Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
What is your hope quotient? Your hope quotient is more important than your IQ—your intelligence quotient. In his book, The Hope Quotient, Ray Johnston says that under every thriving person, every thriving marriage, kid and business is one factor: hope. And he points out that hope is so much more than a feeling; it is a decision you and I make regularly to do the things that build hope in our minds.
In Hebrews 10:23 we read: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
If you have professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, your hope is invested in his promises, right? But you must hold to that hope; you have to hang on when things look hopeless. Could it be true that life has thrown some tough circumstances at you lately? Is your job turning out to be full of strife and uncertainty?
Recently a friend was telling me how her company encourages strong competition between coworkers, actually causing disharmony as a way to motivate their workers to work harder and longer. As a result of that work environment, everyone is under lots of stress and they are always uncertain of when the next shoe is going to fall.
Does that sound somewhat familiar to you? Or maybe it’s a relationship problem in your family, or financial stresses or you’re just weary of the never-ending push and pull of life. What is stealing your hope? What is causing you to feel hopeless?
Let me please encourage you to hold unswervingly—without giving up—to the hope you have professed because the God of hope is faithful. Put this verse—Hebrews 10:23—on a card and take it with you every day. Then when those feelings of hopelessness start to move in (and keep in mind, they are feelings, not truth), then read or quote the verse and tell the Lord, “I’m holding unswervingly to my hope in you.” Speak truth to yourself and trust the God of hope. He won’t fail you.