A Drowning Rat

 You may have heard of this "hope experiment."  Here's how Google describes it:

The famous "hope experiment" with rats, conducted by Curt Richter in the 1950s, showed that when rats placed in water were rescued just before drowning and given a brief rest, they would swim dramatically longer (up to 60 hours) upon reintroduction compared to rats that weren't rescued, demonstrating that the belief in potential rescue (hope) vastly increased their endurance and survival. Richter concluded that hopelessness, the belief that escape is impossible, leads to giving up quickly, while hope allows for extraordinary perseverance.  

The Experiment's Stages 

Initial Trial: 
Rats were placed in buckets of water and left to swim until they drowned, typically lasting about 15 minutes. 
Hope Introduction: 
When rats began to give up, Richter rescued them, dried them, and let them rest briefly. 
Second Trial: 
The same rats were returned to the water, but this time, they swam for exceptionally long periods, sometimes up to 60 hours, because they now believed rescue was possible. 

Key Findings 

Power of Belief: 
The rats didn't give up due to physical exhaustion in the first trial but because of hopelessness. 
Hope as a Motivator: 
The brief experience of being rescued instilled hope, transforming their response to the same stressful situation. 

Freepik.com

That's extraordinary! And it makes me realize that I don't give HOPE enough attention in my life. I put a lot of attention on faith (as I should!) but I forget that hope and faith work together. I use faith to move mountains but hope is really the one that gets me using faith to begin with. Hope, you can say, is the starter fluid for faith, because, see, if I don't believe that there's actually a possibility that I will get out of an impossible situation, why would I start applying my faith and begin shifting things?

But here's the thing about being a Christian. Our hope doesn't come from our own ability to change things or someone else's ability to change things. Our hope is rooted in our relationship with our heavenly Father and the fact that He is able to get us through impossible situations. It's all about relationship and it actually all comes down to one thing: 

Do we believe that God is good.

I could believe that God is able, I can have faith that He can do it. But do I believe He is good enough to actually do it? My hope really is rooted in that belief. Hmm think about that.

So our question today is this:

Do you feel like a drowning rat? If so, which one are you in the science experiment? Are you the one with NO hope? That rat lasted minutes. Or are you the one with even just an ounce of hope? That rat didn't give up! haha!

Take inventory of hope today. We have no idea how important it really is.