\Believe 25: HOPE

Believe 25:  HOPE

Objective:  To learn how to be resilient in challenging situations.

Preparing for the Lesson:

Be in prayer as you read the following:  Hebrews 6:19-20, Genesis 12:1-4, Hebrews 11:1, Ecclesiastes 1:14, Romans 8:24-25, Hebrews 12:1-2, Colosssians 3:2, Psalm 31:24 and Psalm 33:20-22.

The Journey of BELIEVE 25:  Hope

My Thoughts:

• To develop a greater sense of hope, we need to: Method 1 - Envision Our Life:  Figure out how we want our life to look, compare our ideal vision to our present life, consider whether we have realistic or unrealistic expectations for our lives and set some goals for ourselves.  Method 2 - Developing Hope: Acknowledge our strengths, cultivate supportive relationships, engage in pleasurable activities, get involved with a cause, put ourselves in more diverse situations, keep tract of our thought and feelings in a journal and take care of ourselves.  Method 3 - Dealing with Anxiety and Hopelessness:  Identify symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, address our anxiety about the future, notice when lack of hope becomes all-pervading hopelessness and consider visiting a mental health professional.  Method 4 - Understanding Hope:  Think about what it means to have hope, realize that we need to work on our attitude every day, learn to challenge our negative thoughts rather than ignore them and recognize that we need to be resilient in challenging situations.

What are your thoughts?  I would love it if you would post your thoughts in the comments section.

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I praise You because You are the source of my Hope.  Help me to be happy, even in times of suffering, because it will prove the genuineness of my faith.  In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.