Remember This If You're Feeling Hopeless

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. – Hebrews 11:1

Yesterday during my counseling session, my counselor said, “There are no hopeless situations, only people who lack hope.”

I haven’t been able to get that statement out of my head.

My first instinct was to argue with her because I could list quite a few seemingly hopeless situations that I knew of. I could rattle off a handful of different scenarios that are showing absolutely no signs of hope or change at all.

But then she kept talking, and her statement about hope started to sink in.

She reminded me of Hebrews 11:1 and told me that faith is the foundation of hope. And faith is only required when there is no evidence, proof, or obvious signs that things are going to change or improve.

The minute we have evidence that our circumstances are going to change, we don’t need to have faith anymore. After all, anyone can persevere when there’s proof that things are going to get better. But faith is the assurance about what we do not see. When there’s no proof, no evidence, and seemingly no hope of change, that’s when faith is necessary.

Biblical hope, my counselor went on to explain to me, is not the same as the hope the world talks about. We use the word hope so loosely in our culture, saying things like, “I hope the Bengals win the Super Bowl,” or “I hope I pass this test.” But in Scripture, the original definition of the word hope is “a confident expectation.” It’s a sense of certainty that God is working and His will is going to be accomplished.

So faith is the foundation, reminding us to trust God when there’s no visible sign that He’s working. And hope is the confidence we have as we wait for God to fulfill His promises and work out His plan for our lives.

When you think about faith and hope in this context, the original statement my counselor says feels a little easier to come to terms with. There are no hopeless situations, only people who lack hope.

I don’t know what you’re hoping for today, friend. Maybe it’s a new job. Maybe it’s a relationship. Maybe it’s restoration. Maybe it’s contentment. Maybe it’s guidance as you’re going into a new season. Whatever it is you’re hoping for, I pray that you remember to use faith as your foundation. Trust that the Lord is working on your behalf, even when you can’t see what He’s doing behind the scenes. And live each day with hope-filled, confident expectation that His plan will come to pass.