Finding Hope When Life Feels Less Than Hopeful

Have you ever felt you would surely break under the weight of all the hard things in your life? Have you felt all your strength was gone amid hopeless circumstances, and it made you think that if God didn’t move soon, you couldn’t do one more thing?

Even though the sun hadn’t come up yet, my day was already off to a chaotic and stressful start. A long night of little sleep lay behind me, and a full day of tackling life’s problems in my current season lay ahead.  Even a simple task like walking my dog seemed heavy as I grabbed my coat and headed outside on a crisp fall morning.

Before the tears that flooded my eyes could fall, I glanced up toward the clear, cloudless sky.  The breathtaking view was mesmerizing. The glowing moon and twinkling stars illuminated the early morning sky. The Great Creator’s artistry was on full display, and it felt like, at that moment, He had painted the sky just for me. In the quietness of a new morning, God intentionally whispered to my weary heart, “There is more to your life than just what is going on in your living room.”

It reminded me that I was not forgotten or forsaken while deep in the trenches of caregiving. It also reminded me that hard times were not all there would be. He still had good things in store for His daughter. This was a tender reminder sent to her because He knows that she sometimes forgets during the busyness of life.

From time to time, we all get so wrapped up in our problems or adverse circumstances that we forget that hard is not all there will be.  God always bends low to listen to our sighs and desperation. He planned for all our days that would be weighted down by care by sending promises of His faithfulness through the pages of scripture. They lift our heads when they are hanging low. Promises from the generous and merciful heart of the God we serve, like Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Though our Heavenly Father never promised us a life without suffering, He did promise us a life filled with everlasting hope. He will never leave us or forsake us, and He will walk with us every step of our journey until, one day, He walks us through the gates of a perfect heaven. He will lead us home, where sorrow will never fill our hearts again, nor tears will sting our eyes.

I don’t know what your “living” room holds for you in your current season. It may hold challenging days and nights of caregiving for a loved one like me.  Maybe the room you are currently living in is instead flooded with worry over a teenager who is battling an addiction, and they seem to drift farther away every day. Some may look more like a failing marriage, or the room where you currently reside holds a pain from a loss that is so great you can barely breathe.

We serve the same God who cut through the darkness with His marvelous light all those years ago. He not only lit up the sky with the beautiful star of Bethlehem, but He filled every inch of it with promise—a promise that we will never walk hard roads here on this earth that they won’t ultimately lead us to good and His glory.

He will fulfill His perfect plan and purpose in our lives, sweet friend.

Never forget that He sees you and will never forget you in all the rooms you find yourself in. We can trust the One who has promised us grace for all our days of living because He is our Living Hope.

I pray you have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. I pray He lifts your head to behold His glory and writes His special promises upon your heart. I pray you find many unique treasures this year under your tree and around your table.  But most of all, I pray that your heart is brought to awe and wonder as you remember the most precious gift of all, the gift of God’s only Son.