Don’t Lose Your Sparkle

And How to Get It Back If You Have

PREVIEW: Do you ever wonder why there are some people whose eyes just always seem to sparkle? Is it because they have such a naturally sunny disposition? Is it because things are continually going their way? Is it because they are just so much better at life that they outshine the average person? What is it about these sparkly people? Well, it could be any or all of the above factors contribute to their winsome approach to the world. But I would venture to guess that these folks have also developed the ability to practice hopefulness in the midst of all the negative stuff that might send a less hopeful person into the tank. My friend, put your hope in the promises of God.

“The #1 contributing factor that leads people to quit in life—in relationships, in vocation, in spiritual matters—is the failure to practice hope. Friend, choose daily to put hope in God’s promises.” —Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 13:3

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

Do you ever wonder why there are some people whose eyes just always seem to sparkle? Is it because they have such a naturally sunny disposition? Is it because things are continually going their way? Is it because they are just so much better at life that they outshine the average person? What is it about these sparkly people?

Well, it could be any or all of the above factors contribute to their winsome approach to the world. But I would venture to guess that these folks have also developed the ability to practice hopefulness in the midst of all the negative stuff that might send a less hopeful person into the tank.

Aaron Beck, a leading marriage researcher, found the number one belief that kills marriages is that a spouse will never change. Once that belief set in, there was the loss of motivation, surrender of perseverance, and simply giving up. Here’s the thing: Underneath the failure to endure and quitting on the relationship, there was a loss of hope.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 13:12 that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.” But when hope is practiced, whether in marriage specifically or life in general, there is tremendous motivation not only for growth and change but for that winsome radiance to dominate our personality in a way that both elevates our moods and is consistently visible to those we are around.

That is why we must choose daily to put our hope in the promises of God.

That’s what David did. He practiced hope. In the first two verses of this six-verse psalm, David focused on the overwhelmingly bad things in his life that were dragging him down. But in the last two verses, his focus has shifted to the overwhelming mercy and grace of God — and it changed everything. What did David do to pull off that turnaround?

  1. He prayed. David went to God, pouring out his complaint: “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (vv. 1-2)
  2. He made a bold request: “Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.” (vv. 3-4)
  3. He put on hope. He went back into the memory banks of his experience with God and recalled that God had never failed him — not even once — and since God had been faithful in David’s past, it only made sense to trust him in the present: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” (v. 5)
  4. He praised. David began to sing of God’s constant goodness and never-ending love: “I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” (v. 6)

David practiced hope — and before knew it, the sparkle had returned to his eyes.

Hebrews 6:19 says of the practice of hope: “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.”

And when we practice, too, hope — praying, reflecting, singing — we can expect the sparkle to return to our eyes. As Romans 5:5 says, “hope does not disappoint us.”

My Offering of Worship: If at the moment worrisome circumstances have you feeling down, David’s psalm has provided a recipe for doing the most powerful thing you can do to turn any situation around for your good. He prayed, he asked boldly, he praised, and he put on hope. Try that if you are going through a rough patch, and see if the sparkle doesn’t return to your eyes.

Keep Hope Alive

Biblical Hope Enables You To Not Only Endure, But To Victoriously Overcome

SYNOPSIS: Biblical hope is not just a vague and lofty concept; it’s actually a very practical thing. Just like a football player puts on his helmet for the game, or a soldier puts on his helmet for battle, we’ve got to put on the helmet of hope, particularly the hope of our salvation because it is what enables us to endure life’s battles and come out victorious at the end of the day. That’s called practicing hope. So how can you literally put hope on as a helmet? First, quit being passive about hope. Hope is not just going to happen for you, you’ve got to practice it. Second, develop patterns of thinking that are founded in hope. The fact is, there are not only ways of thinking that will kill hope, there are ways of thinking that produce hope.

Keep Hope Alive

Moments With God // Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Hope is an incredible motivator in life, a powerful sustainer of love, and arguably, it is the most effective instigator of spiritual growth. On the other hand, the loss of hope is arguably the greatest devastator of life a human being can experience. That’s how profoundly powerful hope is. Speaking of the power of hope, Martin Luther King, Jr. said,

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

He is absolutely right: we must never lose infinite hope. The Contemporary English Version translates Proverbs 13:12 this way: “Not getting what you want can make you feel sick, but a wish that comes true is a life-giving tree.” That’s so true, isn’t it? Hope is that powerful.

We’ve all been there—the loss of a job, the breakup of a relationship, the crushing of a dream—it takes your legs right out from under you. It tempts you to give up, shrink back, curl up in a ball and just quit on life. There is no pain quite like the loss of hope.

But when you have hope you can survive and actually thrive through just about anything. When hope is stoked, even when what you’re hoping for is still a far-off expectation, suddenly there is energy, drive, focus, and patient endurance.

That’s how powerful hope is, and that’s why we got to practice it. Huh? Practice hope? Yeah, that’s what the Bible says. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 says we’ve got to exercise hopefulness…we’ve got to practice being hopeful…we’ve go to put on hope:

But since we belong to the day let us be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation.

You see, hope is not just some vague and lofty concept; it’s actually a very practical thing. Just like a football player puts on his helmet for the game, or a soldier puts on his helmet for battle, we’ve got to put on the helmet of hope, particularly the hope of our salvation because it is what enables us to endure life’s battles and come out victorious at the end of the day.

So how can you literally put hope on as a helmet? First, quit being passive about hope. Hope is not just going to happen for you, you’ve got to practice it. Then second, develop and nurture patterns of thinking that are founded in hope. The fact is, there are not only ways of thinking that will kill hope, there are ways of thinking that produce hope.

Let me illustrate: Suppose you were to receive a phone call today from an old friend who enthusiastically says, “Friend, I have good news. You can take a 7-day trip to Hawaii with my company that won’t cost you a dime. We have room for two more…but here’s the catch: we leave tomorrow evening at 9:00 PM. The boss is taking us on his private jet, and we’ll be staying at his beachfront villa in Maui.”

You say you’ll call him right back, and the minute you get off the phone, you and your spouse, who was listening in, start thinking and planning. Out comes the pen and paper, and you begin to prioritize what you need to do to make this happen. Then you call the friend back, and tell him you’re in.

Now here’s the deal: I’ll guarantee that you will begin to ruthlessly align your life over the next 24 hours to pull this off. Am I right? You see, the hope of Hawaii tomorrow will change the way you live today.

There’s something even better and more permanent that Hawaii. It’s called heaven. The most important hope of all—the hope of your salvation—is promising you a better tomorrow. So, start aligning your life today for eternity with Jesus—and be ruthless about it—and watch what hope will do for you!

Take A Moment: For the next seven days, right before you go to sleep and then again when you first wake up, think about what heaven will be like. That’s practicing hope.

Keep Hope Alive

Read: Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Hope is an incredible motivator in life, a powerful sustainer of love, and arguably, it is the most effective instigator of spiritual growth. On the other hand, the loss of hope is arguably the greatest devastator of life a human being can experience.  That’s how profound powerful hope is.

The Contemporary English Version translates our proverb this way: “Not getting what you want can make you feel sick, but a wish that comes true is a life-giving tree.” That’s so true, isn’t it?  We’ve all been there—the loss of a job, the breakup of a relationship, the crushing of a dream—it takes your legs right out from under you. It tempts you to give up, shrink back, curl up in a ball and just quit on life.  There is no pain quite like the loss of hope.

But when you have hope you can survive and actually thrive through just about anything. When hope is stoked, even when what you’re hoping for is still a far off expectation, suddenly there is energy, drive, focus, and patient endurance.

That’s how powerful hope is, and that’s why we’ve got to practice it.  Huh?  Practice hope? Yeah, that’s what the Bible says.  I Thessalonians 5:8 says we’ve got to exercise hopefulness…we’ve got to practice being hopeful…we’ve got to put on hope:

“But since we belong to the day let us be sober
and put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation.”

You see, hope is not just some vague and lofty concept, it’s actually a very practical thing. Just like a football player puts on his helmet for the game, or a soldier puts on his helmet for battle, we’ve got to put on the helmet of hope, particularly the hope of our salvation, because it is what enables us to endure life’s battles and come out victorious at the end of the day.

So how can you literally put hope on as a helmet?  First, quit being passive about hope.  It’s not just going to happen for you, you’ve got to practice it.  Then second, develop and nurture patterns of thinking that are founded in hope. The fact is, not only are there ways of thinking that will kill hope, there are ways of thinking that produce hope.

Let me illustrate:  Suppose you were to receive a phone call today from an old friend who enthusiastically says, “Friend, I have good news.  You can take a 7-day trip to Hawaii with my company that won’t cost you a dime.  We have room for two more…but here’s the catch: we leave tomorrow evening at 9:00 PM.  The boss is taking us on his private jet, and we’ll be staying at his beachfront villa in Maui.”

You tell him you’ll call him right back, and the minute you get off the phone, you and your spouse, who was listening in, start thinking and planning. Out comes the pen and paper, and you begin to prioritize what you need to do to make this happen.  Then you call the friend back, and tell him you’re in.

Now here’s the deal: I’ll guarantee that you will begin to ruthlessly align your life over the next 24 hours to pull this off. Am I right?  You see, the hope of Hawaii tomorrow will change the way you live today.

There’s something even better and more permanent that Hawaii.  It’s called heaven.  The most important hope of all—the hope of your salvation—is promising you a better tomorrow.  So start aligning your life today for eternity with Jesus—and be ruthless about it—and watch what hope will do for you!

“We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

For the next seven days, right before you go to sleep and then again when you first wake up, think about what heaven will be like.  That’s practicing hope.