There are two ways to see: the way things are, and the way things are by faith.
First: Viewing the Past and Present
Constructing a narrative of what we believe is true is a part of how we make sense of the world we live in: "I made coffee and drank it" (because I remember doing it).
But how we choose to construct the narrative of what has happened can affect whether we choose to live in hope. For instance, the apostles were often incarcerated, hated by the religious communities they grew up in (Jews), often deserted by their followers, and bore a great amount of suffering in their ministries. Yet you rarely see the apostles boohooing their condition. The apostles lived in hope when a great forces of distress gnawed their every step.
We must learn to construct narratives of our lives that appear to defy reality, yet are utterly true. We must tell the story of our suffering in hope. We must "see" (look through the perspective) of hope so that "IN all these [distresses] we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
When we look at marital problems, family troubles, grave mistakes, pains, burdens, sicknesses, and difficulties through a vision of the Potter with the clay, we can see that these are our scepters to conquer the world.
Making it practical:
1. Look at the situation in all its gory detail.
2. Now choose to believe that the mess, the gore, and the difficult nature of the situation are useful in the Potter's hands.
3. Choose to believe (note I did not say "feel like") that the darkest way to tell the story of what has happened is untrue in the Divine Narrator's hands.
Remember, our hope is the blackest moment in human history: the Day of the Lord on Golgotha's Hill. If God can turn that into the pinnacle of the story of redemption what is he limited by?
Second: Viewing the Future
As you look away from the present, toward the future, choose a perspective that God can make manifest with faith.
Of course, you don't want to choose Lala land, it must be rooted in Truth (Scripture). For example, Paul and Silas choose to sing in the midnight prison cell at Philippi. This is a God-honoring, reality-defying perspective which produced miraculous results - the prison was shaken, cell doors opened, the guard and his family converted and baptized, and Christians of every age inspired.
So how can you have reality-defying, yet still True perspectives, powered by hope?
Taking the principle of the piece on Conquering your Mood consider the dismal narrative as a third party. Don't see it as belonging to you. Now write omnipotence into the narrative.
From the example of the Phillipian Jail story:
1. Dismal narrative: Paul and Silas are locked away, beaten, and shamefully treated despite being Roman Citizens, and may be incarcerated for the remainder of their lives. They may even die...
2. Omnipotence enters the narrative: Christ has said that all authority belongs to him and to go in his name and Paul and Silas have done that, therefore all their problems belong to someone with ALL the authority. How cheerful, let's sing!
So it's your turn.
Things haven't always worked out for you. Things are hard, things might be painful.
How will you defy the dismal narrative and embrace a story of God's omnipotence which is hope?
S.D.G.