Legacy: Hope in Every Season

We're kicking off our "Legacy Series" and this is an episode you don’t want to miss! Anne-Brigitte Taliaferro joins the podcast to discuss the topic of cultivating biblical hope in every season, life stage, and circumstance. She shares about her own journey of discovering what it actually means to put our hope in God himself rather than particular outcomes. Regardless of how we feel or what we can see, we can be women who hope because of the eternal truth of who God is: we can wait well with a confident expectation in what God has promised. 

About the Speaker:
Anne-Brigitte Taliaferro has been a disciple of Jesus for 35 years. She began her ministry calling in 1983 in New York City as part of a church planting. In 1987 she and her husband Mike began a church in São Paulo, Brazil. From there they moved to Africa in 1989 and lived there for 14 years. They have planted churches in Zimbabwe, Kenya and the Ivory Coast. Johannesburg, South Africa was home for 11 of their Africa years. They currently live in San Antonio, Texas and have been there since 2003. Anne-Brigitte has a passion for working with young women to raise them up as women ministers. She has been married for 38 years and has three sons - all of whom are married. (yay!!)

Episode Notes: 

References - Psalm 72; Psalm 33:20-22; Romans 15:13; Romans 4:17-21; 2 Cor 4:16-18

•What hope is: 

-Biblical hope is so much deeper than wishful or positive thinking. 

-It is a confident expectation in what God has promised. 

Why it can be so hard:

• the waiting 
• when we put our hope in things other than God
• The vulnerability
• particularly hard seasons or circumstances 

What the Bible says about hope

• What it looks like when we hope in God (the blessing of waiting)

God being enough for me - I can hope because of the truth of who God is..

• Too often we put our hope into a particular circumstance rather than God himself. 
• Hope isn’t something we can work ourselves into… it is a supernatural gift from God.
• Hope can also be a discipline. It isn’t just an emotional state or fleeting thoughts.
• Everything I’m going through, from God’s perspective, is light and momentary. He has the big picture of eternity. 
• Too often we want hope, but we don’t want to wait. We get insecure in the vulnerable waiting times. 

So if we can’t “work ourselves” into a place of hope, where do we start?

• Look at the scriptures of people waiting: Hannah, Elizabeth, The Israelite Nation
• Decide to embrace the process. 
• Walk through the waiting with God.
• Trust that God is working. 
• Remember Romans 5:3-5: Waiting produces so many good things in us and in our walks with God. 

How to identify if you’ve lost hope and are dealing with bitterness or self-pity:

• Be self-aware
• Look out for envy in your heart or minds
• Ask the people that are close to you
• Be honest and open about your disappointments. 
• Acknowledge the expectations or the narative that you’ve developed for your life and take that to the feet of God as you reset your hope on Him.