You often hear about a person’s hope waning. Hope can even appear lost. Yet there are times when a person has no hope, not because they have lost it – but because they didn’t even know it existed for them.
Many years ago while our middle daughter was in grade school, she would make friends at school and invite them over to our home to play. These kids came from different walks of life and family situations. My wife and I did our best to make them feel welcome and loved, and it blessed us to see the children respond with warmth and happiness.
One day our daughter asked if her friend Faith could come and play. We said yes, and soon Faith was coming to our house on a regular basis. Faith lived in a neighborhood near ours, and her grandmother worked hours that went into the evening. We learned she lived with her grandmother, and over time met her grandmother and became acquainted with her. We learned that Faith’s parents had been incarcerated, and that her grandmother was caring for her during that time.
Faith sometimes came for sleepovers, and often went to church with us. In her times with us she was always sweet and respectful, and our family enjoyed having her around. She ate with us, played with us, and was involved in our family activities when she was with us.
Giving Of Yourself Can Make a Difference
One evening Faith was at our house and I remarked to her that we enjoyed having her around, and she said something that blessed me and broke my heart at the same time. As she looked at me with a smile she said:
“I like coming here because I never saw a mom and dad together before. Now I know what a family is like, and I like it.”
This little 8 to 9 year old girl had never been in a family setting with a mom and a dad. She had never been in a stable family setting over a period of time. That really struck me to the core. Something I had grown up with and was passing on to my children, this little girl had never experienced. As she stood there in front of me, she wasn’t sorrowful over what she hadn’t been experiencing – she was smiling because she was now experiencing it and had realized it was possible for her!
Although we hadn’t realized it, while we were bringing her into our home and our family, we had been giving her something that was missing in her life. In doing that, we had given Faith hope. Hope for her future. Hope that she could have a family, and there could be a mom and a dad together. Hope that life could be shared with the ones you love.
After a few months Faith moved away, and we never heard from her again. I sometimes wonder how her life has turned out. Our desire for her is that she has found the happiness she longed for, the family she wanted, and peace. I thank God for the opportunity to accept that little girl into our home and life for those few months, and for the lesson it taught me about giving hope. I also pray that the time we spent sharing our lives and our trust in God with her have had a lasting effect in her life, and that she is walking in the love and freedom that Jesus can provide.
Show a Person Hope and Change a Life
Giving people hope doesn’t have to involve a sermon. It can come through many ways, but at the core it must come from a caring heart. Depending on where you are and who you are talking to, you may not have the ability to share the hope of Christ at the beginning – but realize Jesus didn’t always start off with His Good News either. He understood that people are not all the same, and while some are expectant of Good News, others must be lovingly led to it.
With this in mind here are 3 principles to keep in mind that have served me well over the years
Show a person that hope exists.
When a person is in a situation where they see no way out, they see no hope. Hope does not exist to them – only survival. We meet their physical needs, showing them compassion from our side, but also that all is not lost on their side.
Show them that hope exists for them, personally.
People want to know that there is a tomorrow for them. They also want to see that tomorrow be meaningful. Everyone wants to have a future, and a reason to believe it can be full of good and possibilities. We have an opportunity to show them that their life has meaning, purpose, and hope.
Show then where their true hope comes from.
Once we have helped a person see that hope exists and there is a hope for them, we are then in a position to be able to effectively share with them where their true hope comes from – Jesus.
Use these to help you effectively gauge where people are and how to best help them. Some people know that hope exists for them and are waiting for someone to lead them to the truth. Others have been through so much that they are doubting that there is any hope in the world. Their situation may require you to feed them, clothe them, and be patient with the process. The old saying “People don’t care what you have to say until they see how much you care” fits here. Ultimately, the goal is to bring them to a place of stability, and to lead them to a relationship with the Lord.
The name of the person you give hope to may not be Faith. It may be Bob, Candace, Darius or Yuri. Whatever the case, the world is full of people looking for hope, and the hope you carry in you is the answer that they are looking for. Share it with someone, and watch a life change.
