Defining Hope

Hope is the key to happiness in hard times. Hope is a feeling of wanting and believing that things will be better in the future than they are today.

How do you obtain that hope? I find hope in looking at life from an eternal perspective. That means that just because today things are not going well, it doesn't mean that tomorrow can't be better, or if not tomorrow then 10 years from now, or even 20. Some things take longer than others to get through.

For example, getting a bad grade on a test might mean that you have to study a lot to do better on the next one in a few weeks, but going through a divorce or difficult break up might take years to work through. Sometimes it is necessary to look at life from beginning to end, rather than focusing on just the moment at hand. Because if the moment at hand is difficult, you need to see a bigger picture. And what bigger picture can you get than looking at life based on eternity?

We read in the bible, we existed before we were born, and that we will exist again after death. This even more broadens our perspective and hope. The prophet Jerimiah was told by the Lord that, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jerimiah 1:5) The Lord tells Jerimiah that he lived and had a relationship with God [even if he doesn't remember it] before he was ever even born. Does that mean that everyone else did too? In the book of Moses, we find that it does. God says that he created all things spiritually before he created them spiritually. "For I the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally found on the earth." (Moses 3:5-7) If we lived with God before we were even born, then we know that there must be a purpose to this life and all of the hard things that we are experiencing. For, if we were already in his presence, why would he send us here unless there was something we needed to learn from such an experience? And if we lived with him before this life, then doesn't it make sense that he would want us to return to his presences again someday? In the scriptures we see that this is true! God does want us return home to him. In Alma 40:11, it says that "...the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life." I like looking at challenges with this perspective.

When I'm having a terrible day it is nice to think, "Someday this will all be in the past. Even though I just went through a terrible break up and my heart feels broken, years from now I will be in a different place in life and it won't hurt so much. Maybe I will be in China teaching children and making a difference, or Africa doing humanitarian aid and impacting lives, or maybe I will even be in a similar place that I am now but in a new and healthier relationship?" The nice thing about tomorrow is that it can hold whatever you choose.

The most important thing we can do when we experience hard times in life is to take away whatever we can learn from the experience to help others or to make a better future for ourselves. So when you're going through a hard time, just hang in there. Hold on, and keep going. Things will get better. You can make it through this! God sent you here to earth for a purpose, and he did not send you here to fail.

If you need help, you can pray and he will help you to feel peace in your heart through the hard times. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." (John 14:18) I have found this to be true in my life when I've gone through hard times. I specifically remember the feeling of peace that filled my heart when I felt despair because my family was falling apart and there was nothing I could do about it. Family meant everything to me and yet now mine was nothing. But I was able to pray to God and feel warm inside, like he was telling me that even though things were hard, it would be ok because he was there beside me through it all.

About Me

The purpose of this blog is to help people who are going through difficult times, such as I have been, to feel meaning and purpose in life again, to be inspired, and to have hope for a better future.