How do we keep hoping in the midst of a situation or circumstance that feels “hopeless”?

Have you ever felt like your life was in a “hopeless” place?

“Hopeless” when you look at your feet, “hopeless” when you look back, “hopeless” when you look ahead? Nothing is looking good, from what can be seen.

It’s kind of like being in a “muddy, messy pit,” and all you can see below you is your struggling feet going nowhere…

All you can see behind and before you are the dense walls of mud, just a muddy mess that seems to have no end.

But then when you look up… ☀️✨

“The sky is the limit.”

“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
    My hope is in You.” – Psalm 39:7

We can be reminded that even though, in the moment, from our current perspective, though what’s at our feet, and behind us, and before us may seem “hopeless,” there is always another way, there is always hope — and when we just look up, we’ll be able to begin to hope again.

Whenever I feel “hopeless” I can be assured that it’s a lie, because the truth is,

“As long as we are alive, we still have hope…” – Ecclesiastes 9:4

The truth is,

“For You are my hope, O Lord GOD, my confidence from my youth.” – Psalm 71:5

The truth is,

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” – Romans 5:5

The truth is,

“For this is the hope of our salvation. But hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have? ²⁵ So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment.” – Romans 8:24-25 TPT

Do you remember as a child, being in the place of freely and fearlessly getting your hopes up about something? You didn’t try to hide it from anyone, you just got your hopes up and even got excited about it.

I really believe God wants us to hope in in Him like that.

No matter what has happened in the past, no matter how unlikely the situation seems ahead, no matter the disappointments we’ve faced…

We can fearlessly and freely get our hopes up, every time, in Him.

We get to have unlimited hope in Him, because He is our living hope. We get to go ahead and rejoice in the hope we get to have in Him!

“Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has shown us his extravagant mercy. For his fountain of mercy has given us a new life—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are reborn into a perfect inheritance that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish. It is promised and preserved forever in the heavenly realm for you!” – 1 Peter 1:3 TPT

The truth is,

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” – Hebrews 6:19

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12

Lord, will You infuse me with the ability to fully embrace this hope that we get to have in You! Give me the faith as I fearlessly and unashamedly jump into the hope I get to have in You!

“Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. ² This testimony of faith is what previous generations were commended for. ³ Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 TPT

Side Note: I’ve not been feeling hopeless this morning, or lately, at all. So this post is an interesting one for me, kind of out of the blue. I was sitting here with the Lord this morning and suddenly I heard this phrase/question:

“How to keep hoping when you feel hopeless?”

So perhaps this is for one person out there somewhere.

But I have known “hopelessness” in my life. Oh- have I known it. And it tries to come back around from time to time.

But He gave me the answer to the question that I heard this morning:

We cling to our living hope, Jesus Christ. In Him, our hope can always live freely and fearlessly.

-Heather ?