The Hope QuotientSample

The question is when hope-killers surface, what practical steps can you take? Here are three major life strategies.

1. Never make decisions when you’re down. Shortly after I became a Christian, I had to deal with some difficult, painful circumstances. My parents separated, bills were mounting, and my car broke down. I threw my Bible across the room at one of my first mentors, Jon, and said, “I’m done!”

Jon looked at me and said with great compassion, “Never make a decision when you’re down. If I ever did, I wouldn’t be married, wouldn’t have kids, wouldn’t have a job, wouldn’t have my faith.”

Let’s be honest: human beings are wired so the minute we get down, we start making decisions. “I quit.” “I’m leaving.” “I’m moving.” “I’m walking out.” Almost all knee-jerk decisions end up being destructive decisions.

Jon’s lesson that day still keeps me from destroying my hope. Don’t make decisions when you’re down. Decisions determine direction, which determines destiny. In other words, the decisions you make determine the direction you take. The direction you take determines your destiny. Everything you are, everything you will be, is due to the decisions you make. 

 2. Respond to bad news in great ways. In Nehemiah, we saw that when God’s people responded to bad news in bad ways, they continued to spiral down. When one guy, Nehemiah, responded to bad news in great ways, it changed everything.

The number one key to success in anything is to respond to bad news in great ways. If you do that, you’ll have a future. 

3. Shake it off and step up. One of the great comeback stories in Scripture is Joseph. He was betrayed, sold into slavery, wrongfully accused, and imprisoned, but he was able to look those hope killers in the eye and say, “God meant it for good.”

That’s playing great defense. And that’s what we need to do if we want God-sized hope to energize our marriages, our children, our churches, our careers, and even our communities.

Think Up:

Everything you are, everything you will be, is due to the decisions you make.

When you respond to bad news in great ways, what could your future hold?

The last thing you need is to be filled with resentment, fear, anxiety, and discouragement. Shake it off and step up. (Read on).