How to Have Hope When All Else Seems Hopeless By Garland Van Dyke

You can have hope regardless of circumstances. People in great need have felt hope all kinds of crises. It was noted of those in Nazi concentration camps of WWII that those who gave up hope were soon dead while others who held on, in hope, made it to the end of their trials. So, how to have hope?

1. Determination - set your mind on the relief you need. Reach for it, live every hour for it. When things are sickeningly bad, keep this view in front of you and pray steadfastly for endurance. Life is not a sprint - it's a long distance marathon. As long as you keep going you are never beaten. Life may change dramatically but your mind can keep your body propelled toward the final goal. "Endeavor to persevere," is a favorite saying of mine.

2. Expectation - hope brings expectation; without it you can never fully engage hope. You must expect to achieve your goal. I've never known a presidential candidate who didn't hold onto the expectation of victory. There is no sense of purpose with expectation.

3. Renewal - renew your mind and spirit as often as possible. We all need to feed our mind, heart and spirit with wholesomeness just as we need to fill our bodies with wholesome food. Too much TV, news, straining for the "rat race," causes spirit pollution. Talking with God on a regular basis helps to calm and renew your spirit.

4. Belief - many words exist for belief in a supernatural power, the God of Heaven, for example. Many believe that trusting God is an example of blind faith. Nothing could be further from the truth. God invites questions and asks you to study the scriptures to find the ultimate source of trust - belief in Him, love and charity. Believe little, get little, believe much, and gain much. Believe that you can meet and overcome obstacles in your life.

5. Enthusiasm - En Theos means in God. You must have enthusiasm in your life and your endeavors. If you don't have it, you can get it as you devise goals and achieve them. Enthusiasm is directly related to hope. Set your mind to enthusiastically embrace the practices of your achievement.

6. Persistence - In the Bible there is a story of a man who had a late visitor; the man asked a friend repeatedly to loan him some bread with which to feed the visitor. Finally, the friend relented and gave the man his request. Do we need to be persistent in our endeavors? Absolutely. Crops do not grow unless the farmer is persistent; sports victories are not won unless the players are persistent; no one graduates from college without persistency.

7. Vision - If you don't know what you want, if you have no vision of how you want your life to be, you are headed in no particular direction. Any destination must be OK. If you're unhappy with your life, discover a vision for yourself.

8. Faith - For hope, you must believe things will work out; you are capable of achieving; you have talents and abilities and you'll be rewarded as you complete your goals. My best suggestion is to have faith in God for your very existence. You're not promised a lovely walk - it's often a difficult and long journey. But He is there and He does care and He wants you to be ever more energized for eternity.