I don’t know about you, but some days I just need a reminder that God is still on His throne, and is still at work in my life, working all things together for my good and for His glory.

It’s easy to become negative and plunge into a pity-party, indulging in the “woe is me” song that occasionally gets stuck in a repeat loop in our mind.

When life is hard and days are long, I’m especially thankful to remember that God is the author and finisher of our faith.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 KJV).

He gives life to our faith then refines, restores, renews us through our life circumstances, finishing what He started.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6)

As an author, I think of the excitement of starting a new writing project, the pain in the process of making it all I know it can be to impact lives for His glory, and the sheer joy of finishing a work and calling it complete.

I can only imagine how delighted God is when He looks at each of us as His artistic work in progress. Even in the difficult seasons, we are assured that God will use our pain for our good and others’, and for His glory.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).

When life is hard, I take comfort in knowing that while I am still a work in progress, He is actively working to finish what He started in me.

Don’t give up in the middle of the hard work. As the author of your life, He has written your Happily Ever After.

Because of Him, #HopePrevails!

A prayer for hope in difficult situations

Can I pray for you?
Father, I thank you that what we see in front of us is not all there is. I thank you that you never leave us, never forsake us, and use all things we go through for our good and for your glory. I thank you that you never waste our pain, but instead weave it into a beautiful tapestry that attests to your love and faithfulness. I pray for the one reading these words, that you would be ever-present, comforting and guiding through the twists, the valleys, and the rugged terrain of life. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Hope Prevails Book and Hope Prevails Bible Study offer hope for overcoming depression.

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Hope Prevails: Insights From a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression and the new companion Hope Prevails Bible Study help the reader understand: how depression comes to be, recover their joy, reclaim their peace, and re-establish their true identity, while knowing their worth, remembering their secure destiny, and being confident that nothing separates them from God’s love.