Koleen* came to see me, her posture and look on her face told the story. She had lost hope that life would ever be any different for her. Oh yes, she had showered, styled her hair, and more than likely brushed her teeth before coming to her appointment. But I could tell she was very discouraged.

It’s sad when a person loses hope. Discouragement, loss of interest in life itself, depression, and many times shame is involved.

The hope I am speaking about is not, “I hope I can go to the store tomorrow” (maybe I can, maybe I can’t). Or “I hope my child will do well in school.” The Bible uses the word hope in the sense of a ‘confident expectation’ or ‘anticipation.’ In the New Testament, both the noun and verb form “are used always as a favorable expectation.” 1 In other words, hope is always a positive, confident anticipation, never a negative apprehension. We must have an under girding hope to go on and move through life – the underlying anticipation that God has something good in reserve, even if it is not revealed until Heaven.

This song says it well:

“Nobody saw. Nobody noticed–just how it started.
Wounds that were silent, wordless and cruel, tore me apart.
And nobody saw how I died – died inch by inch – on the inside.
Hurt by hurt, the painful memories waited in line.
Hurt by hurt, I built the wall one hurt at a time.
“Gentle as rain drops, welcome as morning after the darkness.
Without a warning, love broke right through, invading my heart.
You walked hurt by hurt through my past,
and melted the barriers at last.
Hurt by hurt, the painful memories waited in line.
Hurt by hurt, You healed them all one hurt at a time.”

Christ came to heal and bring us hope! “Hope is one of the most distinctive marks of the Christian life” in contrast to “the hopelessness of the Gentile world.”
It is a necessity. Believers do have hope and can bring that hope to others. “Happy is he …whose hope is in the Lord.” Psalm 146:5 It is a necessity as we walk through this world where satan is the ruler. We do not need to mourn as those who have no hope. I Thess 4:13

Claim what Christ came to give you!: Hope!

*Name is fictitious.

1.  Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, NT, (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 1992), p. 572.

2. Composer Unknown, Hurt by Hurt sung by Amy Rowe.  Lyrics:  God Gave Me the Song. (Spring House, 2000).

3. Op. Cit., (Zodhiates, 1992), p. 571-2.

A couple of years ago, my then six year old granddaughter, Abi cried with a broken heart because her tent, situated in our family room, had collapsed. Capitalizing upon the teachable moment, I gathered the weeping child onto my lap, seated on the couch. “What can we do about this problem?”
Hope was restored after a gentle discussion of alternatives. The happy girl set about the reconstruction project, assisted by her younger sister, Hayley. I then returned to my kitchen projects.

Perhaps an hour passed, consumed with busy play and childish talk. The three of us sat down to eat lunch. Abi asked me if I had seen a certain movie. I replied, “I’m not sure. I don’t really remember. I guess Nana’s just not that much of a movie girl.”

Suddenly, the silent four-year-old observer, Hayley, spoke up facing me. “Now what can we do about this problem?” she asked.

Many times as I have lived my 6o years of life, I have needed ‘a gentle discussion of alternatives.’ And for that reason our loving Father has given us people in our orbit with whom we can connect, share our hearts and gain from their perspective. It’s not that we always, or even often, do what they would do, but just the ‘sharing’ opens up the world of alternatives and hope. The Father has His close Friends, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. All three are relational and since we were created in His image, we are also relational. (Genesis 1:27 KJV)

Because of past negative experiences: harsh words, a slap, a look of condemnation (to mention only a few) we tend to close our hearts to even affirming relationships. We are not open to give or receive love, which produces a lonely life that cannot reach its potential.

We need each other. Not in a needy, unhealthy magnetic sense, but in open, transparent communication. If you have found that relationships are not safe for this transparency, continue to search for those God has given in your community. Search person(s) who help you to grow and to open up the world of opportunities before you.

Psalm 139:2 says, “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.” KJV

What a comfort this has been to me! We all know that God knows our thoughts, but how about the fact that He ‘understands’ our thoughts? This motivates me to run my race with fervor! And we can have healthy relationships with people who resemble God in this way.