Day 1– Living Hopeful in Your Purpose - Introduction

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God” Psalm 42:11 (NKJV).

The definition of hope can differ depending on the person doing the talking. When people speak about hope in a spiritual context, it might mean believing good things will happen with faith in a higher power. God promises too always be with you. Summing it all up, a believer in Christ will always have a purpose and a hope and be of great value. Open your heart and mind to identifying your own purpose. You are valuable. You are not alone. Accept this gift of grace and live a life of hope and purpose. They might direct their hopes outward in prayer. For others, it might mean always looking on the bright side and seeing challenges as opportunities. In other words, always “hoping for the best.” Merriam-Webster’s definition makes “hope” seem close to “wish”: “to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.” Whatever the details, hope in general means a desire for things to change for the better, and to want that better situation very much. Hope is more important to me than truth because it’s easy to be wrong about truth, but it’s impossible to be wrong about hope. Skeptics might say that this is because hope can’t be disproved. No matter how bad things are, there’s always the hope that they could become better. “The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in; From this time forth, and even forevermore Psalm 121:7-8 (NKJV).

Hope is not the same as optimism. An optimistic generally is more hopeful than others. On the other hand, the most pessimistic person you ever met can still be hopeful about something. Hope is very specific and focused, usually on just one issue. Most people associate hope with a dire situation. We face situations that we can’t change or scary moments that we were unable to prevent being exposed to. Despite how challenging it may feel, it is possible to regain your hope for the future and get back to living again. People hope to get out of difficult circumstances. That is often when people do find themselves hoping fervently! But hope also can provide the key to making everyday life better. However, hope endures and grounds my faith and my life not because it can’t be refuted but because it can’t be surpassed. It is the core part of my answer to life’s meaning: Do good things and hope that you can do more good things tomorrow. Your hope should reside in your body, mind and soul as your spiritual lineage or safeguard. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV).

Having hope links your past and present to the future. You have a vision for what you hope will happen. Whether it does not, just envisioning it can make you feel better. And if it’s something you can somewhat control – like the kids working to get out of poverty – then hope can motivate you to take whatever steps you need to take. Having hope is important to the very act of being a human being. There are certain primal desires in our species and hope is one of them. We can’t live without hope, so even calling it a belief makes it seem far too volitional. Hope is the way purpose and goodness propel us into the future. Hope sustains us because it sustains the need we have to believe that something good is on its way, and that’s hardly an optional belief. Did you know that feeling hope can actually be good for your body? Hope causes your brain to release endorphins which creates a similar effect as morphine. One of the best ways we can create a sense of hope is through positive thinking or thoughts. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV).