Be Hopeful

Hope! What a word!

I am certain at different times you have heard people say, ‘don’t lose hope’, ‘I hope so’, or ‘let’s hope so’. Although they may not know the full extent of their encouraging words, I am writing today to echo the same word to you: no matter what, don’t lose hope, rather, be hope full. The reason: hope is a difference-maker. Hope is a distance between two phases of life- your life today and your life tomorrow. Hope helps you see light in the darkest time.

Hope is the determinant of tomorrow’s outcome. Hope is the livewire of your expectations. Hope is what gives you the ability to hold on. Hope makes you resilient to face tomorrow even though you are still struggling today. Hope is what makes tomorrow worth waiting for. Hope gives you a fighting chance today. I agree with the American author Norman Cousins “The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started.”

Hope is what makes tomorrow worth waiting for. Hope gives you a fighting chance today

Without hope, life becomes a burden. In the absence of hope, you will lose the excitement of living and ultimately become bored with life. Hope is what makes you to still desire to live: not just survive,  but thrive. No matter what you have lost in your life, you can live without it, but, if you lose hope, your chances to live on, to move on, and to get on in life, might become very slim. As the leadership coach John C. Maxwell once wrote, “losses in life are never fun, but there is one loss no one can afford to experience- the loss of hope”.

Your ultimate fight is the fight to not lose hope because, when hope is lost, a sense of frustration, discouragement, and hopelessness will set in. You might have some setbacks but you can get back up on your feet because, as an international speaker and author John L. Mason stated, “a setback is a setup for a comeback”.  As long as there is still hope, there is something to live for. If you lose hope, you will quit and lose the motivation to apply yourself to do literally anything whatsoever that is worthwhile with your life.

In the absence of hope you will lose the excitement of living and ultimately become bored with life

As long as you still have hope, no matter how minute it is, life is still worth living. One of the reasons some people want to end their lives is because they have lost hope. When hope is absent, the sense of purpose is withdrawn and buried. But, with hope, you can still enjoy different activities, you can still make it through each day, and you can still laugh. Please take encouragement from the words of author Samuel Smiles, “hope is the companion of power and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.” No matter what is going on in your life right now, I am writing to let you know that all hope is not lost. It is not over yet.

Don’t throw in the towel just yet. Don’t give up because of that disappointment. Don’t quit on your life because you lost your job. There is still hope for you. You can still have another relationship. You can still laugh again. Hope gives you the assurance that there is a better tomorrow. Remember, no matter how long the winter is, there comes spring and then the summer.

I want to introduce you to the person that has been my solace and anchor. His name is Jesus. He is the source of my hope.

Samuel Smiles also remarked, “hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.” At the end of the day, it all boils down to this simple fact: you do not just hope for the sake of hoping, your hope needs to be anchored on someone, just as the anchor of a ship finds an attachment in the belly of the sea. Who you hope in can help you to make sense of it all.

I want to introduce you to the person that has been my solace and anchor. His name is Jesus. He is the source of my hope. He can be the source of your hope also. He desires to make life worth living again. I know you don’t like religion. Neither do I. What makes Jesus relevant to you is that He seeks a relationship with you. He wants to help you. Give Him a chance to do so.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to this simple fact: Who you hope in can help you to make sense of it all

He can help ease your pain and disappointment and give you a new reason to hope, trust, laugh, love, dream, and function again. He wants to make sure that your life has meaning. You might be tired of fighting and you may not be willing or even able to lift one finger to do anything anymore. Jesus is available to help you.

Jesus specializes in restoring hope when there is no hope. He has a way of bringing something good out of a terrible situation. He has done that in the past and He has the power to do it again for you because He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He knows what it feels like to be betrayed, rejected, and disappointed. He knows what it feels like to be lonely and abandoned.