The world needs hope

hope is a powerful word the Latin's have a word  for hope and it means breath to give oxygen to  

someone hope is a reality hope is something  that is real hope is what keeps us going  

that it is only God who can bring hope  and new life out of dead situations  

God himself is the one that provides for us  the hope that we need in times like these  

hope has the power to fill  our lives with happiness

we learn to cultivate hope the same  way we learn to walk one step at a time  

there may be times when we must make a courageous  decision to hope even when everything around us  

contradicts this hope like father Abraham  we will against hope believe in hope  

or as one writer expressed in the midst  of winter we find within us an invincible  

summer hope sustains us through despair if  only we could glimpse for a moment what the  

Lord has in store for us not only in the next  life but in this one as well our hope would be  

unshakable and despair could never overcome us  hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice  

even when all seems stark around us and to  all who suffer to all who feel discouraged  

worried or lonely I say with love and deep  concern for you never give in never surrender  

never allow despair to overcome your spirit for  the love of the son of God pierces all darkness  

softens all sorrow and gladdens every heart a  traditional Russian saying is that hope dies  

last which is one Russian explained it means  that as long as you are alive you have hope  

and that even if everything is very very bad  around you if you have hope you can survive  

while it may not seem like much the smallest form  of hope the smallest desire to believe can be the  

first step in the miraculous process through which  God can exalt us so if at times you can't really  

see very clearly or really not at all if all you  can do is hang on to one thread and hope it holds  

then hang on and hope that will be enough to  start the process if you then turn to the savior  

and sincerely ask for his help he will take  what little you have to offer and turn it into  

magnificent exalting hope which can be an anchor  to your soul in times of distress we can hold  

tightly to the hope that things will work together  for our good this type of hope in God his goodness  

and his power refreshes us with  courage during difficult challenges  

and gives us strength to those who feel threatened  by enclosing walls of fear doubt and despair the  

adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds  in suffocating darkness despair drains from us  

all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind  the empty remnants of what life was meant to be  

despair kills ambition advances sickness  pollutes the soul and deadens the heart  

despair can seem like a staircase that leads only  and forever downward hope on the other hand is  

like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the  horizon of our present circumstances it pierces  

the darkness with a brilliant dawn it encourages  inspires us to place our trust in the loving care  

of an eternal heavenly father who has prepared  a way for those who seek for eternal truth  

in a world of relativism confusion and of fear  because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we need  

not fear for we will live forever never to taste  of death again because of his infinite atonement  

we can be cleansed of sin and stand pure and  holy before the judgment bar the savior is  

truly the author of our salvation put your hope  in him put your trust in him put your hope in God  

he will not fail it is the constant exercise  of faith in Christ that transforms what would  

otherwise be merely wishful thinking into the  kind of hope that can become an anchor to our soul  

we have to plant our desires our hope in him  because of his atoning sacrifice Christ has  

the power to transform all our righteous desires  into reality our role is to believe in him and his  

gospel and teachings enough that he can work with  us that we will allow him to shape our desires  

so that our will aligns with his thus if we want  to strengthen our hope we must focus more on the  

savior especially when we feel hopeless and hope  is not well you know I just hope something happens  

hope is an expectation that something good is  going to happen and see you can do that on purpose  

you don't have to wait to feel something you  can say tonight I am going to change my attitude  

from a hopeless attitude to a  hopeful attitude and I am going to  

keep believing that something good is going  to happen to me until I see it take place

listen I know what it's like  to go through hard things  

I know what it's like to have so many bad things  happen in a row that you just you're almost afraid  

to expect anything good because you just don't  want to be disappointed one more time amen and  

boy the devil loves it when we get hopeless  when we begin to think that we've just made  

too many mistakes to ever recover but let me tell  you something nobody can out sin God's goodness  

did you hear me there's no pit so deep that he  can't reach down in it and get you out and god  

loves you and he wants a close intimate personal  relationship with you Jesus didn't die so we  

could all just have some brand of religion  he wants to have a relationship a personal  

in your face in your life every day relationship  with you and God is a God of restoration  

and there's nothing in your life that he  cannot restore amen so how about if we have  

a new attitude today is the first day of the rest  of my wonderful life that God has planned for me  

and I'm gonna let go of what lies behind and I'm  gonna press on to the good things that are ahead