About Hope's Process

In thinking about Hope, I have taken the time to contemplate my history with mild anxiety. Even now, I struggle with panic attacks which comes from simple every day activities. While I have come up with coping mechanisms to deal with the events as they occur, it is important to look for long-term strategies to live with balanced life.

I have found my Hope in God is my key to balance.

Reading Scripture, there are numerous passages dealing with hope. I choose to focus on two of them – Proverbs 24:14, Proverbs 9:10, Isaiah 5:21, Proverbs 28:26 and 1 Peter 3:15

Proverbs 24:14 reads, “Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut of.”

Wisdom is the center of hope. But what is wisdom? The Bible explains that wisdom comes from God and HE gives it to anyone who ask. Scripture also says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10

We begin to find wisdom by fearing the Lord, then we receive it as nurturing sustenance. But there is more to the process? After consuming wisdom, we see Hope for our future and we will not be cut off from it.

Hope does not come from us. Hope does not come from other people, what we can do or what we can get. Hope is the process of letting your mind be in the Grace of God so that it can envision a positive future.

In my opinion, placing Hope solely in ourselves and the people and things around us, is one of the principle causes of the exponential increases in clinical depression, alcohol and drug abuse and overdose, suicide ideation and successful suicides, and other public health concerns.

Isaiah 5:21 reads “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!”

The word Woe is the takeaway from this verse. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Woe means “a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction, or grief.” It is my assertion our society is being afflicted because it has turned its back on the source of Hope – a sovereign and Holy God.

In trying to prove how shrewd, smart and self-reliant we are, we have made ourselves more vulnerable to depression, stress and other harmful feelings. We all have periods of anxiousness, I admitted it myself at the beginning of this piece. The key to overcoming these all to human feelings is to know where Hope can be found – a loving God.

Proverbs 28:26 tells us the cause of our affliction and the cure for it. It reads “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool…”

Trusting in our own knowledge has been a recipe for disaster. Our brightest minds have not come up with a path to true Hope. Our brightest minds have only come up with pharmaceutical bandages to deaden the pain. Our brightest minds have made an industry for themselves while their patients have become dependent on the prescription drugs or the latest self-help fad.

The second half of Proverbs 28:26 is the cure ”…but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”

What a beautiful statement! Instead of trying to figure out how to make ourselves happy, we can choose to walk in wisdom with God. Walking is an active verb. It means we are traveling together with God, and through our journey we are delivered, which then builds our Hope for the next crisis event.

Remember, Proverbs 24:14 states, “Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut of.”

We find wisdom in God and we walk with HIM, and then we are delivered and find a future hope, and the best part – our Hope will never end! How great is our GOD!!

It doesn’t end there. God’s providence does not stop with one person; it has the ability to change every person’s life.

1 Peter 3:15 reads, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Sharing the good news of Hope is a requirement of every believer. We should always be able to share where we get our Hope from. Hope that comes from a loving, sovereign God who is able to give us the wisdom to make insightful decisions. This is a radical departure from the world we live in where believers are afraid to talk openly and honestly about their faith.

We are told faith is an internal matter. We are told faith and the public sphere, the church and the state, should be separated from each other. We have believed that untruth, and in doing so, we have allowed our society to be swallowed up by hopelessness.

When I have those periods of anxiety, I say a simple prayer over and over again, “Lord, help me find my Whole Essence in you.” God created us to be in balance – body, mind and soul. Finding Hope in God helps me to put HIM at the center of my life. Finding Hope in God also helps me to get out of my head and heart all of the things I am trying to work out.

As a society, we have gotten really good at purveying stress, fear and hopelessness. It is time for a season of Hope. It is past time for the message of Hope to be planted in every heart. Once planted Hope will grow and sweep across our communities and our nation like a wildfire.

Blessings,

Dr. Tony Campbell

Whole Essence Initiative