Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Studies show that hopeful people make healthier lifestyles choices, recover from illness and injury faster, do better in school and live longer lives. They have less depression and anxiety, higher life satisfaction and mental health. When problems arise, they are more likely to persevere, solve problems more effectively and adapt better to change. Hopeful people have more positive relationships and are better able to seek for and receive social support.
Child abusers have a way of extinquishing hope from their victims. And there have and will be times when you have felt there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
President Thomas S. Monson promises us that, “regardless of how desperate things may seem or how desperate they may yet become, … you can always have hope. Always.”
He says, “At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel’s end—no dawn to break the night’s darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. … If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face......“Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of hisresurrection, to be raised unto life eternal” (Moroni 7:41).
This is the ultimate of all we might hope for. To possess this hope is to believe that today’s pain is only a way station on the road to deliverance. It requires patience with current circumstances. It is the belief that there will be a coming day when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4). (“Looking Back and Moving Forward,” Ensign, May 2008, 90.)
So how can we increase our hope. Rusell Ballard gave a beautiful talk called “The Joy of Hope Fulfilled,” (Ensign, Nov. 1992, 32) and suggested some steps.
1. Trust in God.
2. Focus on the positive.
3. Identify and challenge negative beliefs.
4. Associate with hopeful people and environments
5. Develop confidence.
6. Improve self-control.
7. Discover unexpected benefits.
8. Rejoice in life’s small victories.
9. Take care of yourself.
We have adressed some of these steps in previous blogs and we will adress them in future blogs. What continues to give you hope?
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