How Do We Face Life – With Despair or Hope?

October has been a busy month filled with speaking at retreats and conferences. Everywhere I’ve gone, the same thing has happened – people have told me about their personal struggles or heartaches.

Real-life stories of despair

This month I’ve heard numerous stories of marriages breaking up. I’ve met a couple of young widows whose husbands were killed recently in tragic accidents. I’ve spoken with women who have whispered secrets from their past – they’ve had abortions or suffered from rape or sexual abuse. Some are devastated by their kids’ involvement in drugs or alcohol. Others are worried sick about the influence an ex-spouse is having on their children.

I hear these stories and my heart nearly breaks. On many occasions, I’ve returned home and cried for them. I’ve asked God to come to their rescue, to bring healing to their hurting hearts, and restore their broken places.

Life can be harsh sometimes

The writer of Lamentations 3 describes it with vivid word pictures:

¹⁶He has made me grind my teeth on gravel.
He has rolled me in the dust.
¹⁷Peace has been stripped away,
and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸I cry out, ‘My splendor is gone!
Everything I’d hoped for from the Lord is lost!

¹⁹The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
²⁰I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss. (Lamentations 3:16-20)

The writer pours out his feelings of hopelessness

Suddenly he changes his focus and reveals the secret for triumphing over despair:

²¹Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:

²²The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!
By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction.
²³Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each day.
²⁴I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!’

²⁵The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him
and seek him.
²⁶So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. (Lamentations 3:21-26)

Remember this truth when you feel hopeless

No matter how dire our circumstances appear or how God-forsaken we feel, we can hang onto this assurance: God still loves us. His faithfulness is great. His mercy tank is freshly-filled every morning. He’s good…no, He’s wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek His face.

The enemy of our souls desperately wants us to believe otherwise, but let’s not entertain his lies. Rather, let’s focus on the same truths that brought renewed hope to the author of Lamentations. Let’s dare to hope that those truths about God’s unfailing love are real, alive, and relevant to us today

Let’s speak words of life into our disappointments and hurts:

“I acknowledge my pain and brokenness, but in the midst of it, I place my hope in the Lord.”

And let’s seek God’s face by reading His Word, listening to worshipful music, and practicing His presence moment by moment. Having done these things, let’s wait with confident expectation for Him to restore our broken places.