Hope: Heart of Peaceful Endurance: A Godly Resilience

By Charlene Moorer, NCC LPC

Hope Heart of Peaceful Endurance

A Godly Resilience

In our ever-evolving world where nefarious happenings are occurring regularly and positivity seems to be obscure, we all seem to be searching for hope. It is the possession we need and perhaps long for to encourage every passing day. When things look impossible or in despair, we have to build up our hope and lean on our faith. Hope is a skill. In this easy-to-read yet powerful book, Charlene takes you through five practical steps on employing your hope skills. There is exploration through subjective and dictionary definitions of hope before introducing the steps of this indistinct skill. In addition, we will journey through ways that hope can be stolen and, conversely, how we can sustain or reinforce our hope through action even during trying times. We are more resilient than we give ourselves credit. By using Bible verses, real-life narratives, constructive levity, and pragmatic ingenuity, the goal is to convey to the reader

* how to identify and utilize the hope steps

* how to prevent the enemy from stealing your hope

* why you have to watch your words or words spoken over you

* what the Bible has to say about hope

* how to look for the butterfly moments and pursue resilience

* how antagonistic feelings can affect your hope

* why hope is the link between faith and wellness

* where our hope comes from

* why you are worth it and being kind to yourself

During tough times, hope is not the easiest to hold on to. However, it is the best gift you can give yourself. Be encouraged and allow God to minister to you. Happy reading!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638744511

Book preview

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Hope

Heart of Peaceful Endurance: A Godly Resilience

Charlene Moorer, NCC, LPC

ISBN 978-1-63874-450-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63874-451-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Charlene Moorer, NCC, LPC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Definitions and Steps

Definitions of Hope

Hope Sustained

The Steps of Hope

Don't Let the Enemy Steal Your Hope

Monitoring Your Words

The Practice of Reframing

The Name of Jesus Evokes Power and Authority

Power vs. Authority

Keeping Hope Alive

Challenges and Changes

Embracing the Holy Spirit

Embracing New Chapters in Life: Chaos and Butterflies

Laughter and Joy

Staying Spiritually, Psychologically, and Physically Attuned

Against All Odds

Strife and Stress

Broken: Bitterness and Anger

Hope: The Link Between Faith and Wellness

Patience Over Tolerance

You Are Worth It!

Hope in Action

A Summary

Personal Self-Contract of Kindness

In The Spirit of Gratitude: Thanksgiving

Seeking Wise Counsel and Agreement

Checking Your Hope Meter

Keep Looking Forward

A Godly Resilience

Meditate On Your Hopes

My Positive Affirmations List

Personal Sayings to Influence Your Thoughts

Scripture Confessions for Hope and Encouragement

Positive Quotes

Music and Hope

My List: Top 20 Songs That Inspire Hope

Maintaining a Passionate Hope

Questions and Notes

A Prayer for Hope

Our Hope Comes from the Lord

A Prayer for Salvation

References

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Many scriptures are referenced throughout the book, some more than once as the Bible is the road map and constitution for the believer.

Scriptures referenced from the following Bible translations and clearly indicated throughout the book are in parenthesis.

The Amplified Bible (AMP), copyright© 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked KJV taken from King James Version (KJV) of the You Version Bible App. Founder Bobby Gruenewald Life Church, copyright© 2008–2020 (version 8.23.1) Retrieved from URL.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV)®, copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), copyright© 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Carol Stream, Illinois.

Scripture quotations taken from The Message (MSG), copyright© 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

As a Christian, our belief is never to glorify or honor the enemy, satan, or the devil, used synonymously throughout the book, and so the name will not be capitalized albeit not grammatically correct.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

—Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

I would like to dedicate this book to my beautiful family. I am so greatly blessed to have a supportive and loving family to which I am thankful to my heavenly Father for enriching my life with every one of them. To my parents, William and Betty Moorer, thank you so much for your encouragement over the years!

To my God and heavenly Father who has given me inspiration and this message to share with others, I am honored and grateful. He is my Source, my Rock, and my Foundation whom I rely on, trust, and find hope. Thank you, Jesus, for your revelation knowledge working in my life.

And to all the souls lacking in hope, be encouraged. Hope can be discovered in the undiscovered moments as you commit to and wholeheartedly trust God's plan for your life.

Acknowledgments

There are many shared acknowledgments to be made first to my God who is loyal, loving, and the light of my life. He has ameliorated my life in many ways, lending me experiences that have helped me write this book.

Then to my patients who have struggled with maintaining hope during moments of external and internal conflict. They have given me the utmost encouragement to continue finding ways to remain hopeful.

I also have tremendous gratitude and would like to recognize Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fredrick K. C. Price, founder of Ever Increasing Faith Ministries, Kenneth E. Hagin Ministries, and many more for the foundation they have set within me through God's Word. Over the years, my parents have faithfully tuned in to these ministries, vicariously helping to grow my faith in the Lord and also reminding me I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength including writing this book.

To the editorial and publishing team, I am greatly appreciative of their influence, suggestions, and most of all, their confidence in me. They took a risk on me, which gave me the chance to see one of my hopes come to fruition, which the impact will be great.

Foreword

In her book, HOPE: Heart of Peaceful Endurance: A Godly Resilience, Charlene Moorer uses this powerful acronym to introduce her reader to a clear stepwise process to develop what she calls our hope muscle. Charlene clearly and thoughtfully explains a process that the reader can use to tap into the peace and hope God wants to infuse into all that ask. She explains how our loving God uses even the pitfalls and failures that come our way to develop this hope muscle. By developing this muscle, we can sustain hope even in the midst of great uncertainty and troubled times.

Charlene is a gifted therapist who draws on years of professional experience as well as her deep personal commitment to the God of hope, as she says in her book, The strength of your hope will be determined by the source of your hope. I have known Charlene for several years, and I cofacilitate a Bible study group with her. During our study time, we wrestle with many difficulties and struggles in our lives. I have seen Charlene apply to herself as well as guide the group in applying many of the concepts in this book. I can say with great certainty that these principles work because they are founded on the eternal word of God.

In a time of increasing uncertainty and fear, this book is not only a must-read but a God-ordained lifeline. To anyone desiring to look up and place their hand in the Master's hand, this book provides the perfect tool. Through this book, the reader will find a loving God who is willing and anxious to meet them where they are and safely carry them through.

Maria Cavaiuolo, MT (ASCP)

Retired assistant supervisor of the

National Virology Reference Laboratory,

West Haven, Connecticut,

and one who clings to the God of Hope

Preface

Our greatest treasure in life is to have hope and, of course, faith. I believe my parents instilled in me and my siblings this idea of hope and its true meaning—certainly not the idea of looking at circumstances but more the hope that comes from being rooted in a faith from our heavenly Father that is loving and extends grace. We came from meager beginnings though my parents had an ample amount of hope for themselves and for our family. My parents purchased their first home in 1982, a hope that my mother had as our family continued to expand. She talked about saving to make that hope a reality, but it happened, and that was only the first of many. We, as children, in my family learned through hard work, sincere dedication, and faith in God never to give up on our hopes. When our hope is unrestrained, it demonstrates our resilience, determination, and a cascade of optimism for future encumbrances.

Hope is boundless as long as we allow it be free. What stumbles us is the balance between hope and logic. Logic is a natural rationale, but hope is beyond all logic, and sometimes looking beyond the logic is what we all need. We do need hope as did many of our ancestors before us during times of imperialism, abolitionism, and the industrial age that took more than courage. It was hope that saw us through to a new world of discovery. Though hope does take work like any other skill, we do have to use it in both small and big situations. There may be many subjective definitions of hope; however, by working our hope skills, we can achieve results just as many generations before us. The goal is not to malinger in your hope skills but identify those skills and find ways to put them to use.

The word hope comes from the old English hopa—having confidence in the future especially God. The biblical interpretation of hope is a fervent expectation in God's love, his Word, and how it applies to our future. Hope is a seed, just as doubt, and when implanted early and in strong soil, it will grow. Who and what teaches us how to hope? I believe something of hope is innate though I also believe we learn it from our families, friends, the Bible, and others in the world around us. We are told to be hopeful, and having tangible skills to follow may make it easier. In the pages to come, we (the Holy Spirit and I) talk about the proportionate weight that both hope and faith carry in the mastery of our lives and the resilience we can find in God's Word, even when fraught with extreme challenges.

Introduction

Then I received a vision from God. Not sure what was happening to my body, I looked around to figure out what was going on. I could see people standing around me I didn't recognize. My body was in pain so intense I wanted to climb out of my skin. I could distantly hear voices saying, Do you want medication for the discomfort? What medication can you realistically prescribe for birth pains that would be helpful?

I woke up. In my vision I thought I was giving birth physically to a newborn babe. Instead, the birth was symbolic of this book God was encouraging me to write. The pain was everything the enemy was doing to stop me, but when God has a plan and vision for you, no tribulation or barrier from the enemy can stop it. Eventually you will give birth to whatever God has placed inside you. The only medication for those type of birthing pains is hope—hope that you can do what God has called you to do though I continued questioning whether this is what God wanted and if I could accomplish such a feat.

The enemy added to my thoughts by reminding me as far back as elementary school, my first grade teacher telling my parents, Charlene is slower than the other children at learning. Imagine the feeling of hearing that so young—crushing to my spirit, to say the least. The enemy reminding me of that tore through me like lightning. I really began to question this vision of a book. Then the enemy came to me again as I was reminded of how I was teased in the ninth grade during a presentation by my peers asking a barrage of questions not for knowledge's sake but to throw me off course. I was bullied and teased all through high school. I could recall trying to hold it together and asking the teacher for a bathroom break; I was not going to allow these antagonistic peers see me emotional. I had to be strong then and even now. Luke 6:28 comes to mind as that was the scripture I continued to meditate; I will love, bless, and pray for my enemies.

I may have been young, but I was reared well by my parents, who ensured we had a stable home life and grew up knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. My faith was the only thing I could anchor my hope to and the only way I survived the staunch bullying. Though I may not have been popular and constantly the target of my peers' banter and crudeness, God saw fit to deliver me out of the hands of my enemies, healing my psychological heart and bathing me in hope. That type of resilience is one I could only find in God's Word. He had placed a seed in me then, equipped me with the tools to nurture that seed, and is now allowing it to reach the full stage of its potential. I am not sure what I am personally capable of, but I do know what God can do. If he gave me the vision and birthed this idea in me, then he knew the message he wanted me to share with others. I, like Moses, did ask the Lord why me. Though I am gifted with words, unlike Moses who acclaimed himself of not being an orator, I did question my abilities and confidence in other areas such as what to write about, who is my audience, and how to handle the critics. God reminded me that whoever he calls, he always provides them with a message and the passage of entry. It was not by my ability, power, or strength, but through the will of God I have been chosen and am honored to carry out God's plan. Yet through this journey, I may discover I have hidden talents and secret treasures stored within me.

The Lord shall open unto thee [me]