Read This For Hope

 Discouragement visits everyone. And how we handle it determines our emotional and mental health. So how do we get past discouragement?     

 When Jesus announced his impending death to his disciples, he no doubt saw the lifeless look in their eyes. And he quickly said something to buoy their spirits. In the face of his departure, Jesus uttered a promise that gave a sunrise of hope. He told them his death wasn’t a final farewell.  He promised a better tomorrow when he said, “I am going away to make ready a place for you. And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-2)

Swimming Mice

I once read about an experiment in which researchers placed a dozen laboratory mice in a vat of water. As the mice swam in small circles the researchers periodically lifted out of the water several they had identified with a mark on their head. These mice would then be placed back in the water. As the researchers expected, the lifted mice swam longer than the rest. This surfaced a question: Why? The researchers doubted the short rests made a difference, since they only lasted a few seconds. It wasn’t because they were stronger mice since they had been randomly selected. Finally, the researchers narrowed the answer to a single word: HOPE. The lifted mice hoped if they could swim a little longer, they would be rescued.

Hope Dispels Discouragement

When discouraged you may feel your efforts to find joy are as useless as mice swimming in a vat of water. During such dark days you need hope. It’s the force that will enable you to keep swimming when your muscles ache and your arms tire. And hope is what Jesus offered his disciples and us. Today, instead of focusing on the cause of discouragement, fix your eyes on the promise of Jesus. It’s there you’ll find a certain and bright future.  One that will replace emotional darkness with light.