Blind Hope

“Nothing could be worse than hope that is hopeless.” _Richard C. Halverson, No Greater Power: Perspective for Days of Pressure

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There are times in our lives that one of the best things that can happen to us is that we completely lose hope.

Hopeless people are dangerous people. They do drastic things. They become fearless. And this can be a very positive thing.

Perhaps you’ve heard of “blind faith”. This is another way of saying groundless faith–faith that is not based on evidence, reality, or rationality.

The same thing can be said about hope–you can have blind hope.

You can…

• hang on to old methods that no longer work hoping that somehow they will
• hang on to caustic relationships that are eating you alive hoping that somehow things will get better
• hang on at a dead end job hoping that eventually things will get better
• without changing how you handle your finances, you can hope that miraculously someday, somehow you will get out of debt, save money, and have a secure retirement.
• without changing how you eat and exercise you can hope against hope that you will be healthy and live a long life.
• Etc., etc., etc.

We all face this temptation…the hanging on desperately to groundless hope.

But there are no tooth fairies or princes in shining armor to save the day, and the calvary is not coming and neither is your ship sailing into the harbor.

Hope, based on justifiable evidence, is a good thing and can keep you going for a long, long time. Groundless hope, on the other hand, is dragging you inch by inch, day by day away from real opportunities and progress and towards regrets and a wasted life.

Yes, sometimes the best thing that could happen is to lose hope and become desperate enough, fearless enough to take the necessary steps to really and truly change.

The ONE THING for today: Groundless hope is a terrible strategy.

What are the reasons for your hope? If your reasons do not merit the kind of hope you’re giving them…then it’s time to lose hope and look elsewhere.