{"id":1094,"date":"2019-06-27T05:56:01","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T05:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unfoldingfaithblog.com\/?p=1094"},"modified":"2019-07-19T07:51:50","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T07:51:50","slug":"focusing-on-hope-when-pain-distracts-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/2019\/06\/27\/focusing-on-hope-when-pain-distracts-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Focusing on Hope When Pain Distracts You"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

By Danny Gokey<\/a> <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In a way, pain reminds us that we are still alive. The abundant life we\u2019ve been promised doesn\u2019t come filtered and separate from pain and suffering. It is part of what rounds out our existence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We don\u2019t go looking for pain, yet it seems to find us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We don\u2019t ask for pain, yet it comes uninvited.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We don\u2019t chase pain, yet it feels like it is in pursuit of us at times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"A<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You have a choice to make. You can choose to see the world around you with promise and possibility, or you can choose to see limitations and obstacles. How you look at the world around you is what it will eventually become. Your life will move in the direction towards that which you\u2019re focused on. If your eyes focus on the bad things, your life will move in that direction. If your eyes are set on good or hopeful things, you will move in that direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Keep Your Car on the Road<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s like driving. If you take your eyes off the road, you will eventually swerve off and go in a direction you didn\u2019t want to go. When driving your car, you must be intentional to stay on the road if you want to get to your expected destination. The same thing applies in our lives. If you want a life of hope, you must stay focused on that hope \u2014 no matter what distractions or difficulties are around you \u2014 in order to get there. How you move through life will determine the quality of your life and your ability to find satisfaction and fulfillment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Black<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Hope is the vehicle you get into that will drive you through your darkest hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know the road ahead will be hard. This won\u2019t be the only time I feel lost, alone, and confused. But I will remember that I made it through last time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I\u2019m not the only one. There are others who have endured similar\u2014 or even worse \u2014 pain. And they made it. This encourages me to think that what seems impossible is possible for as long as I have faith and patience. Nothing has happened in your past, nor will anything happen in your future that God won\u2019t give you the grace and strength to walk through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If we never felt pain, we couldn\u2019t fully understand joy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If we never experienced grief, we couldn\u2019t explain comfort.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If we never lost anything, we couldn\u2019t know what it means to be found.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I believe life is intended to be an abundant one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I believe faith is intended to be worked out in real time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I believe hope is intended to be flowing constantly in my life and in yours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\"Front<\/a><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This is an excerpt from Hope in Front of Me: Find Purpose in Your Darkest Moments<\/a><\/em><\/strong> <\/a>by Danny Gokey and Ben Stroup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Post originally published on the NavPress Stories blog.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Danny Gokey  In a way, pain reminds us that we are still alive. The abundant life we\u2019ve been promised doesn\u2019t come filtered and separate from pain and suffering. It is part of what rounds out our existence. We don\u2019t go looking for pain, yet it seems to find us. We don\u2019t ask for pain, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[11,193,108,7,261],"tags":[262,19,194,95,109,201],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1170,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094\/revisions\/1170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}