As Romans 5:5 says, this “hope does not disappoint us.” 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 it-praying, reflecting, singing-we too, can expect the sparkle to return to our eyes. Praise is simply declaring that God’s track record of faithfulness in the past is the pre-evidence of his immutable character tomorrow.ĭavid practiced hope-and before knew it, the sparkle had returned to his eyes. David began to sing of the mercies and goodness of God. Therefore, since God had been faithful in David’s past, it only made sense to trust him in the present. Next, he went back into the memory banks of his past experience with God and recalled that God had never failed him-not even once ( v. What did David do to pull off that turn around? Well, to begin with, he went to God-he prayed. But in the last two verses, his focused has shifted to the overwhelming mercy and grace of God-and it changed everything. In the first two verses of this six-verse psalm, David was focusing on the overwhelmingly bad things in his life that were dragging him down. That is why we’ve got to choose daily to put our hope in the promises of God. 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. Here’s the thing: Underneath the failure to endure and the quitting, there was the loss of hope. Once that belief set in, there was a loss of motivation, surrendering of perseverance, and giving up. 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.Īaron Beck, a leading marriage researcher, found the number one belief that kills marriages is that a spouse will never change. Well, it could be that any or all of the above factors contribute to their winsome approach to life. With this little book of uplifting quotations, celebrate what makes you sparkle.

Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.”ĭo you ever wonder why there are some 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 people? Sometimes its easy to lose sight of the things that make us special.

Don t lose your sparkle quotes