Hope for Your Heart: Finding Strength in Life's Storms

“June Hunt says, ‘There are no hopeless situations, only those who have grown hopeless.’ This book reveals how to restore hope that once seemed forever lost. With a quarter-century of life-changing counseling to her credit, June shows how to cling to the ironclad promises of God.”

Sam Johnson
, U.S. Congressman, former Vietnam Prisoner of War

“If your world seems to be spinning out of control into nightmarish chaos, June Hunt shows you where to find stability and safety in her excellent book. Filled with Scripture,
Hope for Your Heart
gently guides readers to important anchors from God’s Word which inspire, refresh, and instruct. Thank you, June!”

Joni Eareckson Tada,
Founder & CEO, Joni & Friends International Disability Center

“As a pastor I have noticed two responses to difficult times—survival or revival. Survivors hunker down and wish things were different. Revivers trust God and take action, spreading hope to others as they pursue the promises of God. June Hunt has always been a reviver, offering hope to thousands through her writings and radio ministry. In
Hope for Your Heart
, June reveals how anyone can be a reviver. Read this book and let the revival begin.”

Gary Brandenburg,
Senior Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church, Dallas

“June’s powerful teaching transcends cultural barriers, revealing the invincible power of God to transform lives. No matter who or
where
you are—and no matter where you’ve been—
Hope for Your Heart
shows how to anchor your life with biblical hope.”

Enkelejda Kumaraku,
Founder, Director & Host,
Radio 7
&
Media 7
television, Albania

“Hope is more than wishful thinking . . . more than deep desire. It’s a reality that we can stake our lives on. June shows—step by step—how to have what the Bible calls the
hope that does not disappoint us
.”

Kay Coles James,
Founder & President, The Gloucester Institute
;
Former Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management

“It’s been said a person can live ‘’bout forty days without food, seven days without water, eight minutes without air, but not a moment without hope.’ If you struggle with feeling hopeless, don’t wait another moment to find
Hope for your Heart
. It’s here . . . on every page!”

Zig Ziglar,
author/motivational teacher; Chairman, Zig Ziglar Corporation

HOPE FOR YOUR HEART

Also by June Hunt

Bonding with Your Teen through Boundaries

Caring for a Loved One with Cancer

Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook

How to Forgive . . . When You Don’t Feel Like It

How to Handle Your Emotions

How to Rise Above Abuse

Keeping Your Cool . . . When Your Anger Is Hot!

Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes

Hope for Your Heart

Copyright © 2011 by Hope For The Heart, Inc.

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Cover photo: iStock

First printing, 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Italics in biblical quotes indicate emphasis added.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures are taken from
The Holy Bible, New International Version
*. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

Scripture quotations indicated as from esv are taken from the ESV* Bible (
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
*), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked kjv are from the
King James Version
of the Bible.

Scripture references marked nkjv are from
The New King James Version
. Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4335-0397-9

ISBN-10: 1-4335-0398-0

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-2687-9

Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-2688-6

ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2689-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hunt, June

Hope for your heart : finding strength in life’s storms / June Hunt.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 10: 1-4335-0398-0 ISBN 13: 978-1-4335-0397-9

ISBN 13: 978-1-4335-2687-9 ISBN 13: 978-1-4335-2688-6

1. Consolation. 2. Hope—Religious aspects—Christianity.

I. Title II. Title.

BV4909.H753 2011

248.8'6—dc22 2010032012

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

DP 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

“
Promise me you will pray for my children
,” my mother pleaded after doctors exhausted all treatment options and released her to hospice care. “I will,” her best friend Hannah promised.

And within months my precious mother entered heaven.

Today if I were asked, “What is the greatest gift someone could give you?” my answer would be, “Genuinely pray for me!” Meanwhile, not a day goes by that Hannah Till doesn’t lift me up to the throne of Grace, asking God to give me “help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16 esv). Just knowing this gives me hope for my heart!

Hannah knows what it means to hold on to hope . . . to persevere through storms . . . to live an anchored life. Her knowledge of hope comes not from hearsay but from a lifetime of grabbing hold of and hanging on to the promises of God amidst pounding hailstorms that would have shipwrecked the hopes of many.

Hannah’s inspirational husband, Lee Roy, was the gifted minister of music at one of America’s largest churches, overseeing twenty-one choirs and a seventy-five-piece orchestra. But one February evening in 1972, the lives of the Till family changed forever—forty-four-year-old Lee Roy suffered a severe stroke.

Hannah and her three children rushed to his side as he lapsed in and out of a coma. While Lee Roy ultimately regained some of his speech and motor abilities, he was never able to work again. All these years Hannah has tenderly served Lee Roy while she herself weathered three cancer surgeries and partial loss of eyesight.

“My mother was strong, young, and vibrant—the head of the children’s choir at church,” says daughter and concert soloist Jenni. “Because she’s known great loss, God uses her to give great hope to those with broken hearts. Her own challenges bring credibility to everything about which she testifies.”

Daughter Hannah Beth explains, “Mother’s ministry is serving as a surrogate mother to so many. She prays for people in need, following through to check on them, helping any way she can. She’s an eternal matriarch!”

“Mother is truly the most giving person I’ve ever known,” adds son Robert. “Because of Dad’s illness, my parents had little. So they prayed and watched God provide. And when He did, mother often gave much away to those whose needs were greater than hers.”

Hannah once told me, “I’ve never asked why. I just ask, ‘What do You want from me today, Lord?’ When I see Him in heaven, I’m not going to ask why. I’m going to kneel at His feet and sing praises to Him. I don’t need to know why.”

For the last fifty years, I have known hope—and her name is Hannah.