Notes: HOPE – THE KEY TO LIFE!
QUOTE: Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.
– Emily Dickinson
1. LIFE WITH HOPE
Hope is an essential ingredient of life. If we have hope we can face anything that life can throw at us. If we have hope we can take on the challenges and overcome. Hope is what gets you up in the morning.
Definition: a desire with anticipation or to desire with expectation of obtainment or to expect with confidence.
Life with hope can be a life of expectation, anticipation and ‘looking forward’ to a good future, regardless of the circumstances right now.
2. LIFE WITHOUT HOPE
On the other hand life without hope is completely different. Life without hope is hopeless.
Definition of hopeless: having no expectation of good or success.
When we lose hope we lose the strength for life. We no longer have the strength to get up in the morning. We do not have the strength to face tomorrow. Everything becomes a challenge and even small tasks call for a great degree of effort. We have experienced this first hand. I have seen the ravages of despair, hopelessness and depression. I have seen hope turn to hopelessness, hopelessness turn to despair, despair turn to depression and depression turn to destruction. The medical fraternity predicts that depression will be a dominant disease in the world. Not HIV, cancer or heart-disease, but depression. The world is staring down an epidemic of depression and I believe it starts when hope is lost.
3. GOD’S DESIRE FOR US
God wants each of us to live with hope in our hearts. God makes fresh hope available to each of us. As this divine hope becomes a reality to us, we can in turn become a source of hope to others. Those who are battling with a loss of hope need to be helped by those who are full of hope. If we are connected to the source of hope, God, then we can become a source of hope to those around us. We can play a role in restoring the hope of others.
4. GOD IS A GOD OF HOPE
There is a connection between faith and hope. Mere hope is just an expectation for the best, but faith on the other hand is a belief that God will come through for us and as a result we trust Him.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.
A. GOD IS THE GOD OF ALL HOPE!
He is the source of hope. We need to stay connected to the source of hope. I believe that each one of us is born with a degree of God-given hope. But for that hope to be sustained we need to be connected to the eternal, limitless source of hope – GOD HIMSELF!
B. GOD WANTS TO FILL YOU WITH HOPE!
God wants to come right now and fill you with hope, joy and peace. It is almost as if that is exactly what we need: hope, joy and peace. Let Him fill you right now. The glass must not be ‘half-full’ or ‘half-empty’ – it must be consistently full! God has an endless supply of hope that you and I need to tap into.
C. IT HAPPENS AS WE TRUST HIM!
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.
When we stop trusting God and we begin to doubt and question, hopelessness begins to invade our hearts and minds. So the key to staying connected to the source of hope (God) is to keep on trusting Him. You may say: ‘But you don’t know what I have been through!’ and you are right, but God does and as you trust Him you can begin to expect that He will fill you with hope again. I would like to encourage you to start trusting God all over again!
5. BE A SOURCE OF HOPE TO OTHERS!
If you and I can be ‘full of hope’ then we can be a source of hope to others. You can only give what you have got. If you have got hope – give it to others. This overflow of hope can touch others lives and bring them to a place of wholeness and hope. We need to make sure that hope is alive and well within our own hearts. Each of us is called to be a person of hope, bringing hope to those around us. How?
- ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER.
- BE KIND.
- BE FLEXIBLE!
- CARRY THE LOAD FOR EACH OTHER.
- BE PATIENT.
- PRAY FOR EACH OTHER.
6. LIGHT IN DARKNESS
When we become a source of hope and a people of hope for others, light penetrates the darkness and brings hope.
Isaiah 58:10 Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day.
But it is far more than just this. When we become a source of hope to others, our own darkness begins to disappear. In other words, we will have hope within us as we begin to give hope to others.
1 John 2:8 As we obey this commandment, to love one another, the darkness in our lives disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in.
By: Andrew W RoebertThese notes may be shared with others.
