The Tide-Turning Power of HopeExemple

I have had doubts about what many have come to believe about hope. These doubts grew as I saw good people— people of integrity, faith, and optimism—go through storms like cancer, death, and family breakdowns. When we understand the good that adversity brings us, it causes us to lean into the difficulties of life. Be real, be authentic, and allow yourself to be human. Don’t put chemicals on the canvas of your life to polish it and brighten the colors. Shadows provide depth. It is not hope that is the problem, but the brand of cliché hope that has become the mass-market norm. I am on a campaign against this brand of hope that is too photogenic and tidy. It’s hard to find true hope when we are exhausting our energies on image creation. So, be the broken you. Be the flawed you. Be the imperfect you. Hope’s light shines through the brokenness. It’s the cracks that let the light in. There is an audio attachment for this devotional. You can [ download the audio ](https://plan-audio-cdn.youversionapi.com/uploads/supplemental-audio/4455fc41-bc4b-4264-9071-e7d040fd848d.mp3) if you wish.