
“You can put hope in chains and hope will figure a way to drag the chain to an old familiar tune sung by slaves, and start humming. You can put hope on a pile of sticks and say, ‘You are to live there.’ It will carve one of the sticks into a flute and begin to play. If you put hope in a cave and say, “You have to live in this cave.” Hope will take berry juice and paint beautiful pictures on the wall. You just can’t seem to kill hope. Hope can live on one calorie a day.” —Fred Caddock
Hope is an
How can we be hopeful?
GROUND OUR HOPE IN
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3:15 NIV
“When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us, we stand at the crossroads between hope and despair, torn and hurting.
Despair cements us in the present; hope sends us dancing around dark corners trusting in a tomorrow we cannot see. Despair says that there is no place to go but here. Hope says that God is waiting for us someplace else. So, begin again.” —Sister Joan Chittister
How can we be hopeful?
CONFIRM OUR HOPE IN
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
1 Peter 3:15 NIV
“It is hope (grounded in Jesus), when a woman, despite her fear and insecurity, re-enters the workforce after years spent raising her family. It is hope enfleshed when a man with a terminal diagnosis refuses to give up on life but instead continues, without denial of his circumstances, to pursue his goals with all the energy he can muster. And it is hope when a person carrying the wounds of a relationship gone sour chooses to become vulnerable again for the sake of living life to the full. Hope is not wishing things were different; it is choosing to make the most of our lives given the given …” —Tom Stella
How can we be hopeful?
SHARE YOUR HOPE
But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV