I grew up in a broken family, was bullied in grade school, and endured many moments of abandonment and disappointment. I bottled up all those emotions and always pretended that I was all right. But after a bad break-up, I was in complete darkness, consumed by anger, hate, and every negative feeling you could imagine. I let all those emotions drive me, but I still pretended I was fine as I did not want anyone to know how I was really feeling.

Driven by my anger, I spent my days desiring and plotting revenge against my enemies. I gave myself over to alcohol and tried to end my life. I began to do things I regretted. It got so bad that I even ran away from home.

After my family found out what was happening to me, they brought me to a psychiatrist. I was medically diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and a myriad of other mental and emotional dysfunctions.

I spent seven months feeling angry, sad, and lonely. Imagine a dark pit, without a sliver of light—that’s where I felt I was. I was so far away from the Lord and I didn’t know how to pick myself up. I couldn’t imagine how the Lord could ever forgive me for all the evil that I had done.

Then, I came across an audio teaching by Pastor Joseph Prince titled, Hope Never Disappoints—Have A Confident Expectation Of Good! When I listened to it, I cried and cried because I felt the Lord speaking to me through Pastor Joseph’s teaching. My eyes were opened to the power of hope in the Lord.

When Pastor Joseph spoke about the results of living in hope—having peace with God, having access to grace, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God, and even rejoicing in our troubles—I felt a surge of light in my heart. It was as if I had been lifted out of the darkness I was in. After listening to the teaching, I declared that I was a prisoner of hope.

Since that night, I have felt so renewed and refreshed, and I can feel God speaking to me in every way possible. It was as if my life was being put back together, though this time, it was not through my own efforts but by His grace.

A few days later, my uncle gave me Pastor Prince’s book, Destined to Reign. I finished the book in a day! I couldn't put it down! Page after page, I was so blessed by every word! When I got to the line, “Good things simply happen to you when you believe God loves you,” I couldn’t help myself. I stood up and started dancing around like a fool in my room! I didn’t care how funny I looked. I felt a surge of happiness and my heart was burning with God’s love! All the negative feelings that had bound me for the past seven months had been lifted from me and I was free!

I started to realize that Jesus had given me dominion over all the guilt, loneliness, anger, and sadness I was feeling. I declared that through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, I am now the righteousness of God in Christ. And because I have now been made righteous, I can approach God’s throne of grace and start living again!

Thank you, Pastor Joseph Prince, for teaching about hope and grace. I can’t express how thankful I am. Now, I can hope against all hope, just like Abraham did. And now I know that my answer is found in God’s grace. I am righteous. I am loved. Hallelujah!