Hope

[mojoboy31]

I've been pondering this for years, can't seem to figure it out. They say that hope doesn't put us to shame, but they also say hope deferred makes the heart sick. There are many times when it would be easier to just stop hoping and accept the situation as it is. But how do we know when it's one of those times?

I always feel like assuming that there's no hope is a lack of faith, like God can't do anything. It feels like giving up-- like quitting.

But then, on the other hand, I feel like an idiot chasing the wind or running face first into a brick wall that won't ever break-- anything but my bones anyway

Yet I find myself always stuck in that cycle. Seems the moment I get my hopes up is the moment it all goes pear-shaped. I feel like the wise thing would be to never get my hopes up. But I feel like that would be cowardly, untrusting, and not in the spirit of faith.

What do you think? Does hope put us to shame? Discuss.

 

[EyesOfKohl]

I think hope is a good thing (in most cases)

If you are in a situation that you are unhappy in and are hoping for a solution to it, then you are not simply chasing the wind, you have come to a true realisation that you want to change an aspect of your life you are unhappy with. Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.

Hope is the desire to bring change. Without change, something sleeps inside us.

It is to see the thorns, but recognise the rose in them at the same time.

It is not to expect to grab the thorns thinking they will change to a rose at once.

It is to recognise the diverse ocean, full of possibilities, to give strength and spirit to the one sailing the ship. Without hope, the sailor is left sitting there with no wind in his sails.

Hope and inspiration are linked together. Where there is hope, there is inspiration from within to change. Without hope, one is either content or he is like one who sits in the cold night with his fire taken from before him.

But hope is a part of our journey though our life in this world, which can take a lot of patience, for what we hope for may take a short time, long time, or not happen at all. But if we do not answer the origins to it in our heart, then we are missing or ignoring a great need within us, which would be most unfortunate.

 

[Goodbook]

It depends what or rather WHO your hope is in.

 

[MotherFirefly]

I believe there is nothing wrong with having a hope which is honed by rationality.
That is, having dreams and aspirations for the future is never a bad thing, however keep reality close so as to not get lost finding those treasures you seek.

 

[James of Arc]

Hope is a race that you must stay in until the end, not a want or a desire but a need.

 

[Paulie079]

Hope is such a fascinating thing. It's like...the existential embodiment of our deepest desires. There is a lot of emotion behind hope that is coupled with cautious curiosity and expectation.

I wish I could find it, but I read a blog post some time ago talking about Jesus must be THE one whom we put our hope in. This isn't meant to be a Jesus juke (which is how I took the blog post initially when I started reading it). As I read and thought more about it, though, I realized how true it is. There is only one thing we can really be sure of, and that is the salvation and all of the blessing that flows through Jesus and a relationship with him. I don't believe it's wrong to hope for things in this life, as long as it's not an ultimate, banking-everything-on-this-happening type of hope. We were created to desire certain things. Marriage, health, children, rest. There's nothing wrong with longing for those things. It's when we make those things into idols that we start to find that things fall apart.

 

[Nom De Guerre]

I try not to hope for anything, but instead trust His will to be far ahead of anything I could set in motion; and even if I must endure a hardship continue to lean on Him more than whatever my mind can concoct.

Hope, if truly pure, is a Beautiful thing; but so often Hope is construed by misguided desires, and can turn a life decision into a life lesson.

 

[kittysbecute]

I've been pondering this for years, can't seem to figure it out. They say that hope doesn't put us to shame, but they also say hope deferred makes the heart sick. There are many times when it would be easier to just stop hoping and accept the situation as it is. But how do we know when it's one of those times?

I always feel like assuming that there's no hope is a lack of faith, like God can't do anything. It feels like giving up-- like quitting.

But then, on the other hand, I feel like an idiot chasing the wind or running face first into a brick wall that won't ever break-- anything but my bones anyway

Yet I find myself always stuck in that cycle. Seems the moment I get my hopes up is the moment it all goes pear-shaped. I feel like the wise thing would be to never get my hopes up. But I feel like that would be cowardly, untrusting, and not in the spirit of faith.

What do you think? Does hope put us to shame? Discuss.

I'm not sure what you mean by shame.

Hope isn't at all the easiest thing to have. And in the darkest, most hopeless, times having hope is bravery.
As far as having hope in a situation where we don't know the outcome. The best thing is to trust God and his plan no matter what happens (or is happening) and no matter what his plan is.


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