Hoping for Hope | Kyle McMurray Coaching, LLC

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Do you know the importance of hope? Let me ask this in a different way. Have you ever been in a situation where you just see no other answer and you’ve given up? Then you’ve found that Hope is important. Hope is like refined jet fuel for the soul. It drives us. It gives us life. It provides endurance, when in dire circumstances will be the only reason victory is possible. I have something very special to share with you today about Hope. You’re listening to Living the Freedom Life, this is Episode 102 and today we are talking about Hoping for Hope.

In the 1950’s Dr. Curt Richter, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore conducted a study, it was quite brutal, in fact I’ll spare some of the details but hopefully still communicate the accurate outcome of his findings and conclusion.

He had two groups of mice. All who were once from the wild but he took one group and domesticated them. I’m not sure how you would do that, but that is what his research paper said. I’ll have a link in the show notes for you.

Now, Richter took, let’s call them “the wild” group of mice and he put one in a glass of water that was filled to the point where the mouse had to swim. After a certain amount of time the mouse’s demise was documented for a baseline of about 40 minutes.

His next step was to take another mouse from the same group, put it in the glass of water and just before “the time would expire”, he tried to grab the mouse out of the glass, to save him. Now, because the mouse was one from “the wild” group of mice, that mouse fought, clawed and bit him. Eventually, also expiring. The mouse was acting alone and the fight for survival took over. Sure, he lasted a little longer but only by a few more minutes.

Then came the other group of mice which were domesticated. They had grown used to human interaction by being fed, groomed and educated through various mouse educational things that you do with mice, I guess.

The first mouse was put into the glass, filled with the same amount of water, and the same outcome, it too, lasted about 40 minutes.

The next mouse was put into the same glass of water. As Dr. Richter approached 40 minutes for the mouse to swim, he grabbed the mouse out of the water just before he drowned. He let him out for about 5 minutes. And then, he puts the mouse right back into the water to swim.

I know your heart is feeling for that mouse, but let that little guy really teach you something today.

How long do you think he lasted, swimming in that glass of water after he was rescued?

Another 10 minutes? 15? How about 30 minutes, or even a whole hour!? Well, I wish I could tell you that. But he didn’t.

You see, that mouse was equipped with hope and a connection to the one who could save him. Now, the one who could save the mouse was a human. I want to be clear, God will never leave us like Dr. Richter did. Even King David said that in all of his years, he never saw the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread. Psa 37:25

Hope is a powerful thing. It keeps us going when we think we can’t last any longer. Hope drives us past that point of what we think we can do. Hope is also what makes the victory so much sweeter.

Everyone loves a good story line of the hero getting themselves into a situation where all hope is seemed to be lost, until that pivotal moment where there is one act of hope cues the orchestra to triumphantly blast and announce the victory.

You see, I don’t know where you are today. I’m not sure of what type of situation you are in. I’m not even sure if you have any hope left or not. But what I can tell you is that Hope is our life line. When a person has lost their hope, there is nothing else that matters. Giving up is the best option, and for some, that may mean to just stop swimming and trying to simply survive. Sinking down into the glass may seem like the only option some people have today. Check on those you love today. See where they are in their hope. Hope is powerful. We can get into where is your hope another time. But if you have no hope, I want to share something about the power of hope with you today.

Do you want to know how long that mouse lasted when he was equipped with HOPE?

I’m not making this up, you can look for yourselves.

Once he was rescued and given Hope, that mouse swam for another 60…HOURS. Yes! Hours. Not minutes. He didn’t swim for another measly 60 minutes, but he kept being driven with the hope for another 60 hours. That is almost three days. Without the consideration of food or anything else, he was driven by his hope.

Hope is a powerful thing and once you’ve lost it, been shown true hope, it now reveals itself to have more power than you ever dreamed.

You see, when empowered with Hope, you are greater than you can ever imagine. You can achieve greater things than you believe you can.

Don’t give up. No matter what you do, don’t ever give up. There is Hope.

If you need help with this today, please reach out to us. We can help.

I know we are out of time for this episode, but remember we give away what we have, let’s make sure we receive life. Living the Freedom Life, this is Kyle.