Instilling Hope: The Anchor of Our Soul

When life knocks you down, and you fall on hard times, how do you find the strength to get back up?

When the world comes crashing down, it can seem impossible to believe that things will ever be okay again—it’s easy to become consumed with despair. In times like these, we desperately need a practice of hope.

The practice of instilling hope is an integral part of the counseling experience. The capacity to hope that one will overcome struggles and endure pain and grief is central to healing. 

Hope: The Anchor of Our Souls

One biblical writer captures the essence of hope as the anchor of our souls (Heb 6:19). Anyone with knowledge or experience of being aboard watercraft knows it is risky to take a ship out to sea without an anchor. With no anchor, there is no stability, no grounding, and a slim chance of surviving a fiery storm at sea. For this reason, no sailor worth his or her salt would dare to set sail without an anchor. Yet, we often attempt to navigate the storms of life without hope.

Being tossed to and fro by the winds and waves of misfortune, hardship, and devastation tends to threaten our sense of well-being and can cause us to lose hope when we need it most. Though we may experience feelings of hopelessness, the truth is we are never utterly without hope. At our disposal, we have an eternal supply of hope, regardless of circumstances. No matter how bad it gets, there is yet reason to hope. That reason is in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ’s existence ensures that we will never be without hope. How could a perfect God, being just, omniscient, and omnipotent, create a world without hope? He anticipated man’s disobedience and the fall of humanity. It stands to reason that before He could set the existence of a fallen world in motion, the solution, the reason to hope, had to exist already. There was Jesus, at creation, residing in heaven with the Father until the time came for Him to enter the earthly realm and take authority over all things—through his sacrifice on Calvary’s cross. This was God’s plan of salvation for all of His children, a promise of hope for eternity.

Choosing Hope

As difficult as it may sometimes be to fathom, the fact is having hope is a choice. Although hope is divine in nature, a spiritual element with everlasting potency, it is only beneficial to the extent we are willing to acknowledge its existence in a given moment. Having hope is a work of the soul, and choosing to do the work is an act of the will. In the midst of awful circumstances, even when it seems impossible, the choice always remains ours to make. Choosing to stay anchored in the promises of God against all odds can produce surprisingly favorable results.

Putting Hope Into Action

We must take action to activate hope in our lives or on behalf of others. This requires some outward expression of the hope in our hearts. Hope can be expressed in moods, words, and actions: patience in tribulation, steadfastness in prayer, and joy and praise of the Lord. 

Instill hope in God’s word by meditating on Scriptures that reveal some of the beneficial properties of hope. Things like: 

• Mercy (Psalms 13:7)

• Gladness (Prov 10:28)

• Happiness (Psalms 146:5)

• No Shame (Psalm 119:116)

• Salvation (Psalm 119)

• Rest (Acts 2:26)

• Joy (Romans 15:13)

• Patience (Romans 15:4)

• Perseverance (Romans 8:25)

• Peace (Romans 15:13)

• Purification (1 John 3:3)

• Boldness (Phil 1:20)

• Glory (Col 1:27)

• Does not disappoint (Romans 5:4-5)

• Eternal Life (Titus 1:2)

Paul encourages us that hope abides with us during this age of grace. This lets us know that hope is always available. If our hope is built on nothing less than the solid rock of Jesus, we are able to find stability and spiritual strength from heaven to continue on our journey. Don’t get it wrong: it will take effort, patience, and perseverance. But the benefits far outweigh the challenges.

As long as there is breath in our bodies, let us find rest for our weary souls in the God of our salvation, Jesus Christ. May our willingness to hope in Him offer stability and assurance in turbulent times.