Do not ever give up Hope!

Hope, simply put is a belief or expectation that what lies ahead will be better than the past. It is an expectation that no matter how much rain may be falling now, the sun will shine somehow someday. Hope is a wish that we harbor in our hearts of good things to come. Looking at this meaning of hope, no matter how vague it may be, I dread to consider its alternative. A life without hope is like a day without sunshine. And yet there are many out there who live without hope. What could be responsible for anyone to ever think that there is no way out of a dreadful situation?

One reason would be living a life of endless pain and suffering. Hopelessness may be due to sickness, deprivation, death of a love one, mental issues, depression, abuse: sexual, physical, mental or psychological, you name it. It may be due to unrealistic expectations from friends, parents or spouses. It could be caused by poverty, joblessness, homelessness, loneliness and addictions of all kinds. There are many reasons some people feel there is no way out. Many feel their only option is to take their own lives or attempt to do so. Is there any solution that could be proffered for hopelessness? I would contend that hopelessness could easily be named a silent killer. Why not? When one is hopeless, ones vision may be clouded and once darkness envelops someone and thrust him/her into a bottomless pit, what good would life be to such a person? Even if he/she is in a crowd, he/she may be shouting at the top of his/her voice and no one will hear. Dr. Wicks captured this condition in his Book ‘Living a Gentle, Passionate Life’: “As one abuse victim described it to me: “When you are crawling on your belly, hope seems far off. The person without hope is silently screaming, ‘Don’t you understand my pain? Don’t you see that all the suffering I face is unavoidable? Don’t you see that I would love to trust something, someone…even you, but I am too frightened?”  Wicks observed, “In the early stages of pain, it is hard to hear the seemingly silent voices of love and hope.” When hopelessness extends its long hands and grabs the neck of someone, without the support of a caring family and the desire on the path of the person to survive, life will be squeezed out of such a person. So what should the person do so as to climb up the ladder of hope and begin to experience life anew?

Here are some tips:

1.     You must have faith in God and trust him to get you out of this funk. ‘Faith’, according to Hebrews 11 ‘is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Once you believe that God is greater than your problem and trust that He is able to get you out of any despair, your foot is on the first rung of the ladder and you are on your way up.

2.     Develop and make use of your support system. They will assist you, but you must trust them. Your parents, if they are alive, your siblings, your friends, your pastor, your counselor, you name it. Seek their counsel, talk to someone but not everyone. Life’s lesson has taught us that ‘when an animal itches, it goes and scratches itself at a tree, but a human being goes to his/her family or friend and they will scratch him/her’.

3.     Stop and think before you act. Sometimes a good prayer and meditation can take care of lot of problems. Remember, no one can make you happy. Happiness is not something you get out there, it is inside of you, you are either happy or you are not. Do not blame the whole world for your problems. Know that everything that has a beginning must have an end. Bob Wicks stresses in the book quoted above that “Silent hope is also more visible when we are able to see things in context. If we can trace our pain, see the details that paralleled its beginning, find out what our perceptions are regarding the experience we had, and then reflect on how we now feel about it, we will glean a great deal of information that can be of use. In turn, this knowledge will also instill the seeds of hope.”

Finally, if there is anything our life in Christ has taught us, it is this: Jesus Christ has conquered our sad and depressed life and has made it possible for us to smile again. He made it possible for us to begin to hope again and demonstrated that it is the will of God that we be with him in paradise when our journey here on earth is over. To the repentant thief hanging with him on the cross he said, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Make Jesus your friend today, take it to him in prayer and leave it there with him at the foot of the cross. He can take you out of any hopeless situation. You cannot afford to be hopeless. Hold this to heart always: ‘What I am sure about tomorrow is that providence will rise before the dawn.’ Be hopeful!