The Hope QuotientSample

A young college student wrote her parents a tough letter:

“This is going to be really disappointing. I met a guy fifteen years older than me. We eloped. I’m two months pregnant. I’m dropping out of school and will contact you at some point in the future. I’m sorry.”

She added a PS, “Just kidding, but I flunked one class and need two hundred dollars. Please keep perspective.”

Most of us are waiting on a change of circumstances, but what we really need is a change in perspective. Often, it’s not low circumstances that make us lose hope—it’s low expectations.

Green Bay Packers fans learned this well. When they started, they only won 28 percent of their games (ie: they lost over 70 percent). All that changed when Vince Lombardi stepped in as coach. Rookie coach Lombardi in his first year led them to a winning season and became Coach of the Year. The Pack went on to five national championships and won the first two Super Bowls. What turned a losing team into the most winning team? Simple. One person arrived with a completely different perspective and higher expectations.

This happens all through the Bible. For ninety-two years, the “walled” city of Jerusalem had no walls, and its people lived under the control of the “Four F’s” fear, failure, frustration, and fatigue. Then one guy arrived with a perspective not of what had been but what it could become. Then Nehemiah came to town. He brought a fresh perspective and an expectation they would succeed over their enemies.

In just fifty-two days the people rebuilt a wall that they themselves had said for ninety-two years couldn’t be built. What changed? One guy arrived with raised expectations and the city was forever changed. 

When you are the person who arrives on the scene with the right perspective and higher expectations, everything can change.

Think Up:

Are you waiting on circumstances to change or can you change your perspective?

How can you be the one to make everything different for the people around you? (Read on).