Word Study: Hope

Hope doesn’t always come naturally to us – sometimes we need to go find it. That being said, where do you find hope? Is there really a place where you can go find it? Or is it something within you that you must tap into? Hope by definition is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” It also means to trust. So, hope has to connect with something within us. When you have hope you feel that no matter how bad the situation, the outcome will be in your favor.

Looking at a person who has no hope is like seeing someone who is in despair. When you’re in despair you just don’t see how you can overcome a situation. You can’t see any solution to your dilemma, and you feel that no one can help you. Whereas if you had hope you would view the situation with optimism, when you are in despair you can see no favorable outcome. Despair can also lead you to do things that are out of character because you feel you must have a solution to your problem.

Hope is an antidepressant. It makes you feel that no matter how dire your situation may be, it will have a good outcome. Holding on to that belief is crucial to overcoming the situation you are facing. It keeps you from allowing that situation to drag you down into that pit of despair and depression. When you are in despair, hope can pull you back from that abyss of misery.

Hope is not a wish. It is a belief. Wishes are not based on anything, they are just fantasy, but hope is the knowledge that the situation will change based on evidences of past experiences. Hopeful people feel that as long as they have life in their bodies, they can make it. They are fighters who fight against people and circumstances that say there is no hope. They are survivors! Hope is not a change of circumstance, it’s a change of mind regarding the circumstance that says, “I will make it no matter the odds against me!” Hope empowers you to emerge as a survivor during the toughest times.

There are some things we can tap into that will help stir up hope within us. The first is faith. Our faith in the Lord can remind us that He is always watching over us and cares for us. The Lord is always a source we can go to during troubled times, and His Word is full of encouragement.

Second is gratitude. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, we can focus on the things that are positive in our lives – even if it may only feel, at the moment, that it is just being alive.

Third is love. There are many people in your life that love you. But, most of all, remember that the Lord loves you and made a great sacrifice to prove it to you.

This month, let us look around, see the many blessings bestowed upon us and allow it to stir up the hope that lies within us. Hope will get you through the most difficult times you will face in this life. The source of our hope is the Lord. Let us look to Him for our help. And remember, “the Lord is there to save us from all our troubles” (Psalm 34:6).

Another year has come and gone! I pray you have enjoyed the words we explored this year and I look forward to next year, to see what the Lord will have us talk about. God bless and thank you for reading!