Hope Changes Everything

Almost everything we do in our lives stems from hope.

There wouldn’t be any point to starting a diet if we didn’t have hope it would work and we’d lose weight.

Would we make a trip to the mall to shop for a new outfit if we had no hope of finding something we’d like?

Without any hope of getting a certain job, would we spend time and energy sending in a resume and pursuing an interview?

However, it goes much deeper than those things, doesn’t it?

Those who have hope have a reason to get up in the morning. They believe during challenging times, painful circumstances will change. Their finances will turn around, the sick will feel better, and broken relationships will be healed.

When people have hope, they expect a rainbow to someday follow the storm.

But what happens when no matter how hard they try, things still don’t go right? When they’re hit with one horrible blow after another, and there just doesn’t seem to be a way out of their messy or hurtful situation?

They lose heart. They give up.

As a Christian, my hope is in the Lord, my Savior. I know that regardless of how life goes on earth, I have a place with him in heaven where I’ll spend eternity. Still, I have a responsibility and desire to instill hope in those around me, whether they’re believers or not.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NIV).

It may not take much to restore a desire in someone to keep going, to try again. But who’s going to light that spark?

Perhaps it means providing physical needs—funds, items for survival, shelter, or even opportunities that will help them move forward. 

Hope can even be ignited by something as simple as an encouraging note, an offered prayer, or a shared cup of coffee and a listening ear …

Will you be someone who kindles it in those around you?

Remember … hope changes everything.

Dawn

 

One of my favorite songs …