There were many believers who, under more extreme circumstances than I, lived this out as an example to us.

Abraham was told by God to do something no parent could ever imagine:  sacrifice his son.

Take your son, your only son…whom you love so much…Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:2).

Abraham didn’t lose hope, complain to his friends, ask for advice, rip his cloak or cry out to God.  The Bible says Abraham got up early the next morning (probably having not slept much the night before) and took his son up to the place God told him.

Nobody would have blamed Abraham for wrestling with or questioning God; yet Abraham feared and obeyed Him and, as a result, God released Isaac and Abraham was richly blessed.
      
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love (Psalm 33:18).

Joseph had cause to feel a sense of hopelessness.  He was rebuked by his father and sold into slavery by his brothers.  He was taken to Egypt and served as a slave to Potiphar, until he was unjustly thrown into prison by him for supposedly trying to sleep with his wife.

Through it all, Joseph never displayed anything but obedience and concern for others.  Everyone he came in contact with saw the Lord’s presence with, and within him.  As a result, Potiphar put him in charge of his household, the warden put Joseph in charge of all of the other prisoners and activities in the prison, and Joseph became the second most powerful man in all of Egypt.

This didn’t happen because Joseph exuded negativity or despair over his situation.  He faithfully (and hope-fully) worked and served whoever was placed over him, and God gave him success in everything he did.

May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you (Psalm 25:21).

Moses, by worldly standards, had it all at one point in his life.  He lived in the palace of the Pharaoh, raised as one of Pharaoh’s own grandsons and had access to everything in the kingdom.  After killing an Egyptian and fleeing to the desert, God called to him.

I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.  But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:10).

Moses didn’t exemplify the actions of someone full of hope and compassion for his people.  He sounded resigned to live the rest of his days as a shepherd in the desert.