Revive Hope in 5 Steps
Hope revives lost dreams because it grows up from faith planted in the Truth of Love. It’s a powerful force that provides the fuel for facing the new day with bold intentional actions focused in purpose.
Hope makes the way.
But there are times when hope wavers because of hurts, hard knocks, and hang-ups. Things get in the way of momentum and the spinning wheels burn up hope.
When hope falters, you have to find your ways to revive the hope you need to drive you into your possibility living.
#QuoteoftheDay
When you can’t
or you don’t,
it’s often because
hope has faltered.
– Kathryn Lang
I stumbled in my journey and my hope faltered. Actually, it was several stumbles (some just little trips and others full face plants) that had me lost in the fog.
Circumstances had not been bending to my will. If you listened closely, you could hear those circumstances taunting me at the mere suggestion that they should bend. I hadn’t just faltered in my hope, I’d gotten stuck in the muck and couldn’t see a way out.
That’s an exhausting place to be.
When you are stuck in the muck and caught in the darkness and lost in the fog, you don’t have the energy or determination to do anything else but remember to breathe.
Symptoms of Lost Hope
I am the hopesmith and a natural born encourager, so it’s hard for me to be comfortable in a place where hope isn’t the driving force.
The month of May brought a constant barrage of storms, on top of all the turmoil I had already been navigating. My boat flipped and I flipped out. Somewhere in it all, my hope floated away.
My morning started with darkness instead of the stirs of praise and worship that had been drawing me into the morning. Darkness drives away the desire to even get up and going.
I finally realized I had lost my hope when I noticed several symptoms that had become prevalent in my day.
Darkness has a prominent place.
Darkness ruled my morning. Darkness dragged me around in my day. Darkness pushed me down into sleep at night.
People become a problem.
Attending events or small groups became a struggle. I found plenty of excuses not to go because my heart wasn’t in the engagement.
Worry walks in front.
The trials and troubles were repeated more than anything else. Worrying about what I could do, or what I should do, or what I didn’t do became the focus.
Fear begins to win.
No matter how much you want to try, the fear of falling holds you back.
When you can’t or you don’t, it’s often because hope has faltered. Taking a heart inventory can help you recognize when your hope is running low or has floated away completely. Then you have to find your ways to revive hope and ignite the passion to take one more step in purpose.
Finding Ways to Revive Hope
When the going gets so tough that you can’t even hope much less keep going, something has to give.
My husband and I had been talking about getting rid of things that had anchored us to where we were. We wanted to make space for where we wanted to go. The tornado had thrown us from my safe space of the little cabin in the woods. With that first step thrust on us, we started making little choices (and some big ones).
When my hope floated away, I struggled to understand why the choices we had made weren’t making the space we needed or expected.
Talk it THROUGH with others.
Don’t just rant and repeat the WHYning. Get through it. I got real with a friend about where I was in my walk. I don’t normally do that because I don’t want to burden others. I take it all to God. But he asked specifically so I answered intentionally.
He reminded me that nothing is more important than my walk with Jesus. NOTHING. And he brought up the story of Job. “If you look at the story of Job, when things are taken, God can replace them with so much more.”
No! God WILL replace and refresh everything the enemy takes when we make Him the top priority for every step we take. And if things are in the way, I struggle to keep Him as the priority.
Dare to recalibrate
I woke up this morning with a peace that passes all understanding. I took some time to sit in the morning sun and stretch. I read my Scripture readings for the day and I knew in my knower that it was time to get real about letting things go.
Holding on can hinder hope. Let go of the things that don’t really matter so you have room for the things that do.
Take the reins from fear.
My husband and I had made the choice to let things go, but there is a big difference between thinking about it, and talking about it, and even sharing it, and actually walking it out.
I began to realize that all the things I am putting in the Living Estate sale, I had priced at a point that showed I was afraid I wouldn’t get all I deserved to get. I can’t let fear lead.
Get raw and real about the journey.
“In truth, it made me a little nauseous to think of letting it go.” I shared with a friend when someone inquired about one of the items I had listed. I wanted to say I was letting it go, but I hadn’t gotten serious about letting it go.
Until I admitted that I didn’t really want to let it go, I couldn’t work through to a place where I was really ready.
Lean all in on faith.
My memories on social media are full of pictures from the flower gardens. One of the biggest heart hurts I have about selling the property is leaving the plants behind. In some ways, those plants have more sentimental value than most of the possessions we have been carrying around with us the last four years.
This morning, with faith leading the way, I saw one of those images and shared some thoughts on letting go.
Let it go.
That’s the hardest lesson I am learning from this four year journey through the mire of insurance denials and tornado destruction.
Let it go.
When something becomes so important that I have to hold on, I have nothing left to hold on to God.
Let it go.
This world paints a pretty picture about what is right, but anything that has more of my attention that Jesus is not right for me.
Let it go.
I confess that I have struggled to let go of the flower gardens around the property. Some of the flowers had been in my grandfather’s garden and some had been ordered by mom just before her death.
This morning, I woke up with the realization that there will always be flowers – letting go of what was doesn’t hinder what will be.
Whatever we are facing or whatever storm we are going through, hope makes a way. Hope spreads encouragement, ignites possibility thinking, and provides the light we need to see through the fog.
Without hope, it becomes an impossible task – all of it! It’s like running uphill in sand with flip-flops on. Someone is going to get hurt.
With hope, you will be able to do just a little bit more or take just a little bit of a step or breathe just a little bit easier.
Find ways (or people) that will help revive hope so that you have the hope you need to live out your unique design in purpose.
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What did you do the last time you needed to revive hope?
Share your top secrets for fueling your hope.
