1. Having a confident expectation that the promises of God will come to pass in our lives.
2. That we will be victorious, we will overcome.
3. That, no matter how dark our circumstances, somehow things will get better as we surrender it all to God.
4. That God loves us and is for us.
5. That God will grant us eternal life as we trust in and follow Him.

God doesn’t want us to live a life of discouragement.  He wants us to possess a lively hope!

As I sought the Lord for a few hours this morning (wanting direction for our church), I felt the Lord lead me to a book I had checked out at the Beaverton City Library a few weeks ago.  It is a book titled, “The Hope Quotient” by Ray Johnston.  I felt I would use this book in the future, and that time has arrived. 

In addition to examining the topic of hope through this book and the Bible in our devotionals the next few days, I am feeling the direction to teach/preach a series on this topic.  I am excited because I believe hope is a fundamental pillar of our Christian life that often gets neglected.  We often speak of faith and love, as we should, but we do not talk about hope nearly enough.  I also realize you cannot separate hope, faith, and love.  They are intertwined and interdependent, but it will be beneficial to focus more specifically on hope for the next few weeks. 

The Hope Quotient 

In our devotionals we will just scratch the surface of the principles laid out in Ray Johnston’s book. 

Today I will begin by including a direct quote from the book the great enemy of hope – discouragement:

“Howard Hendricks gave a gripping definition of discouragement: “Discouragement is the anesthetic the devil uses on a person just before he reaches in and carves out his heart.”  He’s right.  When people lose hope, they lose their ability to dream for the future.  Despair replaces joy.  Fear replaces faith.  Anxiety replaces prayer.  Insecurity replaces confidence.  Tomorrow’s dreams are replaced by nightmares.”

When spouses lose hope, they give up on their marriages.  Parents give up on their teens.  Leaders give up on their people.  Healthy emotions like contentment and peace are replaced with the toxic emotions of confusion, shame, worry, and disappointment.  In short, it’s impossible to be spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, or relationally healthy when we’re gripped by discouragement.

Some wise person once said that we can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air – but not a single moment without hope.”

An Abundance of Hope

The goal, over the next few weeks, is to produce a hope that is lasting.  This is not a self-help seminar where you will get shallow catch phrases and quick-fix solutions.  My desire is to use the principles of this book as they relate to the principles of the Word of God, along with the power of the Holy Spirit, to produce a more sustained infusion of hope and encouragement.  The goal is to have an overabundance of hope so that it runs over and splashes onto those who we encounter every day.

The 10 Percent Factor  

Hope is so powerful, we don’t need a huge increase to make a profound change.  Johnston says that he met a leading psychologist who was able to see deeply troubled marriages turned around by getting 10 percent improvement.  It didn’t require 100 percent, 50 percent, or even 25 percent – just 10 percent.  It only took 10 percent, because that 10 percent gave them hope.  When people have hope, anything is possible!

Four Things Hope Does That Nothing Else Can Do

Again, from the book, Johnston lists four things that hope does:

1. Hope liberates. Hope releases you from your past.
2. Hope motivates. Hope helps you bounce back.
3. Hope initiates. Hope sets you free to dream.
4. Hope activates. Hope is the fuel that makes the world a better place.