Hope - an optimistic state of mind; expectation or desire of positive outcome with respect to events and circumstances.

The biblical meaning of hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.

So as the wife of a military veteran fighting PTSD, where do I find hope? When I have had to move out with the kids in tow because we all watched as out of nowhere his entire countenance changed and he decides its a good idea to throw his fist through the wall? Where do I find hope then? When I catch my husband looking at pornography for the 10th time, drinking himself blind yet again, of find his stash of unprescribed pain killers in the pocket of his favorite jeans, how am I supposed to have an "expectation of a positive outcome?" When I have done everything I know to do but nothing seems to be changing, where do I find this, "expectation of what God has promised?" These are valid questions spouses of those battling PTSD ask every day and the answers they usually get are candy coated placebos that actually do very little to help.

The answer is far from simple and must be sought out by each individual. But it is certainly NOT a simple "Oh honey, don't you know Christ's blood will heal all things!" The truth is that hope can only help when it is combined with faith. And faith is impotent if there is no place for defeat. So let me try to paint a picture. You, as the spouse, have fallen over the cliff of PTSD. Hope has miraculously thrown a rope to you before you hit bottom, but now you hang suspended well above the jagged rocks of despair waiting for you at the bottom of the gorge. Faith is what gives you the power to tie a knot in the bottom of that rope, allowing you to hang on to hope. It gives you the ability to hang on despite what you feel, knowing that somehow, God will turn this around and use it for your good.

I know this because, for over twenty years, I held on to hope that my husband and my marriage would get better. Its how I got through some pretty rough days. I can tell you from experience, heaviness is not from Christ or His kingdom. Cling to hope. But with that hope, have faith that God will show up to help you. One of my favorite verses in all of this, was Psalm 27:13-14. In the Passion Translation it says "13 Yet I totally trust you to rescue me one more time, so that I can see once again how good you are while I'm still alive. 14 Here is what I've learned through it all: Don't give up; don't be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes keep on waiting - for He will never disappoint you!"

Its a new year. Let's cling to hope for every area of our lives!