Reflection
As we experience the situation in which the earth community finds itself, it is easy to become discouraged and find it difficult to see any positive outcomes. Yet, discouragement deprives us of confidence and enthusiasm. It removes our belief that things can improve and prevents us from taking any positive action. We lose heart. Discouragement demoralizes us but to hold on to hope encourages us. Hope does believe that things will improve. It makes us confident that we can do better. Hope is proactive. In the face of apparent impossibilities, hope believes it can find a way.
Prayer
In You, O God, is my hope.
Action
What are the sources of my discouragement? How can I transform this situation with hope?
Suggested Reading
God has said,” Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So say with confidence,” God is my helper. I will not be afraid.”
Hebrews 13:5-6
With human beings it is impossible, but to God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:25
I can do all things through the One who strengthens me.
Philippians 3:13
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
Thich Nhat Hanh
We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King, Jr
We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.
John F. Kennedy
When discouraged some people will give up, give in or give out far too early. They blame their problems on difficult situations, unreasonable people or their own inabilities. When discouraged other people will push back that first impulse to quit, push down their initial fear, push through feelings of helplessness and push ahead. They’re less likely to find something to blame and more likely to find a way through.
Steve Goodier
I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
Thomas Alva Edison
You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.
Michelle Obama
Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.
Robert H. Schuller
God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us — in the dreariest and most dreaded moments — can see a possibility of hope.
Maya Angelou
Hope is a renewable option: If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning.
Barbara Kingsolver
If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life 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.