5 Ways to Access the Astonishing Power of Hope
Meagan Blessing 
Hope is more than a wish; it's a mindset that determines the future course of your life. Discover how to cultivate hope and why you need it now.
There are certain times when we need to know how to find hope more than ever.
We are living in one of those times.
When the world began to shut down in 2020, I was not concerned. I knew it would be a year full of vision for us: 2020 vision! That was my theme for that year, and I was excited about it. I figured any shut down would be a temporary thing, certainly not longer than a month or two...honestly, I was happy for the break from my inordinately busy schedule so I could plan for the amazing year ahead. But as our business venues began to postpone, then cancel their events and our income streams began to dry up, it became obvious that my hope that this weirdness would quickly blow over was misplaced.
What were we going to do? My paradigm needed to shift.
I hadn't really noticed that the source of my hope had somehow migrated to the resolution of external circumstances instead of where it should have stayed; in the goodness of God in the midst of any circumstance.
"I remain confident in this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living". Psalm 27:13
The fact is that we cannot simply wish our circumstances away. Good thing, then, that hope is not wishful thinking. It is a confidence in something certain; something that has already been determined to be true.
Ultimately, it is the confidence that God is good no matter what is occurring.
Misplaced hope can be devastating and even dangerous.
Disappointment is a seed that, if nurtured often enough, matures into a noxious bramble of depression. A string of repeated disappointments can cause us to conclude that our situations are hopeless, when in fact, even the most desperate situation has a redeemable outcome.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Prov. 13:12
Over the course of these last two years, I have had to constantly readjust my mindset as my husband and I navigated obstacle after unexpected obstacle in our rapidly changing world. Our visionary year did in fact give us a new view, but it didn't look at all like we expected. We chose to relocate our home and business to Alaska, and that was a change of scenery and an adventure in itself. In the process of our move, our existing home miraculously survived a forest fire. Like so many people, we have grieved the loss of family members and friends. At times, it seemed that even though I was certain I'd had about as much drama as I could handle, the hits just kept coming.
You can watch a bit about our journey and how I chose to cope positively with all that change here.
I imagine this year will contain its share of surprises as well, and my new theme word is Intentionality.
The importance of this theme was hammered home to me on January 1. As I was scrolling through social media, I was dismayed to see cynical comments and posts about this new year immediately beginning to permeate the collective narrative.
This is not healthy, people!
Nor is it the intention I choose to set for the year. And if one thing is clearer to me than the Waterford crystals on the ball in Times Square, it's that this pervasive negative mindset isn't serving any of us well. It needs to stop.
What if there is something better ahead for us than what we have left behind?
What if that doesn't look like anything we could have anticipated?
Are we willing to attach our hope to something far superior to the status quo of the past we have been accustomed to?
Here's the thing about hope: it is an astonishingly powerful force. Check out this summary of a 1957 Harvard University study if you'd like some proof of that.
Hope can elevate your perspective in an instant.
Hope will change the way you view life and how you approach it even if nothing in your environment changes.
Hope will give you the strength to persevere in the most dire circumstances.
Hope has a way of clarifying what is important and what is not.
We've all been in difficult situations; becoming consumed by what feels like a crisis until a larger catastrophe comes along to change our perspective. It has been said that what we focus on, we magnify. Sometimes the negative things we have magnified become so large that they fill our entire view and we are incapable of seeing anything else.
We can intentionally cultivate a perpetually negative mindset, always looking for the bad around us and ignoring the existence of the good.
We can fall into the habit of complaining, which can lead to bitterness regarding our circumstances.
Alternatively, we can recognize that we have the power to change our focus. If there are two sides to every coin (and there are), then we can be intentional and choose for ourselves which side faces up.
It is in the most uncertain of times that there is the greatest potential for a positive change to occur.
Could it be that in these times that we live in, we simply need a higher perspective? A more comprehensive view? We are all world changers, every one of us. We are made for great things, and deep down, we know it. Collectively, we determine the cultural climate we create for ourselves to live in, but hopeless people do not have much impetus to create or change anything.
What if you are the person that ignites hope for the people around you; people that need to know how to find something good to concentrate on in the midst of what they are facing?
Here are a few practical ways to shift your focus and access the astonishing power of hope so you can share it with others:
- Keep a gratitude list. Write down at least one new thing you are thankful for daily. Think about this thing often as you go about your day. "...in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful..." I Thess. 5:18 (AMP)
- Find at least one new person to encourage every day. Compliment your barista or the checker at the grocery store, or leave a positive comment on someone else's social media post. Your intentionally positive words can be life changing for someone in need of encouragement. "...So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind." I Thess. 5:11 (MSG)
- Pray. And by pray, I mean talk to God. Tell God what you can't tell anyone else. Process whatever you need to process however you need to process it. Maybe you journal, or dance, or paint, or just sit in silence. Whatever your method, know that you are heard and loved. "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers." Phil. 4:6 (TLB)
- Be kind to yourself. You are doing the best you can in the circumstances you are in. Make certain your self talk is positive. "Words kill, words give life;
they’re either poison or fruit—you choose." Prov. 18:21 (MSG) - Examine whether or not your hope is well placed. If you have placed your hope in the wrong thing and it needs adjusting, make the necessary adjustments. “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.” Deut. 31:6 (MSG)
Be encouraged!
It is in these most challenging times, when our circumstances so often seem disappointing at best, that we are the ones that are changing. I love 'what if' questions, because they shake me out of my comfortable mental boxes and force me to take actionable steps to find hope in seemingly hopeless situations. I listed a few of these earlier and I encourage you to think of your own questions to ask yourself and write them down.
To get you started, here are a few more of my favorite 'what if' questions:
What if...you are becoming the person you were destined to become simply because you choose to hope in a positive, possibly unexpected outcome to your current dilemma?
What if you took small steps to move forward regardless of your difficulties? What would that look like for you right now?
What if you knew you were simply in training to build the skillsets you need to live out your highest purpose?
What if only one side of the equation could change at a given time (you or your circumstances)?
Which one would you choose?
We need hope; without it we cannot persevere. We simply give up, unable to find a reason to carry on when our situation is extreme or exhausting.
For me, accessing hope is done intentionally and is inextricably tied to my relationship with God. I firmly believe that there is Someone who is rooting for all of us.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jer. 29:11 (NLT)
This gives me great hope, and as I look back over my life (a half century is, I think, a respectable sample) I can see how things that seemed tragic in the moment were the best training grounds for future challenges I would face. Now, when up against formidable circumstances, I am less prone to succumb to despair and more apt to choose the certainty of hope, knowing that this present difficulty (whatever it may be) will pass.
I will adapt, and most importantly, I will emerge on the other side stronger, more empathetic, and with a greater capacity for patience than I previously possessed.
I'm sure you have your stories too. Perhaps you are currently in the middle of new difficulties like so many of us are. I encourage you to incorporate these 5 ways to access the astonishing power of hope to into your life.
Journal your answers to the 'what if' questions. Process positively; pray and plan. Dream, celebrate and focus on your blessings. Take time to encourage others and to make gratitude a daily practice.