Chapter 1: Causes of Hopelessness

So many today struggle with discouragement, despair and hopelessness. Sometimes it seems this world is designed to suck every last ounce of hope out of us.

Note: If you are in the midst of hopelessness, you can skip this chapter! Go directly to Chapter 2 for some immediate practical tips and Chapter 3 for the deeper, lasting hope we all yearn for.

“One of the saddest concepts in any language is contained in the word hopeless,” says longtime minister and Foundation Institute instructor David Johnson. When people have “reached a point in life where they have lost all hope, that is tragic and indescribably painful. It can happen on a battlefield or in a hospital room; in a marriage or when we feel indescribably alone; when we’ve given our very best and know it still won’t be good enough, or when we know we failed to give our best and others are going to suffer because of our inadequacy.”

Hopelessness can attack people from many different directions, but at its core it consists of:

The terrible circumstances can have many roots: abuse, family dysfunction, poverty, injustice, being cheated, oppression, social isolation, alienation, loneliness, etc. These can lead to anxiety, counterproductive thoughts and addictions, depression, apathy and suicidal thoughts.

The awful conditions we face might be visible to all, but they can also be hidden and our suffering invisible to those around us.

In addition to external factors, some people are also genetically predisposed to lower levels of serotonin, one of the neurotransmitters in the brain that affects mood, which can set them up for low-grade depression or a slightly negative filter for viewing the world.

Feeling there’s no way out

No matter how bad things are, people seem to be able to deal with them when they have hope. When they can see a light at the end of the tunnel. When they know the suffering and deprivation will end.

But we become swallowed up by hopelessness when all the paths to a better future seem to be blocked, one after another. When the light at the end of the tunnel goes out. When nothing but darkness surrounds us.

For example, researchers have found that repeated emotional abuse in childhood can produce feelings of helplessness that persist and can become a negative pattern of thinking. These can make people more vulnerable to depression and hopelessness.

The overwhelming feeling that there is no way out, no escape, chokes us. It terrifies us. And over time it can turn from sharp pain to a persistent, agonizing apathy, helplessness and hopelessness.

Coping mechanisms gone wild

In our downward spiral into hopelessness, often we grab on to anything that might seem to mask the pain or help us get by. Alcohol and drugs and other addictions might seem to produce temporary relief, but in the end they only accelerate the process. Now we have the costs and effects of the addiction to deal with on top of everything else.

And too often the addictions themselves can be deadly. Public health experts in the United States talk of a hopelessness epidemic fueling the opioid and suicide crises.

Princeton economists Sir Angus Deaton and Anne Case say opioid overdoses, suicides and alcoholism-related diseases are often “deaths of despair.” “We think of opioids as something that’s thrown petrol on the flames and made things infinitely worse, but the underlying deep malaise would be there even without the opioids,” says Professor Deaton (WBUR.org).

Harvard economics professor David Cutler points out that the problems can be related to the lack of a sense of purpose in life. “That is, even if one is doing well financially, is there a sense that one is contributing in a meaningful way?” (ibid.).

Hopelessness and suicide

As an extreme byproduct, chronic hopelessness can take away the will to live. It can blind people to the reality that things can and will change. The Mayo Clinic gives this good advice:

“When life doesn’t seem worth living anymore, it may seem that the only way to find relief is through suicide. When you’re feeling this way, it may be hard to believe, but you do have other options.

“Take a step back and separate your emotions from your actions for the moment.

(Note: If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, in the U.S. contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. For other countries, see suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html.)

If you are feeling hopeless, you are not alone

We can feel isolated, strange, like no one can understand us. But realize that hopelessness is not a rare and isolated condition. You are not alone.

“There is not racial or ethnic domination of hopelessness. It’s everywhere,” said Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier.

And it is not unique to our age, though the conditions that contribute to it do seem to be intensifying and the support structures that protect against it—families, churches and close-knit communities—are in decline.

Yet even in Bible times, many faced such feelings. Job talked of days “spent without hope” (Job 7:6). Solomon wrote of trying to find meaning in things, experiences and even people, but concluding it was all futility—like trying to get a handful of wind (Ecclesiastes 2:17).

His father, David, said, “Our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope” (1 Chronicles 29:15). David understood the hopelessness of this transitory life—without God. But in many other passages he revealed where he found peace and real hope. See the sidebar “A Source of Encouragement” at the end of this chapter for encouraging quotes from David and others that can help lift us out of hopelessness.

Even Jesus Christ experienced horrendous circumstances—being betrayed, abandoned by His closest friends, tortured and enduring excruciating pain as He died. He understands the feeling of being forsaken, of suffering alone. He can “sympathize with our weaknesses” since He “was in all points tempted as we are” (Hebrews 4:15). He understands, listens and offers incredible help and unlimited hope. There’ll be more about this in chapter 3.

But first, in chapter 2 take a quick tour of some of the proven resources immediately available to help you break free from the vise grip of hopelessness.

A Source of Encouragement

God is love and is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (1 John 4:8; 2 Corinthians 1:3). One reason He gave us the Bible is to provide encouragement when we face the low points of life.

King David looked to God as the source of real hope and comfort:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

David also wrote about the loving care God offers to the downtrodden and vulnerable:

“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families” (Psalm 68:5-6).

We can be encouraged by the compassion of Jesus Christ:

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

He offers:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

The apostle Paul describes wonderful peace of mind God can provide:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The author of Hebrews sums it all up:

“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Find more encouraging passages in the “Encouraging Bible Verses” section of our Life, Hope & Truth website.