Accessing and Engaging Hope in Lostness

I DISCOVERED today, when meeting with someone in a counselling setting, that there is the possibility that we can feel lost in the midst of what is otherwise a very positive life. Feeling lost is not exclusive to those who live without hope. On the contrary, for some, feeling lost means there is a lack of purpose or direction, though everything otherwise is perfectly okay.

Accessing and engaging hope in our lostness is an attractive option, which is also an understatement. Of all things we can do to invest in, it is hope that secures us that sustaining confidence we need in plunging through the lostness of our current experience. Feeling lost may even be a crucial indicator of the soul’s inner desire and burgeoning passion to provide the energy and wherewithal to negotiate the next frontier.

This process of examination – where we have the opportunity to reflect and plan – is the soul’s enquiry into itself; us, into ourselves.

Fuelled with hope, sustained by passion to find our way, we push ever gently forward on that unique and critical pathway our Lord has paved for us. How do we know what this pathway looks like? It looks exactly like the steps we take. It looks precisely like the decisions we make. It looks just like our future looks as it unfolds. And whilst we discern the Lord, God is with us by our efforts of obedience.

Using the Past to Direct the Future

There is a vast beauty in the being of the person who has, relatively advanced in years, found their purpose in wanting the best of life to come.

Would God ever limit us in our desire to live the best of life? No! God desires that we live the abundant life, because God’s nature is to multiply blessing.

Whatever past we have, we amend it toward healing, or we appreciate the things we have to be thankful for. With life experience in tow, we are incredibly grateful for the things we have learned, and with this sort of attitude, we relegate our regrets to the kind of reflection that helps us let go.

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Hope will spur us on, even when we feel lost, because it gives us confidence on loan. And such a confidence never disappoints. Hope will see us through, eventually, if we do not give up. With hope nothing can conquer us. Hope sustains our search for purpose, direction, and meaning.

© 2013 S. J. Wickham.