When Hope Feels Hard

I was eighteen years old, and I remember being able to breathe deeper with an outlook that seemed bright and full of possibilities. I didn’t have much direction yet, but I carried a general feeling of well-being — as if the future would work itself out in time.

The world didn’t feel so chaotic in the year 2000. Yes, there were wars overseas, political scandals, and the usual struggles of society, but things didn’t seem so reactionary. We weren’t as divided and polarized, forced to choose one side or the other at every turn.

I look at today’s eighteen-year-olds and wonder if they feel that same sense of hope. I’m not sure they do. And to be honest, I often struggle with it myself. I wrestle with seeing the lining of hope that our faith is supposed to secure.

So how do we get back there? How do we reclaim the hope we’ve lost when looking back seems better than looking forward?

The Bible says that hope is the anchor of our souls (Hebrews 6:19). Our hope is what fuels our faith, because “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

So hope isn’t optional — it’s vital if we’re going to move forward. Whether you call yourself a Christian or not, a society without hope is a society left with only fear… or worse, indifference.

But where does hope actually live? Happiness isn’t guaranteed. Depression rates and mental health struggles are at an all-time high. We’ve lost connection with others, and each day feels less like a confident march toward victory and more like a weary fight for survival.

The first answer, where we should get our truths and direction, is in God. Psalm 62:5 says, “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” In Romans 15:4, we’re reminded that hope is not instant — it grows as we endure and lean on God’s Word: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

The second answer is not to rely on our circumstances. This too shall pass is not just a phrase; it’s a perspective. Life is cyclical—seasons of strength and weakness, joy and sorrow, clarity and confusion. But the objective of life is not to escape the hard seasons; it is to press through them so that we can become the people God created us to be.

As Paul wrote in Romans 5:3 – 4: “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

The third answer is to remind yourself of all you’ve been able to push through in the past. Remind yourself how strong you are and how God brought you through what you’ve faced before. If He helped you then, won’t He do it now? If you’re still standing and breathing today, won’t you only be stronger after this?

Scripture reminds us of this truth over and over:

• “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

• “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (Isaiah 46:4).

• “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11–12).

Each promise pulls us back to the same foundation: if God has been faithful before, He will be faithful again.

So at eighteen, I could breathe deeper because hope felt natural. It was easy. Today, hope is harder. I know I’m not alone in that. Maybe you’ve felt the weight too — the fear, the uncertainty, the sense that tomorrow might not hold the promise it once did.

But hope isn’t gone. It isn’t lost in the chaos of our culture or buried under the weight of our worries. Hope is alive because the God who made us and carries us has not changed. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19).

So even if looking back feels easier than looking forward, we don’t have to live in fear. We can look ahead with confidence, not because circumstances promise better days, but because God Himself has promised never to leave us, to sustain us, and to carry us through.

And if He has done it before, He will do it again.