Hope- Holding On!

The one thing- besides love- in life you cannot afford to lose is hope. Hope is holding on when things around you begin to slip.

Campbell G. Morgan tells of a man whose shop burnt during a disastrous fire in Chicago. He arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table. He set the Table amid the charred debris and above it placed the optimistic sign: “Everything lost except wife, children and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning”.

Many men and women become bitter toward life because of the unfortunate circumstances in which they find themselves. Many quit. Others have taken their own lives. The only difference between those who threw in the towel and quit and those who used their energy to rebuild and kept going is found in the word “hope”.

Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest

Hope motivates when discouragement comes

Hope energizes when the body is tired

Hope sweetens while the bitterness bites

Hope sings when all melodies are gone

Hope believes when the evidence is eliminated

Hope listens for answers when no one is talking

Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping

Hope endures hardship when no one is caring

Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing

Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking

Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging

Hope dares to give when no one is sharing

Hope brings the victory when no one is winning

There is nothing to do but bury a person when his or her hopes are gone. Losing hope usually precedes loss of life itself. You don’t need a better milieu- you just need more hope. It’s the one thing in your life you can’t do without!


===By John C. Maxwell ===