The word hope occurs sixteen times in the book of Job, but most of the references are about how Job lost hope during his multiple tragedies. He said, “What strength do I have, that I should hope?” (Job 6:11) And he said, “He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; my hope He has uprooted like a tree” (Job 19:10).

Any of us can lose hope when we’re having difficulties and not sure what God is doing in our lives. We can lose hope because others have mistreated us or even because of our own mistakes. When we’re feeling sorry for ourselves and sinking into discouragement, we’re letting the biblical quality of hope erode in our minds.

If this is true for you, read in the first chapter of 1 Peter about our “living hope” that comes from God’s abundant mercy (1:3), about the importance of resting our hope fully on God’s grace (1:13), and about projecting our hope forward in anticipation of Christ’s return (1:21).

Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.
John Maxwell