When All Is Lost Hope Is Found

Reflecting on hope and its meaning

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines hope as a “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.”

As human beings, we experience hope when we anticipate certain events to happen in our lives — to make us happy and fulfilled. Hope is a strong propelling force. It drives us forward and helps us to envision our future.

There is a spiritual element to hope. It is rooted in the belief in a higher power. Hope brings us closer to God for we hold our trust and faith in him. The invisible power of God fills our spirit with hope and optimism. We pray in our hearts that God will hear us, lead us through the darkness, and help us see the light again.

Hope gives us a sense of enlightenment and brings stability to our lives. Hope instills optimism as we expect some good things to happen. We wake up with a feeling that today will be better than yesterday.

I’ve hoped for many things in my life, from graduating from college and getting my degree, to finding my true love and creating a family. When things took a rough turn, I clung to hope to help me navigate through life.

In my life, when I faced challenges, I never lost hope, regardless of what circumstances I was in and how unfair life was. I always thought there was something behind the shadows I didn’t quite see or feel that could help me find balance. I tried to see a glimmer of hope in every situation. And this mindset has helped me see the brighter parts of life.

Whether you’ve seen angels floating around your bedroom or just found a ray of hope at a lonely moment, choosing to believe that something unseen is caring for you can be a life-shifting exercise.

— Martha Beck

How can hope transform us?

We all want to create better outcomes in our lives. We envision our dreams and our futures. We pursue our dreams in hopes that someday we can get to where we want to be in life.

When we’re stuck in a difficult situation, we hold on to hope to restore balance in our lives. We hope to see a ray of light amid the dark clouds. We hope to reach the shorelines and not be engulfed by a massive blow of sea waves. We hope to see a shining light as we make our way through a dark tunnel.

As Judith Rich writes, “It’s a hope that ignites the flame, but we are the ones who must add fuel to the flames to keep the fire alive.”

As the pandemic has shaken the world and made us vulnerable, one thing that remains is hope. If we live in a perpetual cycle of hopelessness, our minds will sink into agony and despair. To feel optimistic about the future, we must feel hope. So let us embrace hope. All is not lost when there is hope.

We have a new life ahead of us, a world to repair, and relationships to mend. If we lost hope now, it would be a disaster. That’s why we should hold on to hope, especially when times are tough.

A lesson for all of us is that for every loss, there is victory, for every sadness, there is joy, and when you think you’ve lost everything, there is hope.

— Geraldine Solon

Hope is the antidote to fear and despair

We can face the fear of the unknown. We cry in desperation. But amid adversity and chaos, there is always hope.

Hope brings us back to our path where we continue to push ahead despite the obstacles. We bounce back and try again. When all is lost, hope is found.

Hope is empowering. The more we feel hope, the more we believe in our ability to overcome the obstacles on our path. We are not afraid to climb up the mountain and reach for the stars. Our inner strength is there to guide us in our journey.

Hope enables us to plan and build our lives around what we want and what truly makes us happy. It motivates us to push hard to reach success. Without hope, we’ll sink to the bottom of the ocean and never reach the shoreline.

Hope pushes us to find opportunities in the challenges we face every day — in work, life, and relationships. For example, if you wish to get the job you always dreamed of, you can say: “I hope I’ll get the job.” or if you wish to find true love you say: “I hope that one day love will touch my heart.”

Hope is the road to happiness and emotional fulfillment

Hope is not only for when we are feeling low and stuck in a bad situation. Hope can also be a driving force to make lives more happy and meaningful.

According to Psychology Today, feeling hope every day can make it easier to navigate through difficult situations. Whatever hardships we face— job loss, poverty, marital problems, and unhappiness, we need to feel hope.

Anyone can benefit from feeling hope even when life is a smooth journey. Who doesn’t want to earn a promotion in their job? Who doesn’t want to reach financial freedom? Without hope, none of those things are possible.

According to Psychology Today, simply envisioning your life now and where you want it to be in a few years from now can be empowering.

• If you’re starting a new business — picture yourself a few years from now.
• If you’re on a weight loss journey — picture a new you a few months from now.
• If you’re a new writer and want to make a living writing — think about where you see yourself a few years from now.

Hope never abandons you; you abandon it.

— George Weinberg

Hope is a powerful driving force

If you’re facing negative circumstances in life, hope can turn around the situation for the better. For example, if you’re poor and you’ve lived through poverty all your life and finally succeed, you’ve lived your life with hope.

According to Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D., a researcher at the Yale Child Study Center, not all poor children are doomed to fail. Those with hope can thrive to become successful adults. Her research proves you can still succeed in life despite the obstacles, bad luck, and all the odds stacked against you.

If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Age does not preclude hope

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2013 by Helen Neville, Ph.D., it is never too late for hope. You can find it at any stage of life.

If you’re discovering a new passion or following a dream later in life, your age doesn’t have to stop you from reaching your goals. If you believe in yourself and have hope, it doesn’t matter how old you are and what stage of life you are in.

For instance, if a child falls behind in school academically, he or she can still catch up later in life, contrary to the popular assumption that kids who don’t read or write by third or fourth grade end up in jail. If families of those children have hope and live by it, there is a high chance they can raise children who will succeed later in life with the right support and interventions.

Final Thoughts

We should cling to hope, especially when we go through traumatic events and face difficult circumstances in life. We should believe in ourselves, in our strength and resilience. We should nurture our hope by being optimistic and focusing on the positive outcomes.

Let hope set us off on a spiritual journey — the kind filled with love and inspiration. Let it nurture us when we feel deprived. Let it propel us in life and help us find true happiness. Let hope into your life. Hope is your best friend.

We must accept infinite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.

— Martin Luther King, Jr.