Hope is defined as the following:

  1. A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

  2. A feeling of trust.

When we have hope, we have the courage and determination to move forward in what we believe is our true path. We can do this because that feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen and that feeling of trust keeps us in a positive mind-set. It encourages us and keeps us believing that we will succeed or overcome any and all obstacles which may endeavour to impede us on our journey. Losing hope will only lead to a place where darkness resides. There is never light at the end of hope because once hope dies so does all confidence and significance.

Not what I expected

I once dreamed of being something special. As children we all have big dreams and aspirations for our lives even if those dreams are of being a firefighter or a police man (which is what most boys dream of as youngsters.)

Sometimes though, life can be cruel – sometimes life’s curve balls can catch you off guard and you seem to be striking out – hurt and discouraged by all the terrible experiences you have suffered through. It’s in these moments where hope is a powerful ally.  While we still have hope, we can still dream and while we can still dream, we can still believe.  While we can still believe, we can be inspired to keep pressing forward with that feeling of trust – trust that this is not the end and that there is more.

When I reached my teenage years, I became completely derailed. I slowly got sucked into a world of alcohol and drug abuse. This only spiralled out of control leading me deeper down into the darkness of that world of dealers, gangsters and prostitution.

Was this my dream? No, it surely was not, yet this is where I found myself.  I was lost, scared and broken and I didn’t know how to claw my way out of this deep, dark pit – the more I tried the deeper I sank and that is because I had lost hope. Honestly, I had no way of ever getting out of my depression until I had found my hope.

I remember one morning, waking up and this thought of hopelessness hit me. Inside, I felt like a lion trapped in a cage at the zoo. I sought freedom to be who I was made to be, but felt so trapped and restrained by the cage I had built around myself. A cage built of addiction, fear, paranoia and depression. I felt sick in my soul and I knew this couldn’t be all my life was meant for – there had to be more. It was 10am and I was drunk and high again and listening to The Counting Crows and in a moment one line from a song hit me like a bag of bricks to the face and that line was this:

“For all the things you’re losing, You might as well resign yourself to try and make a change.”

Finding hope

You see, when you lose hope, you lose yourself. When you believe that nothing can help you out of whatever situation you find yourself in, that’s when you will fall victim to the lie that you are trapped forever. When you believe that nothing can change and that you will never be anything more than your failures; when you believe that you are in a hopeless situation, that is when you will find yourself lacking the determination, vision and drive to make the necessary changes that are needed to get you out of the hole and back onto solid ground.

My hope came that day. At first it was not easy, but the moment I started to dream again, I started to expect something wonderful would come my way. It was the moment that the flame of my hope was fanned back to life and I began to think differently. If hopelessness has you trapped and feeling sick in your heart, I want you to start dreaming again, to start believing again and hoping again because the bible tells us:

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” – Proverbs 13:12-14

“Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.” – 1 Chronicles 29:15

The verses above say it all. Without hope our hearts will be sick and our days on Earth will be like a shadow. The good news is that shadows only exist where there is light.

Hope must survive in order for us to thrive.

If this piece spoke to you or encouraged you to take a step toward a new life filled with hope – a life where your dreams are no longer just fading into oblivion but rather float around in your head inspiring you to action, then I encourage you now to click on the link or pop-up. We would love to help you begin this journey of renewed hope.

Your life will never be the same again!