GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: April 13, 2026

Hope

Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrating it for everything that it is. (Mandy Hale, blogger and author)

When life doesn’t give us all that we hope for, we may be inclined to think we have failed. That kind of mindset will surely lead to depression and unproductive living. As Hale suggests, perhaps we would be happier if we stopped wishing things were different and began to appreciate things as they are and the opportunities we may have to improve on them.

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live (Ecclesiastes 3:12).

Stop & Think: April 12, 2026

Hope

Societies are changed from the bottom up, not the top down. (John Naisbitt, author and public speaker

In each election cycle we tend to place our hope in a candidate, expecting that he or she can bring change and improvement to our society. As Naisbitt points out, however, lasting change must come from the citizens themselves. Our involvement is the best hope for significant change. And meaningful change begins with our own hearts.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think (Romans 12:2).

Stop & Think: April 11, 2026

Hope

Let your dreams, not your regrets, take command of your life. (Robert Schuller, late TV preacher)

Many people seem to be so wrapped up in things that didn’t go right—their failures and disappointments—that progress in their lives has almost come to a halt. Schuller encourages us to think of what we’d like to see happen. He says, “Build a dream, and the dream will build you.” Dreams build hope. It’s better to dream and look to the future than to live a life of regrets.

In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short (Proverbs 24:14).

Stop & Think: April 10, 2026

Hope

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in. (Greek proverb)

Gardeners and farmers like to see their plants grow and produce in a single season. Landscape architects’ plans have a more distant horizon. They think long-term, envisioning a full-grown scene with both perennials and annuals. Likewise, wise people think and plan beyond the immediate future. They hope to make a lasting difference.

Your future is bright and filled with a living hope that will never fade away (Proverbs 23:18).

Stop & Think: April 9, 2026

Hope

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. (William Bruce Cameron, author)

Cameron may be a humorist, but his comment here carries a significant message. So much of what people count on (money, jobs, emotional fulfillment) can be taken away with devastating consequences. The more secure and trustworthy the foundations are, the more things that can’t be measured or counted—like love, faith, and hope—can be trusted. You can count on them.

Now these three remain: faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Stop & Think: April 8, 2026

Hope

There is no future in any job. The future lies in the person who holds the job. (George Crane, late newspaper columnist.)

Graduates often pin their hopes on finding just the right job, the one that promises security and a successful future. In reality, while having the job one is truly fitted for is important, the critical issue is the employee. The job’s success depends more on the character and persistence of the worker than the job description.

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 (Jeremiah 29:11).

Stop & Think: April 7, 2026

Hope

There is one thing which gives radiance to everything. It is the idea of something around the corner. (G. K. Chesterton, British apologist)

Life has its ups and downs for all of us. There are times when we feel really hopeless, thinking that nothing will ever be right again. But Chesterton reminds us that there is always tomorrow, always another day for things to improve, for our circumstances to change for the better. Wait expectantly with hope that tomorrow will bring a good new beginning.

Anyone who is among the living has hope. . . . There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Ecclesiastes 9:4; Proverbs 23:18).

Stop & Think: April 6, 2026

Hope

The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in. (A. E. Housman, English poet)

It’s easy to let your mind run away with you and dream dreams that are fanciful, fun, and pleasing to pursue. Since they have no real substance, such dreams are of little value except for momentary pleasure. When reality sets in, they are blown away as if in a windstorm. It’s better to keep our hopes in the realm of reality. Dream big but plan well.

Before you do anything, put your trust totally in God and not in yourself. Then every plan you make will succeed (Proverbs 16:3).

Stop & Think: April 5, 2026

Hope

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible. (Anonymous)

The word faith has a variety of meanings, and is often very difficult to define. To have faith is to trust in something or someone. Of course, that faith is only as good as the one you’re trusting. The Bible asserts that faith must be placed in an invisible but ever-present God. Such faith is rewarded with unexplainable peace and hope.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Stop & Think: April 4, 2026

Hope

Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America. (Dwight D. Eisenhower, late US president)

What Eisenhower said about America would be true of any nation and its people. The bigger question, however, is “What is the source of hope?” It would be misplaced in governments and social structures. But, like the word faith, hope can be found only in the God of hope who gives joy and peace along with overflowing hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Stop & Think: April 3, 2026

Hope

Christians do not hope for something; they hope in someone. (John Stonestreet, apologist)

Stonestreet’s hope is based on the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a fundamental Christian doctrine. The Bible teaches that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, Christian faith is in vain, worthless. But the evidence of His resurrection is overwhelming, and the believer’s faith in Jesus is a certainty, not mere wishful thinking.

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1).

Stop & Think: April 2, 2026

Hope

One must not tie a ship to a single anchor, nor life to a single hope. (Epictetus, ancient Greek philosopher)

While the rest of us might wrestle with applying this metaphor, seamen will understand the philosopher’s reference to the value of multiple anchors. It surely would be a grave mistake to tie one’s life to a single hope if that hope is misplaced or untrustworthy. The good news is that the Bible presents a single hope that holds promise for life and beyond.

This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven (Hebrews 6:19).