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Content warning: Mention of suicide ideation
“What do we live for, if not hope?”
What is hope to you?
Is it being optimistic while trying to overcome one of life’s tidal waves? The tiny voice that whispers when you feel there’s nothing you could do? Knowing that what you’re facing now is just a small part of the big picture?
Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen, said to be something very raw and human. In times of dread and weight digging into our shoulders, we cling to a thread of hope, believing that it will all work out in the end.
I decided to conduct this written interview as a follow-up to my previous article about Faith, exploring the topic of Hope through people from various backgrounds, offering their insights on hope in their lives.
Let’s read on, shall we?
1) What is hope to you? What role does it play in your life?
Berry: Growing up, hope has always been portrayed as optimism and steadfast willpower in the face of dread and uncertainty. Whether it’s praying for a better outcome, time or life, hope is the power within oneself to persevere and will it to existence. However, as I grew up, I now see hope as the simple wish of having things play out the way one would like to see in the future.
Ultimately, it is the force pushing people into working for the future even when it’s confusing and messy, and even when it feels like the world is not in your favor. For me, it’s not something I actively think about, but looking back, I always subconsciously hoped for something in some ways, and it’s what keeps me from giving up and looking forward to what the future brings.
Grace: Hope is something I try my best to hold onto. Some friends have said that I am rather hopeful or optimistic in my nature. In all, I try to think of the brighter side of things. It helps keep me afloat, similarly, that my hope in Christ will bring me through whatever I’m dealing with in life.
Ophel Fu: Hope is that still small voice that tells you to give love/life another shot when you are 24 stories up sitting on a window ledge, it is the driving force that guides someone to a potentially better tomorrow.
Lastminute: The longer I live, the more evident it is that I was not created to live for this world. The confidence that something greater is to come, is the hope I have now. And it gives me security that I am free to live, and free to not have my way always.
2) Do you think hope is something that can be nurtured, or cultivated?
Berry: I think the best we can do is simply plant the seeds for the concept of “hope” to, not just children, but other adults as well. I believe there are many things in this world that have to be taught through time and experience, and I think “hope” is one of those things. However, I believe it benefits to spread the concept itself, and it is even better to uphold it as a community, in hopes that others may someday come to their own conclusions of what hope is to them and bring a better future for everyone.
Grace: In all honesty, I believe it’s both. We try to keep it alive as the storm blows and at the same time, we attempt to create space for it, to let it grow and flourish before us. It isn’t easy at all, but it’s the trying that matters. If we practise and continue to put in the work, surely it will sustain. And when that occurs, one should try to grow it as things go.
Ophel Fu: Hope itself is not something that can be nurtured/cultivated, but you can nurture/cultivate your accessibility to it.
Lastminute: Nobody listens to one TED Talk, and has their life turned upside down. Nobody goes to drug rehab once, and has his addiction solved. Hope, just like everything else can and should be cultivated through consistency. Not only in the absence of failure, but the presence of progression keeps one continuing on hope. Keep on trying, keep on the therapy, keep on visiting the doctor, keep on committing to that person, keep on praying; and then hope will persist.
3) In what ways can hope help us push forward when we are stuck or feeling overwhelmed?
Berry: I believe hope gives us the ability to be able to look for the light at the end of the tunnel, helps to maintain our morale in tough times, and prevents us from giving up and falling into a dark hole that feels inescapable. It can act as the final string pulling ourselves up when everything else feels like a lost cause, but it is enough to push us to see through it all.
Grace: In a way similar to how a lamp flickers but still holds out to bring light, hope keeps me going. It’s like choosing to focus on the good, that I know something better is waiting ahead, these grey days aren’t the end.
Knowing there’s hope in Jesus Christ helps remind me that He meets me where I am, walking with me at my pace during my journey and everything in between. Whatever I do and wherever I go, the Lord is with me and I take comfort in that knowledge.
Psalm 27:14 (ESV)
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
Ophel Fu: Hope offers a thought invitation of “empowering freedom” to choose for ourselves and subsequently the world (collectively), a new phenomenological view or pre-sent lived experience. It renders any obstacles as non-existent. As anything you ask for, you shall receive, just not within your own expected timeframe or unless you stop asking for it.
Lastminute: In relation to hope as an assurance, it pushes us to take one more step, and another, and another. Sometimes one more step is all it takes. It’s like a child, scared to take a step, but he steps boldly knowing if anything happens, his dad is right there to catch him.
4) When hope feels distant or out of grasp, what do you do to rekindle it?
Berry: For me, if things feel hopeless, it is most likely a signifier that I need to take some kind of break from whatever I was doing. At least in my case, hopelessness has been commonly followed with burnout, so taking a break to re-energize myself can help to rekindle my hope.
Grace: It’s moments like this where I try to cling onto my faith, that I trust that it will go according to His plan. It isn’t always easy, but I try in different ways. Whether it’s reaching out to someone or something else, what’s important is to take that first step and ask for help. I also find that sitting with myself helps me understand my own thought process.
There’s a verse that brings me out of a slump, it doesn’t always, but it’s enough. Knowing the message behind it brings me comfort and reassures that whatever it is, His plans are good for me, and this rekindles my hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Ophel Fu: Mindfully remember the eternal and everlasting goodness and know that it is something you can choose to strive towards to become reality, all while re-membering you are disembodied spirits choosing to be in physicality to experience it all.
Lastminute: Seek help. No one should be judged for not staying hopeful and positive all the time. When all odds are against us, seek to understand if there’s more to this, on top of our wants. And if our hope tends to fail in satisfying our wants, there must be a better hope.
5) Having a community is helpful when a person faces a challenge in their life. How does a community or a sense of togetherness foster hope during times of hardship?
Berry: Having a community that shares the same hope can help when one has a shoulder to lean on when they feel down. It can be very challenging to maintain hope by ourselves when our thoughts are isolated from others, creating a space for doubt to fester, so sharing our hope with others is reassuring to us, and everyone else within the community, that we are not fighting a lone battle. After all, humans as a group are stronger than when we are alone.
Grace: For almost everything, a community does wonders for support. It’s a pillar of strength, a listening ear one can turn to. Being alone only emphasises the idea that we have no one but ourselves, while having people beside us tears us away from that mindset. This support and companionship is a strong factor to fuel hope in one’s life.
Similarly, this walk in Christ isn’t meant to be journeyed alone, we’re meant to come together and grow and mature in our faith. The fellowships remind us that we’re not alone, and we can journey the path together. It brings hope that despite our different circumstances, we can spur each other on and learn things together.
Ophel Fu: The community fosters hope through the collective psyche, like how a singular chopstick is easy to break while a bundle of them is harder to break. A singular mind is very easily coerced (through temptation) to change its previously chosen choices, while being with like-minded individuals all striving towards that eternal and everlasting goodness. You’d be constantly reminded of who you really are, and why you should continuously and constantly choose to do what you have chosen.
Lastminute: Togetherness in hope results in more effort into realizing the hope. More ideas, more ways, more energy etc. can be beneficial. Even if they do not agree with our ways of hope, people offer different perspectives, and people who know you well, might help you in ways you didn’t know you needed.
6) Do you think faith and hope are connected? In what ways, and how has that shaped your own understanding or experience of hope in your life?
Berry: I do believe that faith and hope are strongly interconnected with each other. After all, our hope in life can be drawn from our faiths, and our loss of hope can cause a loss in faith. For me, I believe that having faith in myself is the source of my hope when doing anything.
Because if I don’t have confidence in myself that I can achieve something, I will lose any driving force to achieve anything and get to where I am today. I feel that witnessing others losing faith in themselves has cemented this mindset, and I wish to persevere and achieve what I want in life.
Grace: I think that the two are inextricably linked. Without faith, it can be hard to hope and vice versa. Having faith is placing trust in what’s coming, while having hope is anticipating that what’s coming is better than the present. They give meaning to each other because believing without hope seemingly erases the goodness in faith, and hoping without belief means we wish for things but have no solid ground to stand on.
A friend who faced a struggle once told me, she had faith but not hope. It hit really hard because I completely understood what she meant. Although I try to surrender and have faith in what plans God has in store for me, I sometimes find it difficult to see a way through.
What if I’m a fake and I don’t actually believe? Am I listening to God’s voice or just making it up? Discerning feels so foreign to me and I doubt so much of it.
Although it weighs heavy, I still try to trust Him, that He knows what’s best for me. And in this waiting, I hope that what’s in store is good, for He knows things beyond what I could ever understand.
Ophel Fu: Hope is like seeing a light/star in the distance, while faith is like despite anything you know you’ll get to that light. If you have faith without hope, you’ll be walking in circles. Conversely, if you have hope without faith, then the imagined light is just a pie in the sky idea.
Lastminute: It’s the level of trust and confidence that separates them. Tis because faith is grounded by a firm belief, while hope can often be personal and emotional. If faith existed without hope, we live in complacency, “Because [a belief] already say liao ma, whatever happens, liddat lo, no need to be all emo wat.”.
If hope existed without faith, we live by coincidence, no one ought for it to happen, and no one knows why it happened, “Eh it actually happened, dun know how, but lucky sia.”.
Faith gives purpose/meaning to hope, and hope gives life to faith. And Jesus said in John 10:10 (NIV), “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Not only do I believe (faith) my life has been purposefully given, I believe (hope) it will bring great satisfaction.
Drawing this article to a close, hope is essential to our lives, its impact and meaning shaping our views as we know it. Hope gives us life, a sense of motivation and purpose. It helps us vision and reach a better future ourselves, pushing us to endure and build character.
Believe it or not, there’s a holiday that is all about hope and life.
Easter, the indicator of spring, flowers and all things pastel, eggs painted in colourful shades, supermarkets displaying chocolate rabbits. Sure, it’s an egg-citing occasion but Easter holds much more than that.
It’s an entire celebration with Good Friday, Holy Saturday and finally, Easter Sunday. Christians gather to remember and celebrate the hope they have in Christ, for it is due to His love and sacrifice that they are redeemed and reconciled to pursue a personal relationship with God.
The resurrection has given Christians around the world hope in the eternal life they will share with God in heaven, their debt paid on the cross. This act defeating death and restoring hope to humanity that all is not lost. Because He lives, they live too.
Nonetheless of your faith, it’s definitely important for one to have hope, for there are always better days to come. Reach out, tell a friend, there are always ways to pull yourself up and dust yourself from the ground. It is temporary, and isn’t always the end.
After all, life isn’t just the obstacles we stumble over; it’s also the trying and the failing. And more importantly, it’s the desire to improve things, hoping that what’s next is better than what we have in our hands now.
Hebrews 6:19 (NIV)
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Written By: Zhen Li
