The Hope QuotientSample

You can pursue hope or be ruled by discouragement. But you won’t find a more ruthless, negative, destructive, vicious dictator anywhere on the planet. Discouragement devastates. 

“I’m encouraged about my marriage so I’m getting a divorce,” said no one ever. “I’m encouraged about school so I’m dropping out.” “I’m encouraged about my faith so I’m going to start taking drugs.” Ask any psychologist—no one says these things. 

Only when discouragement is present do storm clouds gather. When you’re discouraged, one thing is certain: something is going to die. Every kid that acts up, every marriage that breaks up, every person who gives up, every company going belly-up, every church, organization or country that blows up, and every single suicide share one emotion—discouragement. 

Discouragement wrecks lives, ruins relationships, and destroys dreams. Discouragement will shatter a person’s career, a relationship with God, a family. 

John Toole wrote a book after he got out of the army. He took it to various publishers and received rejection after rejection until he gave up. John’s mom never did. She went from publisher to publisher, until she found a professor in New Orleans. “My son wrote a great book based in New Orleans,” she said. 

He agreed it was great and sold it to Louisiana State University Press. In 1981, John Toole’s book, A Confederacy of Dunces, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. John’s mother had to accept his award. John Toole had given up on his dream and, a dozen years before his literary work would surpass his wildest imagination, he took his own life. 

Discouragement precedes destruction. Discouragement is a killer. Discouragement will wreck your life, and it will wreck your relationships. You will get down sometimes—the key is not to stay there. 

Think Up: 

When discouragement raps at your door, how will you keep it at bay? 

Can you become stubborn enough to refuse to give up? (Read on).