“There is always hope.  You just need to trust God.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes every time those words rolled off the tongue of a well-meaning friend. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe it was true.  It was just that I didn’t know what it meant anymore. 

You hear stories of relationships being healed and daddies coming home, but somehow my prayers were falling on deaf ears.  For some reason, God said, “No.”

Had I missed the boat? Was there a closed door summit where they revealed the password to getting desperate prayers answered? Was there a secret handshake? A formula that I had forgotten to write down? Was God mad at me? Was I being punished?

I don’t pretend to have all the answers or even understand why.  But, I do know this…the best view of hope is from a place called desperation. God will meet you there.

I realized I had a choice. Fall over the edge into the darkness of my reality or scratch and fight to hang on to hope.  To stand on my tippy toes and see just past this struggle to the future that God has planned for me or hunker down in the darkness of today and just pray that it will pass.

Your road to hopelessness may look different but the destination is the same. We all feel hopeless at times. Whether it’s a failed marriage, a dead end job, a daily addiction or a wayward child.

Hopelessness is waiting in the wings ready to move in and take up permanent residence.  At times, I have invited hopelessness in…but, lately I have been asking the unwelcome visitor to kindly move along.

You have a choice too: to trust the truth and look up or allow the lies to keep you face down in the dirt. I speak from experience. This old gal is still spitting dirt.

But, here’s what I know…

You are loved.  Don’t listen to the lie that nobody cares. You are valued and loved more that you could ever know.  John 3:16

God wants a relationship with you. For me, God took away all I ever wanted to show me the one thing I ever really had, Jesus. You are not alone, abandoned or forsaken. God is right there with you. Call out to Him.

God has a plan for you. Unfortunately, painful times are the way we learn about how much we need a Savior.  My life doesn’t look at all like I thought it would.

But I am starting to see that it looks just like God’s plan. And, His plan is the best. So, I didn’t get my way. Part of the process is laying down my will and accepting His. Jeremiah 29:11

It is my prayer that you will grab hold of these basic truths and begin to get back up. Just think of my hand reaching out to you, right now. We will walk this journey together.

by Carol Davis

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