the couch or in my bed for months. But God was working the entire time in my life as well. And just because we don't hear God and we don't see his hand move in those moments doesn't mean he's absent. So lie number one is that God has forgotten you. He never will. Lie number two, this season will last forever. Wow. Psalm 30, verse 5. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. I love this. The presupposition in this, that weeping It will come and it will endure for a season. But the next presupposition is joy will come thereafter. Every season has an expiration date. Every season has an expiration date. Storms pass, pain heals, circumstance change. Okay? And then lie number three. This is another one that I had to face at I just turned 53 years old. 53 the enemy and the mind and Culture and the world will say your best days are behind you, old man. ⁓ but look at Abraham. Look at Sarah. Look at Moses, who began his real mission at 80 years old, Caleb at 85 years old. See, God isn't limited by your age. He's not limited by your past. And he's not limited by your current situation. Which I want to remind you on that. Faith is trusting God before you see the outcome. With the loss of business, going through sickness, what I recognized, I didn't see the outcome, but I knew that God had me. I knew that I had a wonderful wife that would take care of me. I knew I had friends and a church family. And here's the key: I knew I had to see the outcome, not the current circumstance. But that's where many people quit. They'll trust God after they see evidence. But faith says, I'll trust him before the evidence arrives. In fact, Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Okay? Faith often means taking that next step, showing up another day, praying one more prayer, believing one more time. That's what faith is. That is where hope is activated. So, what have I learned in my season? This is just about me. You're following if you're hey, if you're watching, listening to Prosper with Wayne, that five little word Wayne is important because I want you to hear. I'm not saying that I'm important. I'm saying that my journey is important because I've gone through and I want to help you through. Health challenges, surgery, recovery, financial pressures, ministry challenges. When I I was I was just too sick to do anything. There was times when I did not understand what God was doing. But wow, looking back. And I used to hear this all the time. People say, well, and I went through this, I was able to see this. Hindsight is 2020. But I'm gonna tell you, I've lived it. And looking back, I can see God's fingerprints all over seasons. Not just that season, but other seasons. Where it kind of seems he was nowhere to be found. This ⁓ where we must trust in a God that we don't see ⁓ his hand that we may not see moving. So let me help you with this. Let me help you. I'm give you four things to do if you feel like you're losing hope, and maybe you're not, but there'll come a season for many people they do. Number one, stay connected to God's word. Listen, we can't live on headlines, we can't live on promises, we can't live on even what's happened in the past. Okay? Get connected to God's word. Now I'm big on coaching and counseling. And listen, if some of you coach and counsel with me, and I I appreciate that. If you want to know more about that, you can get in touch with us. We'll share with you. But I also want to say this you need to go to God's word first. And if you're watching this going, well, Wayne, that's just not my cup of tea. I'm not a Christian. I'm spiritual, more I love one, I'm spiritual, not religious. Whatever. Whatever your excuse is, God is still God and you are his creation. Stay connected to God's word. Get into it. Number two, guard what you listen to. Fear grows where faith is absent. Fear grows where faith is absent. So we must always guard what we listen to, who we listen to. We live in a day where it's easy to get discouraged or it's easy to find encouragement. Okay? Hope grows where truth is present. Surround yourself with people that have overcome. Surround yourself with people that care for you and want you to succeed. That's number three, surround surround yourself. You don't need critics during a storm. You need encouragers. You don't need critics when you're going through a hard time. You need encouragers. You need edifiers. It's a difference. An encourager will encourage you. Get your mind straight. An edifier will build you up. And sometimes we go through hell because we realize we were not ready for this season. We must build ourselves up. And number four, this is what I do. I remember what God has already done. Where God has already taken me through. The loss of my mother when I was a child. A divorce when I was young, relationships after divorce, sickness. What has God already taken me through? All right. David, he remembered, I love this. We all know, whether you're a believer or maybe not yet, we all know the story of David and Goliath, right? But here's important. David remembered the lion and the bear before he faced Goliath. Past victories can create future confidence. So take do this, write down. I have my coaching clients and I'm working them. Write down 10 areas that they ten things that they've done. It can be simple. i finished college, I finished high school, I wrote a book, ⁓ helped this person do this. I had one person say, Why not I rebuild an engine? Does that count? Of course. Anything that you did in the past can create future confidence. But I want to speak to you. I want to speak to you today watching this. I don't want to speak to everyone that may hear this podcast. I want to speak to you. Maybe you're facing a diagnosis. It's not good. Maybe your marriage is struggling. Maybe you're overwhelmed financially. Maybe you're grieving. Maybe you've lost someone. Maybe you've been praying for years and haven't seen the answer yet. Never quit. Never stop believing. Never abandon hope. Because God often does his greatest work. When it looks like nothing's happening. So remember this. Remember this. Hope is not pretending everything is okay. Hope is believing that God is still good even when everything isn't okay. Hope is believing that your current chapter is not your final chapter. Hope is waking up one more day and saying, God, I don't understand everything, but I trust you. God, I may not know what tomorrow holds, but the one who holds it is deeply in love with me. And if you're in a storm today, I want you to remember the same God who brought Joseph out of prison, who brought David to the throne, who rolled away the stone from Jesus' tomb. is still working. He's still moving. He's still healing. He is still restoring. And he's not finished with your story. So I'm going to do something we don't do on most podcasts, but I'm going to end today with prayer. So Father, I pray for the person watching this or the person listening to this today. I'm asking you, Lord, to strengthen those who are weary, encourage those who are discouraged, heal those who are hurting, and restore those who feel broken. I'm asking you, Lord, let hope arise where fear has taken root and remind them that you're faithful even when life is difficult. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Guys, I want to say thank you for being a follower here. Following us here. Prosper with Wayne. Creating health, wealth, and happiness. If this is your first time, whether again you're on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, wherever you're following us. Hit that subscribe button, hit that share button, come back again. In fact, go back to our original episodes. We cover areas on creating health, on wealth, and happiness. I'm Wayne Sutton, and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. God bless.