Skip to main content

7 facts about hope

LESSONS in HOPE and SPIRITUALITY


The psychology of hope owes much to the thinking and research of the late C. R.Snyder (2002). His research suggested two components.  Hope involves thinking about ways to achieve goals and objectives (pathways). And hope includes those motivational thoughts that energize people to use the identified pathways to reach their goals (agency thinking).

1. Hope links to compassion.
People high in hope are also more compassionate (Sutton et al., 2014). People full of hope love to share their hope with others. People in despair have lost hope and are in desperate need of hearing a message of hope. Hopelessness is in fact a diagnostic feature of clinical depression. Many find hope in the meaning provided through religious faith, including Christianity.

2. Hope links to forgiveness.
People with higher hope scores also score higher on trait forgiveness (Sutton et al., 2014). Hope promotes forgiveness in people. And people who learn forgiveness experience increased hope (Wade et al., 2014). Forgivingness is a way of living that continually lets go of past hurts. People who habitually forgive are free to focus on the present and the future unfettered by old wounds. Hope is a future focused motivational attitude. Hopeful people look forward rather than backward. Forgiveness provides a ground for hope. It is hard to hope for a better future when chained to the hurts of yesteryear.

3. Hope connects people to God.
I and my colleagues found that more hopeful people were significantly less anxious about their relationship with God (Sutton et al., 2014). Throughout the world, people hope in God or spiritual beings. People pray, offer sacrifices, and seek to connect with God. Committed Christians come expectantly to God and feel secure in their relationship. People losing hope feel insecure and struggle in their relationship with God.

4. Hope connects people to people.
When visiting a refugee camp in Kenya, I was pleased to see a U.S. charity from my city was also there giving away bags of rice. The apt name, Convoy of Hope, did indeed offer hope in a compassionate way to people who had lost all they had as they fled from machete wielding warriors (Sutton, 2012). Meeting people's needs offers hope.

Kenyan refugees about to receive rice from Convoy of Hope

5. Hope thrives on gratitude.
The hope of children is in their parents. And the hope of parents is in their children. We are interdependent but the balance of dependence shifts from infancy to advancing age. Smiles and squeals of delights reveal a toddler’s wordless gratitude for a trip to a playground. A smile and a thank you from an elderly person provide evidence that the visit she hoped for met her needs for companionship. Without gratitude, hope is lost. Taking children or visiting an elderly relative becomes a chore. The intergenerational connections become chains of obligations rather than blessed pathways of hope.

6. Hope links to effective spiritual service.
Hopeful people report high levels of effective service (Sutton et al., 2014). Leading, teaching, and caring for others requires energy and a belief that what one is doing helps others. People involved in service have hope that they are making a difference in the lives of others. Helping others seems like an investment in the future. All investments are borne of hope.

  Hope is like planting seeds to reap a bountiful harvest.

7. Hope leads to goal achievement.
Hope leads to achievement in many areas. Here's a quote from hope expert, C. R. Snyder: "Higher hope consistently is related to better outcomes in academics, athletics, physical health, psychological adjustment, and psychotherapy." 

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

RESOURCES

Copy of the Hope Scale http://www.sgiquarterly.org/feature2006Jan-2.html

RELATED POSTS

Hope and marriage 


REFERENCES

Snyder, C.R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249-275. Link to abstract.

Sutton, G. W. (2012). Refugee center: Kenya. Recorder. 55, 36. (Link to the Recorder http://www.alphachihonor.org/tasks/sites/default/assets/file/flipbook/2012FallRecorder/files/inc/592343290.pdf )  Academia Link

Sutton, G. W., Jordan, K., & Worthington, E.L., Jr. (2014). Spirituality, hope, compassion, and forgiveness: Contributions of Pentecostal spirituality to godly love. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 33, 212-226.  ResearchGate

Wade, N. G., Hoyt, W. T., Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Kidwell, J. E. M. (2014). Metaanalysis of psychotherapeutic interventions to promote forgiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82, 154-170. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SPIRITUAL ABUSE: An Investigation

Investigating Spiritual Harassment and Abuse  WP Post Article In an exclusive article, Ian Shapira reported on problems within the US Anglican Church (2025, October 24). Two leaders in the Anglican church are identified early in the WP report.    [Ruch, who has been a bishop for 12 years, is one of two top leaders in the continent’s Anglican denomination confronting allegations of wrongdoing. The other is its senior-most official, Archbishop Stephen Wood. A married father of four sons, Wood, 62, has been accused by a former employee of trying to kiss her last year inside his church office in South Carolina, according to a new church presentment, which The Washington Post obtained in advance of its Monday submission. The accusations, which include plagiarizing sermons and demeaning colleagues, could prompt an ecclesiastical trial against Wood and his removal from ministry, according to the denomination’s laws. (Shapira, 2025).] ***** My concern is for people who have exper...
Post a Comment
Read more

Marriage Under Reconstruction

The 1950s imaginary sentimental love man as protein-carbs winner (bring home the bacon & breadwinner) marriage has ended for most people in most Western cultures. Some folks retain that image, or some photoshopped version of it, as the ideal traditional marriage.  Picture the happy couple at church with King James Bibles under their arms and you get the Protestant Christian version of this traditional marriage. Changes are a constant The changes in marriage and romantic relationships in the last few decades are staggering for anyone alive before the 1960s. Human behavior is my business. I am a psychologist. The counseling advice offered to couples seems to reflect the mythology of the decade rather than recommendations sourced in science. I would like to say that the nature and extent of the changes in marriage and romantic relationships have never been seen before in human history. But I am no historian. Nevertheless, the changes call for some consider...
4 comments
Read more

EASTER: VARIATIONS IN BELIEF

Differences in Religious & Spiritual Beliefs Relevant to the Easter Story By Geoffrey W. Sutton, Ph.D. at suttong.com Like most Christians, my wife and I attend an Easter Service. And, a s usual, the media rise to the Spring occasion with Bible stories, comments from various religious leaders and a few atheists—just to keep things balanced. Other religions are on the back burner until Monday. So many statements of beliefs come from the Easter events.  For now, here’s a sample of some core beliefs from various sources. God: 51% believe in God as in the Bible Statista (May, 2023) reported US belief "in God as described in holy scriptures" at 51%. Another 22% reported a belief in a higher power or spirit. Pew researchers from 2021 find 58% believe in God as described in the Bible and another 32% believe in a God or Higher Power.  Belief in God is obviously a core belief. U.S. belief has declined to 58% having no doubt God exists and another 17% have do...
Post a Comment
Read more