What to Do When Your Hope Dies – Sometimes you will find yourself in a situation that is so disconsolate, so hopeless, that you feel like there is no way out. It could be a loss, an illness, or a situation that seems beyond repair.
Abraham had to hope against hope. God told him he would be the father of nations and Abraham did not consider his own impotence, nor Sarah’s decades of infertility.
1. Ask God to Reveal the False Hopes
The Bible is full of passages about hope. The Apostle Paul’s letters, in particular, are filled with encouragement and reminders of this enduring hope.
But sometimes it can be difficult to discern which hopes are real and which ones are false. This can be especially true in a difficult time when your hopes are being threatened by life’s challenges or even by those who do not support you.
Often these threats are internal and come from your own thoughts. It’s like the story of novelist Leo Tolstoy, whose brother told him to sit in a corner until he stopped thinking about a white bear. But no matter how many times he was told to stop thinking about it, the thought kept coming back. This is why it’s important to pray for God to reveal which false hopes are weighing you down and to replace them with His truth. He will help you keep holding on to what is truly valuable and worthwhile.
2. Ask Your Support Network
When you begin to lose hope, it may be a good idea to ask for help from those in your support network. They can be a sounding board and provide you with advice based on their own experiences. They can also give you the push that you need to move forward. It is important to keep in mind that your support network should be a symbiotic relationship. If you find that some individuals in your network are taking more than they are giving, consider cutting them out of your life.
3. Talk to Yourself
Sometimes, it may seem as if hope is gone for good. This could be due to many reasons such as loss of a loved one, a difficult circumstance that is too much to bear, or just feeling utterly down and hopeless.
During these times, you should try to talk to yourself as you would talk to someone who is struggling. You can tell yourself that you have so many things to be grateful for and that you can find a way to get through this.
It also helps to read about stories of people who have overcome their struggles. It can give you motivation and a reminder that your situation is not so bad after all. The most important thing is not to let anyone else take your hope away from you. Especially not those who are close to you and whom you trust. They will never understand how you feel. And you should avoid listening to their pessimistic comments as they will only make your life more depressing and difficult.
4. Change Your Focus
It’s easy to feel like hope has died when you’re facing a tough challenge that is bigger than your capacity to solve it. This could be an illness that threatens your life, a difficult relationship, a stumbling block in your career, or something else that feels insurmountable.
You can combat hopelessness by changing your focus. Instead of spending your time, energy, and attention on the problem at hand, seek out communities that have been through similar challenges and are celebrating their victories. This will help to give you inspiration to keep going until your problem is resolved.
Remember, hope drives persistence—that’s why it’s so powerful. But if your hope is in an area that requires retreat, it can become ironic and a mental prison by its intensity and dominance over your thoughts. The solution is to choose a new rudder—to focus on your passions with joyful anticipation. You can find motivation to do this by listening to inspiring stories, watching heroic movies, or engaging with spiritual/religious groups.
