It’s Okay to Be Hopeless, and Here’s Why

As much as we hear the phrases “live in the moment” or “live for today”, we cannot escape the human inclination to strongly desire something good or better for down the road. We often think about what we want the future to look like in many areas of our lives — that improvement, that joy, that good thing that would put a smile on our faces.

This is hope. That good thing is not here in the present right now, but we have a strong feeling of expectation and desire for it to be. It hasn’t happened, but we want it to happen. We can’t see it and we haven’t experienced it yet, but we’re looking for it with great anticipation to make it a present reality.

Hoping For Hope

With all of this anticipation and expectation, we set our gaze towards the hope of finding hope. Isn’t it interesting that hope is both a verb and a noun to itself? We hope that things get better in the near future; it is our hope that things will get better soon.

But truth be told, hope is seldom realized quickly. The notion of “fast hope” is an oxymoron because the time span between hoping for hope and the realization of what we’ve hoped for is typically longer than we’d hoped. Our hope can easily grow weary and fatigued, producing the very opposite of hope. Hopelessness.

Where Does Your Hope Reside?

Hopelessness is a key indicator that hope is not happy with its present living conditions. Where have you placed your hope? Have you ever placed your hope in someone and they let you down? Did you ever over-estimate the effectiveness of your skills, talents, knowledge and come out empty-handed? Were you ever disappointed that a situation or opportunity didn’t pan out to be as great as you anticipated?

We have all moved our hope into very strange and inadequate places that have frustrated and transformed our hope into hopelessness. We set our intentions and hoped for the best in the worst places, and now we feel angry and discouraged.

We’re hopeless.

But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing…

Your Hope is Not Homeless. Put Your Hope in God.

It’s okay to be hopeless, ie. to put “less hope” in people, ourselves, and the things of this world. Feeling hopeless does not leave your hope homeless. There’s a beautiful, safe, and stable place for your hope in God and His will. When we place our full and complete hope in Him, here are some of the benefits we’ll automatically reap:

A Trusted Source. While you may be tempted to put your hope in people and situations, know that all other ground is sinking sand. People can talk a good game, sell you on their titles, personality, network, accolades, but your hope is only safe with God in whom it is impossible for Him to lie (Hebrews 6:18).

Happiness. There’s a blessedness, a restful happiness that comes with placing our hope in God. Hope requires help, and there’s no present or future help greater than the help that comes from God (Psalm 146:5).

The Antidote for Discouragement. Feelings of discouragement, depression, and a “cast down soul” are a poison to our spirits. This is not the hope of a Father who sent His Son that we may have an abundant life! When we put our hope in God, knowing who HE truly is, it lifts our soul from those dark places of hopelessness and creates a “healthy countenance” that others can see (Psalm 43:5).

Abundance of Joy and Peace. Our hope in God is fruitful and powerful because He is the God of hope. That’s right, hope has a God – a creator with nothing but GOOD plans to prosper us and bring us to an expected future of abounding joy and peace (Romans 15:3, Jeremiah 29:11).

So, What’s the Play Call?

Remember, teammates, it’s okay to be hopeless. The less hope we misplace in ourselves and others, the more hope we’ll have to place in God and watch Him faithfully perform and provide every good thing we need for our present and our future.

Hope never fails in Him who knows no failure.