My Favorite Word

Where would we be without words? We might get tired of playing charades to communicate, for one thing. And those of us who enjoy word games like Scrabble or puzzles like Word Search would miss out on lots of fun.

You don’t have to be an expert communicator to know that words have power. They can sting or soothe, wound or heal, and even discourage or encourage. It’s a negative vs. positive choice.

Life gets better with positive self-talk. We don’t always have people around when faced with discouragement or options which all feel negative. When on our own, we need to encourage ourselves.

That’s why I love the word HOPE! There's an old saying: Where there’s life, there’s hope. A more truthful version might be this: Where there’s life, there’s the option of hope. Hope is not an automated response; it’s a purposeful choice.  

People of hope look to the future. They maintain their purpose and goals in the face of hardship. They focus forward with optimism, inspiration, and a never-give-up attitude.

Without hope, people become pessimistic, cynical, desperate, or despondent. They may seem unpleasant because they often refute attempts to cheer them up and prefer to ignore reasons to hope.

Here’s my favorite scripture about my favorite word: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13 ESV).

How do we get the benefits of such hope? By prayer, which is simply talking to God. 

Philippians 4:6-7 in The Message puts it this way: Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns . . .

It concludes with this thought: . . .  it’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. My hope starts there.