If you’ve been quietly talking yourself out of hoping again — this is for you. Not because everything is guaranteed to work out the way you planned, but because guarding yourself from disappointment has also been guarding you from joy. This is a reminder that you’re allowed to believe again.

God: I see you trying to talk yourself out of hoping again.

You: I just don’t want to be disappointed.

you can’t experience what I have for you while you’re guarding yourself from it.

– Jacqueline Whitney

God: I know. You’ve been let down so many times that hope feels dangerous now. Like if you let yourself believe again, you’re just setting yourself up to get hurt.

You: Exactly. So I’m trying to manage my expectations.

God: You’re not managing your expectations. You’re protecting yourself from joy. There’s a difference. You’ve started bracing for disappointment before anything has even happened. You’re rejecting good things before they have a chance to be real.

You: I just can’t go through that kind of letdown again.

God: I understand. But you can’t experience what I have for you while you’re guarding yourself from it. You can’t receive love with closed hands. You can’t walk into your next chapter with one foot still in the last one.

You: What if I hope and it falls apart again?

God: What if you hope and it doesn’t? What if this time is different? What if I’ve been preparing something that requires you to believe again? You’re allowed to want good things. You’re allowed to hope. I won’t waste it this time.

Jacqueline Whitney is the author Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents and All That You Deserve.