Author: Anka Trifan
Suffering does not discriminate. Even the strongest people find themselves in the pits of despair. As you read this, you might feel like your ability to hold on to hope is slipping further from your grasp with each passing day. You may feel as if every ounce of strength within you has been sucked dry, and hope may seem like more of a fairytale than a promise. If you feel like life has thrown you the very worst it has to offer, please know that you are deeply loved and seen right where you are. In all of your mess and all of your pain, you are not alone.
I know there's some pain I will never walk through and will therefore have no real capacity to truly understand. I do not want to diminish or lessen the gravity of this pain in any way. Your pain might be far greater than anything I’ve ever experienced, and I won’t pretend that everything is going to work out perfectly in this life. Still, if you are at the point where you think there is nothing left to live for, would you give me just a moment of your time? Would you take a few minutes to consider that maybe, just maybe, there is reason to continue fighting? Fighting to hang onto hope when everything in us wants to quit requires radical commitment to a kind of hope that can transcend all earthly things. Hope in Jesus is our reason to press onward. This is true hope, and it never puts us to shame. "Surely there is a future for you, and your hope will not be cut off" (Proverbs 23:18). This is a hope that says, “Even if everything I’m working for in this life fails, even if all my dreams collapse, even if those I love most are stripped away... I still have a reason to press onward”. The only source of hope that can withstand the absolute depths of human pain is Jesus Himself. Only a God who entered into the bitterness of our hell firsthand, who withstood pain in its most extreme form, who placed Himself in the middle of human suffering, and who conquered the grave can give us reason to say, “No matter what I face, my hope is in Him.” It is tempting during seasons of complete brokenness to try and run from the pain or conceal it with unhealthy habits, busyness, etc. But we can trust Him at His Word that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). It doesn't say some things. It says ALL things. All of the ugly broken things you’ve ever done - Jesus redeems ALL things. And He turns them into beautiful works of art. If you can pick yourself up and follow Him out of the mess you find yourself in, there will one day be a point in which the good far outweighs the bad.
If you find yourself at what seems the point of no return, I beg you to not walk out on God. He is your lifeline. Like the psalmist said, “Even when there is nothing else left to hope in, hope in His word” (Psalm 119:81). Make Him your shield and your hiding place. Believe that you will once again see the goodness of God in your life. Healing is possible in Jesus’ name. Freedom from your prison and from your own kind of hell is possible in Jesus’ name. Redemption is possible in Jesus’ name. He promises to makes all things new, and He is a promise keeper! Prayer: You are our lifeline, God! You are our shield and hiding place. You are the solid rock on which we stand. When we entrust our lives to you, we do not have to fear. Even when we walk through the darkest valleys, you are with us. You melt away our shame with your love. Your healing oil washes over us, and we are made new. We love you, Lord, more than we can express. You are our redeemer and our friend. No matter what we face today, our hope is in you. Amen.