The Science of Hope and the Secret of Overcoming

Would you be surprised to hear there really is such a thing as the science of hope? A UCLA psychologist named James Coleman did a study on humans who lose hope. He discovered shipwreck victims who lose hope die in just a few days even though physiologically they could survive many more days. The conclusion of the Coleman study was that value, meaning and hope are catalysts for mobilizing energy and finding satisfaction. No matter what the trial, the secret to overcoming has a spiritual dimension.

Each month my article in Home Cures That Work relates to the spiritual dimension of health and wellness and this month my point is that our hope is not simply in our ability to last indefinitely out on the high seas. Our hope is in the certainty that someone is coming for you. That someone is God and the one he sent to the rescue is Jesus. The Bible calls him our sure and certain hope. The certainty is that when we call out to him, he answers.

Storm Warning!

The forecast in the Bible is for more and more difficult days ahead. Focusing this monthly issue on survival is very timely as right now people in every part of the world are sorting through the present realities of recessions and depressions, shortages and civil unrest.  The things we have always taken for granted, even things like food and safety, are not guaranteed any more. Unemployment and underemployment in America is now into the double digits and regardless of your political persuasion, surely you concur this will not be getting better anytime soon.

Only a fool would believe government has the answers; and I say this as one who is an elected member of the South Dakota House of Representatives. Waiting for government to come to the rescue is a false hope, just ask the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. My encouragement to you is to take steps now to insulate yourself and your family from additional economic and social unrest.

The Bible Is a Book of Preparedness and Survival

Proverbs 27:12 says,

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”

Really, there are two paths before each of us and only one has a good outcome.  My hope is that you will take the preparedness path and give careful consideration to what the Bible says about what it takes to weather the coming hard times.

Jesus told a parable about a wise and foolish builder and how the one built a structure that survived the storm and what the other built didn’t last. Both faced storms, yet the one that survived was built on a solid foundation. Jesus said that foundation is his Word.

Our spiritual foundation is foremost. A person has a solid foundation spiritually when they cease striving to do good and be good, and in turn accept that they cannot earn forgiveness by what they do and don’t do. People with a solid spiritual foundation are not standing on their own goodness. They are placing all their weight on the fact that Jesus did enough to make peace with God. It is not about what they did or didn’t do. It’s about whether or not what Jesus did was enough to secure forgiveness for our sins. Knowing you are at peace with God is assurance that only comes when we accept what Jesus did on the cross paying the penalty for our sin.

Surviving Is More Than Having Skills and Supplies

This solid spiritual foundation is essential to having an overcomers mindset. Survival is more about this positive “overcoming” mentality than it is about skills or supplies.

Simply put, an overcomer is one who overcomes every challenge that comes their way. In a Biblical sense, an overcomer is not just one who survives; they flourish during difficult times.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah talked about how God supernaturally sustains those who are in right standing with him.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

Financially and economically, it has always amazed me that millions are to be made when markets crash. When everything else dries up, like the tree by the stream during the drought, some people prosper in hard times. They prosper not because they are lucky or in the right place at the right time. Without exception, those who prosper in hard economic times no doubt understand money, think differently about money and therefore invest differently than the rest.

As a young boy, I acquired a little paperback book titled Bushcraft, which was about how to survive in the wilderness with only a knife. In the woodsy overgrown area behind our home, I meticulously followed the book’s instruction on how to make a shelter and how to start a fire. Fortunately, I never needed the shelter I made, but from my bedroom window inside I watched it stand up strong all that next winter.

 

The Message of Hope, Not Cope

There is a book for surviving all of life, and the life after, and this is the time to meticulous follow what is written there. That book is the Bible. No preparedness library is complete without it. Contrary to what some may think, the Bible is not a pessimistic book. Pessimism and negativity are everywhere today, but hope is the message of Jesus and the Bible.

The message of the Bible is that you can overcome and be victorious through struggles. The Bible is a book for breakthrough. It’s a book of hope, not cope. There are those who don’t believe God can or will do anything for people who struggle today and that the best we can do is cope and limp along until we get to heaven. The message of the Bible is not cope. The message of the Bible is hope, hope for overcoming today. This hope is the secret not just of survival, but the secret to flourishing during the seasons of drought.

What is an encouraging word that might offer hope to someone trying just to survive?  Or, share your story how God came through and saved your boat in the storm!

 

Steve Hickey, is the founding pastor of a life-giving church with over 700 members, a church planter, a trainer of leaders with John Maxwell’s organization, a police chaplain, and is very active in politics as a national voice for the unborn. He’s written several books, including his latest, Momentum: God’s Ever Increasing Kingdom www.MomentumHandbook.com. Steve and his wife would like to pray for your specific needs and have a prayer team at the church waiting to hear from you. For more information or to submit a prayer request visit: www.ChurchAtTheGate.com/prayer.php