By Demetrius Moffett

 

Hope is an emotion characterized by positive feelings about the immediate or long-term future.

Often hope is coupled with high motivation, optimism, and a generally elevated mood. Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.

As a verb, its definitions include: “expect with confidence” and “to cherish a desire with anticipation.”

Hope provides the power that energizes us with life.

Hope is a powerful thing. It keeps us going when times are tough. It creates excitement in us for the future. Hope is the belief that circumstances will get better. It’s not a wish for things to get better — it’s the actual belief, the knowledge that things will get better, no matter how big or small.

The power of hope defines the psychological victim and psychological survivor.

Psychological victims: these individuals are passive, pessimistic and look to the past. They ask, “Who will help me?” They despair and are all consumed by their loss, refusing to help themselves.

Psychological survivors: these folks are active, optimistic and look to the future. They ask, “How can I help myself?” They grieve, which is healthy, but they continue to persevere and fight.

As we speak to “An outlook of Hope” Our hope must be able to see into the future. Thus, hope must see through the pupil of Anticipation, the manifestation of what is desired.

Hope is an essential and vital tool for survival.

A person can have faith, believe that they shall be saved. In the process of time, they can lose faith, because they lose hope, and lose the desire to live. It’s out of hope that the object or objective of our faith is conceived.

You cannot have faith in or for something that is not first hoped for.

Hope places a demand on faith. Hope is the desire.

Faith is the belief.

One cannot have strong faith (belief) with weak hope (desire).

Keep hope alive, our faith depends on it.

 

Demetrius Moffett is Senior Pastor of Orange Church of God, 1911 North 16th Street in Orange.