We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
I’ve heard people say when they decided to change their life they changed their routine, they read new or different books, they actively did something. When their life was going left, hope repositioned them, and they went right. And they began to do certain things to propel them in this new direction.
Hope and faith are tied together. I think hope is about a future expectation, and faith is both present and future expectation. I don’t know if that’s too simplistic but for the sake of what I am writing, it is so.
Hope helped me have faith, and faith helped me have hope. Even as I wrestle(d) with believing in my capability, in the possibility of my expectation manifesting, I had hope. I had to find it in the fog of fear and uncertainty. There is a hope that says “I don’t know how but I believe..” and then a hope that is Abrahamic, fully convinced of something. As I grow in Jesus, I’m aware that I want to come out of the common hope, into full conviction.
But what is the purpose and point of hope? Of faith? The challenges don’t stop coming. Just as you find your footing, you feel it slipping again. You find yourself on the right path, but suddenly all sorts of mountains and hills and valleys frustrate your path. There are days where you leap and overcome, and there are days where you want to give up because it feels as though you aren’t making progress.
Hope as a desire for future expectation is a marvelous catalyst for action. It makes you try what you’ve been afraid to attempt. It causes you to see that you have a whole field upon which you can plant any seed that you desire. But you must till the land. Plant the seed. Water them. Slowly, joy begins to cultivate. Slowly, you cease to walk aimless and uncertain. Things feel right; and you know in your heart this is right. You need to be consistent, though. You need to be patient. You need to adjust, and learn; be flexible, be teachable. Don’t allow an enemy to come and sow tares of comparison, causing you to stop where you’re making progress. Don’t let thoughts of doubt to have room to pontificate; you’ll start to find issue with everything. You’ll think your progress is meaningless, too slow. You’ll see impossibility where there is none.
Hope puts you on a path of purposefulness. You may not know where you’re going, but cling to hope. Hang on to it. Your actions will amount to something. Your actions may lead you to a path you didn’t anticipate or expect. All of this will work together for your good. If this is not where you want to be, understand that you’ll get there. Believe that that future expectation is possible. There is a field assigned to you, a purpose for you to fulfill. You’re not an accidental speck in the midst of billions. You’re most precious, and exquisite. A valuable gem, a priceless, effervescent jewel that must take its place on life’s tapestry. Cling to hope. Allow it to pull you out of these miry places; your life will be better.
Have hope for yourself. Have hope for your business. For your family. For your future.
What are you to do with this hope? Change. Shake off the old clothes and put on new clothes. Focus on the new path ahead of you. Do the work. If you didn’t believe that you could be successful, hope makes you believe that you can. If you didn’t think that you could, hope tells you that you can.
Forsake the old way of thinking, of believing, of existing. Walk in the light that hope provides and see yourself soar in ways unimaginable.
