8 Ways to Avoid Ministry Burnout
Why Fellowship is Crucial to Your Faith
God Will Fight for You!
17 Ways to Empower Yourself
20 Ways to Bless Others
10 Negative Labels You Need to Remove
Going Coo-Coo for Coconut Oil
5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Summer
6 Steps to Healing Yourself
Christian Artists Who Offer Hope
7 Inspiring Lessons You Can Learn from Tom Hanks
10 Ways to Bring Summer Inside
10 Steps to Discipline
The 7 Habits of Stress-Free People
7 Secrets to Finding Fulfilling Work
10 Steps to Calmer Parenting
10 Questions to Ask Before Getting into a New Relationship
I read all the comments that are posted on this blog. You inspire many of the topics that I cover here on The Inspiration Report.
A comment came in on When Were Your Prayers Answered? – which was a piece asking you to talk about times when you prayed for something and received it. Ali wrote this:
Funny, I should be reading this today. I woke up and for some reason said to myself why haven’t any of my prayers ever answered. I’m a good person, I had prayed to get pregnant and have a baby, got pregnant twice and lost them, prayed for my aunt to get better from her illness, she passed away on my birthday… I so want to have faith and hope but for me [it] is very hard.
A similar sentiment has been expressed by others, and it breaks my heart because I’ve been there too. It begs the question, how do you hope when you feel hopeless? We talk so much about inspiration and being happy, but what do you do if you’ve got nothing to be happy about or to look forward to? I have a few ideas.
Be thankful for what didn’t happen. Sometimes realizing that the worst case scenario has passed you by is enough of a reason to get happy. Think about all the times you’ve gotten on the road and didn’t have an accident or the time you slipped and fell but only had a few scratches. Preachers in my childhood church used to say, “Someone didn’t wake up this morning and you did. Be thankful for another day.” Sometimes the best blessing is the calamity that never happened.
Start at home and start small. As much as I loved Eat Pray Love and Elizabeth Gilbert’s trip around the world to find herself, not everyone has a job that will fly them to Italy, India and Indonesia for self-discovery. You need to look at your immediate surroundings for hope. It can be something small: the way your dog rejoices when you come home, a hot shower on a cold morning, or your neighbor’s friendly hello.
Find little escapes when and where you can. I know you’re busy and the situation that bogs you down seems like it’s everywhere. However, try to take breaks. Put on a song that takes you to a happy place. Pray. Meditate. Sit outside in nature. Take a few deep breaths and feel refreshed… if only for a moment. I call them mini-emotional vacations. They will save your day.
Hope builds on hope and you have to start somewhere. So take the little seeds of inspiration that are tucked away in every day and put your focus on them. Water them, tend to them and watch them grow in your life.
Check out these other Beliefnet features:
Hope and Encouragement for Tough Times
Prayers for Hope and Comfort
8 Ways to Increase Hope
posted October 5, 2011 at 2:52 am
I do not feel like I anyone to talk to . I think at one point I friends but then most I am alone . I want is to have someone to talk to .
posted October 5, 2011 at 4:16 am
You’re right. Whenever I feel hopeless, I remind myself of the famous saying – I complained because I had no shoes; until I saw a man who had no feet
posted October 6, 2011 at 11:06 am
Before your feet hit the floor in the morning and leave the floor at night, expressed gratitude for all that you have, giving no attention to what you don’t have. God has given us everything we need to have a good life, nothing is missing.~<3
posted October 6, 2011 at 11:21 am
Thank you for reminding me that even though there is one huge sadness in my life that there are sooo many other things to be happy about and thankful for. The one that is away will be back, he is not dead just not able to come home yet. Even though my heart aches for him it is only his part of my heart that should be affected, leaving the rest of it to fill out with happiness. Please pray for my son the situation is bad and he is hurting. The more I know he’s being prayed for the better I feel. Thank you all who read this and pray. In Jesus mighty name. Amen.!
posted October 6, 2011 at 4:05 pm
You talked about being happy that you woke up; I have prayed that I wouldn’t wake up but I still do! My daughter was killed in a car wreck, it’s been nine long years since I’ve seen her and I just want to join her. I ruined my life with drugs after she died and even though I am clean and sober now, people still treat me like a leper. God please come and get me, I am so tired and unhappy!
posted October 20, 2011 at 7:26 pm
In times like these all you can do is, be grateful for the love and support of the people you still have in your life, and have faith. if you have faith, there is always hope. There is always hope that tomorrow will be better and that whatever happened in your life has a positive reasoning behind it. Maybe we don’t know of it at present but hopefully we will find out one day.