I rolled up early one morning last week to one of my favorite running routes on the U.S. Army post where I work. It’s a fairly straight, flat road lined with mature shade trees next to a huge field. Just on the other side of the trees there’s a little creek. This particular morning, a light fog blanketed everything. It was the picture of serenity.
However, despite the setting, I started my run brooding over a stressful situation at work that seemed to have no feasible solution. But then I heard something.
Over the hum of the nearby interstate, an unseen group of basic trainees was calling out cadence. I pictured them running in formation as they chanted together at the top of their lungs:
🎶“Everywhere we go-oh, people wanna know-o, who we are, where we come from, so we tell them who we are…”🎶
As the sound of the soon to be soldiers faded into the distance, my sinking thoughts were buoyed by a fresh revelation:
If they can do that, I can do this!
The majority of basic trainees are miles from home—many for the first time— and dealing with a new “normal”, one where drill instructors make ALL the decisions. Homesick and uncertain what’s coming next, these brave young people must stick together to survive the next 10 weeks. Their Esprit de corps, the devotion they have toward each other and the group as a whole, is literally their life-line.
Perhaps the title of this piece should be, “What happened to hope?” Okay, I already changed it; my first one was pretty lame.😀
Anyway, this is what I heard in the soldiers’ chanting: hope for the future. But for the world at large this idea is no longer in vogue.
It’s painfully clear these days that (to many) hope is like a wind up toy with an ever-weakening spring. A quick check at thesaurus.com confirms it. Synonyms for hope include, anticipation and expectation, but also fool’s paradise and pipe dream.
However, for the Christian, hope is as certain as the character of God.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:24-25
I love the metaphor, “spur one another on.” It’s like every believer is calling out in formation with all their might, “MORE LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS!!”
These days there are plenty of reasons for a child of God to lose hope, but none of them are good ones.
Now is not the time for swerving, by God! And I mean that literally, not sacrilegiously. 😁🙏
Here are a few more of my favorite “hold on to hope” scriptures. Please share some of yours, if you’d like.
“The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 43:5
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Davids Daily Dose 
Comments
39 responses to “What Happened to Hope?”
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Thanks a lot!
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Yes indeed. We are all made for something better. We WILL get through this. 🙏😷. Blessings!
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Thanks for today’s encouragement & inspiration my friend. There are days I too ask myself “what happened to hope?,” if not forgotten about it all together. I’m trying to see positivity & kindness in the worst of circumstances lately because I know we all are meant for something better. Hanging on to God & his words are truly what’s keeping us hopeful these days. Stay safe & God bless.
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Thank you, Heidi! The basic trainees are on the other side of post from where I work, but I often hear them calling out cadence early in the morning. Blessings.
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My hubs spent fourteen years in the Army … I can hear the cadence and the shoes hitting the pavement. I REALLY enjoyed these words of encouragement, David!!!
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Thank you!
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I really enjoy your style.
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Thanks, Tina. Me too. Me TOO!
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Nice post David! I am holding onto hope like it’s trying to get away on me! :O
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Yes!
No problem. Amen!
Thanks, and you too.
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That’s a great scripture! Thanks for sharing. God’s hope doesn’t disappoint! Blessings.
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“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.…”
Romans 5:5,6
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I appreciate your commenting, Matcha. Hope in God is the only completely sure thing.
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It’s funny how today when I was driving to work, there was a car that had a decal that said to put your hope in God. It made me stop and think about making my situation better through prayer and faith. Yet another relevant post.
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=)
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And you as well!
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God bless you David
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You’re welcome. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Thank you for this; makes me think back to memories of Basics!
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My delight always, my brother. ABBA’s richest blessings to you and yours always.
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Amen, sister! I love 1 Peter 1:3. God is the giver of LIVING hope, whereas the world’s variety is only temporary. Thank you for reading and commenting. I always look forward to your interaction. Blessings.
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“However, for the Christian, hope is as certain as the character of God” – this statement is so rich, David. I will be mulling on this for some time, thank you!
It is so like the Lord to minister to us when we feel hopeless, for He is the epitome of hope. My verse is from 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
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Thank you. There is so much negativity swirling around out there. We have to hold on to every positive thought we can. Blessings.
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I love that you shared the verse that we should spur one another on to excel in love (what a wonderful ideal) and good deeds. The world would be a completely different place if we had this as the motivating force of our lives. A very hopeful and inspiring post.
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You are welcome! Abundant blessings of hope!
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Amen! 🦅 Eagles don’t worry about crossing rivers. Thank you for your comment! Blessings.
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David, it is so good that God gives us hope as we go through our day, despite our problems. Love to hear the recruits or soldiers giving their cadence as they get in their physical training. The scripture from Isaiah about waiting on the Lord to renew our strength is one of my favorites, Soaring like an eagle gives a whole new perspective to the things that bother us. Praise the Lord for renewing our strength and giving us hope!
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Yes, indeed. Having hope that extends beyond this physical world is paramount. Thanks for reading and commenting, Jeffrey.
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It must be that those who view hope cynically are those who hope only in earthly things. I think I heard a line in a prison movie once that hope is a soul-killer. An inmate was telling another that no hope is the only way to deal with prison. Shawshank Redemption, maybe? We need to have a further horizon that stretches past earth and into eternity! Thanks for this!
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“Sure hope,” I like it G. W.! A double guarantee from God—for this life AND the next. Thank you for the scripture as well. Blessings.
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You’re welcome, Vince.
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Very nice. Thank you.
Sent from my iPhone
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A reminder of our sure hope is so needed in these times! Thanks, David!
“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5
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Thank you, Betty. I hope you and Dan have a wonderful day as well. Blessings.
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To not have hope may be the saddest of all. Our world and every person in it needs hope. I pray for that every day. Thanks for your post, David, and I hope you have a good day! 🙂
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Thank you, Manu. Your comments are often posts in themselves! Blessings.
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Amen 🙏🏽. May we hold on to hope and spur one another on our journeys. I really liked the analogy of the recruits, like them may we listen and be led only by our instructor ( God) and walk in unity and strength together as God leads us on our path. And may our message of hope filter through the air around us lifting spirits.
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AMEN, brother! I agree. Thank you for the verse from Romans. We need hope through the power of the Holy Spirit in our world right now. Blessings.
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Great post brother. Maybe christians should be like those recruits in our walk together; in perfect step and full of hope in Him.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NASB).
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