http://purehope.net/courage-hope/
by Noel Bouché
A few years ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop on the west coast with a man who was stuck. He had recently confronted his sexual addiction by courageously confessing his years of porn use and promiscuous sex, and had begun to work with a Christian counselor and sexual addiction recovery group. This had lifted a massive, secret burden from his shoulders and brought him to a new place of authenticity in his life.
Yet, there was a lingering doubt hanging over him like a dark rain cloud in an otherwise sunny sky. Halfway through his cup of dark roast coffee, as he shared how difficult the journey was and how constantly the temptations flowed over him, he looked at me and asked, “When does it end?”
It struck me at that moment that this man had experienced the first thing that is necessary in overcoming sexual addiction: courage. But, he hadn’t yet fully experienced and embraced what is necessary to sustain perseverance and growth: hope.
Scripture is clear that courage and hope are fundamental to the Christian life. Over and over, the Holy Spirit exhorts us in the pages of the Bible to be of good courage, not to be afraid, not to be discouraged or anxious. This is a matter of the will that He empowers us to achieve. Likewise, we are to hope and not despair.
The book of Romans develops this theme perhaps more than any other, teaching us that hope does not put us to shame (Romans 5:5), we are saved in hope (Romans 8:24), we can rejoice in hope (Romans 12:12), and that the God of hope fills us with joy that we may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).
There is hope for this battle. We will one day see Him as He is and be like Him in perfect glory. All those who have this hope purify themselves as He is pure.
“Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24
**This is an excerpt from the introduction to our Recovery resource.
Noel is the President of pureHOPE. His name is pronounced Noel like pole, not like noël. But for this season you can pretend that’s the case because noël means “day of the Messiah’s birth”… which is pretty hopeful.
