Hopeless to Hope
According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, 40 million or 1 in 5 U.S citizens suffer from Anxiety. Anxiety often leads to depression, which if untreated, can lead to hopelessness.
Years back I had the honor and privilege to work with our service men and women who were suffering from PTSD. My focus was primarily on their marriage but often extended into helping them through their anxiety and hopelessness as well. My efforts were offered under the umbrella of a very successful Christ centered program which focused on overcoming PTSD.
Three stories to help set the stage.
One veteran had been blessed with a daughter several weeks earlier. He told me he had yet to hold his daughter. His reasoning, he couldn’t bring himself to touch someone so precious with hands that were used for, in his description, such evil.
Another veteran described his life returning home as a ‘hero’ only to shortly thereafter see himself as a ‘zero’ without direction or purpose.
A third veteran’s friend offered to take his assignment while deployed so he could stay behind to celebrate his birthday. The friend was killed that day and the one who stayed behind was living with the guilt from not understanding why he was the one ‘chosen’ to live.
All three, and many more, were living without hope, without a purpose, without an understanding of what was ahead of them because they couldn’t get past what was right in front of them. Hopeless.
Hopeless is defined as feeling or causing despair whereby despair is the complete loss of hope. (dictionary.com)
Hope, on the other hand, is an expectation, trust, confidence in something occurring. Typically an expectation of a good or positive event.
With regards to the three veterans, they each were able to eventually see past their hopelessness to regain hope in what was yet to come. Two sets of verses were at the heart of that transition.
Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. - Psalm 107:6-16
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. - 2 Cor 1:8-10
In the first passages we see people who were in ‘utter darkness’ because they refused to look to God. In the second passages, we see people who are Christians but were facing a challenge that caused them to be ‘despaired of life.’ Both groups, non-Christians and Christians were completely hopeless because all they were focused on was the mountain right in front of them. However, both found hope when they turned to and cried out to God. They found hope when they looked beyond what was right in front of them and instead focused on God and what was ahead for them if they chose to see it and focus on it.
How to Move Mountains
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20
Perspective. Jesus is speaking figuratively to help us understand that while the mountain is unlikely to physically move, our perception of that mountain (our fear, anxiety, etc.) can be moved. Let me provide an exercise to help demonstrate this point.
Place your hand in front of your eyes, about an inch away from your face. What do you see? Pretty much nothing but your hand. Now, take your hand and move it out about 12 inches from your face. What do you see now? Still mostly your hand but now you are beginning to see parts of the room beyond your hand. Now stretch your arm all the way out keeping your hand in front of you. Your hand now captures much less of your focus as you can now see most everything else in the room. You can now see what is beyond your fear, and anxiety, and your ‘mountain’ is not so big anymore. Congratulations, you just moved a mountain.
He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.
God is everywhere, but you will only be able to see him if you step back from what is right in front of you and allow him, his light, and his love, to overtake that which you are focused on so you can focus on him and the hope he offers.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing anxiety or depression, first and foremost, ‘cry out to God’ then seek Christian based counseling to help make the transition from focusing on what is in front of you and shift your focus to the hope that is ahead of you.
In the meantime, here are just a few of the many verses which speak to the hope we have in Christ Jesus.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. - Psalm 62:5,6
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God - Psalm 146:5
The hope of the righteous brings joy - Proverbs 10:28
Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. - Proverbs 23:18
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. - Romans 5:1-5
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - Romans 12:12
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. - Romans 15:13
