Hopelessness is such an ugly word. It is the antithesis of the victorious life we yearn for.
How ironic that so far this morning every single person I’ve spoken to is feeling overwhelmed, depressed and extremely hopeless.
In every case there seems little to be grateful for. Their current hardships have all but eclipsed the hope, gratitude and zest for life they once held.
HOPELESSNESS IS A BREATH AWAY
There is, admittedly, a lot to be discouraged about in this world: the current state of our government; episode after episode of weird destructive weather pummeling our country; escalating violence and ungodliness in our neighborhoods; the very real fear that we might lose our job at any moment or that we won’t be able to keep our heads above the water, financially, for too much longer.
Increasingly, our very safety and survival feels in jeopardy.
It’s scary. Some days it’s hard to even get out of bed. As the impending doom envelopes us, we have less energy, less excitement, less thought that we can ever get beyond this dismal place that we are in.
And, in our current state, we can’t. Hopelessness is a slippery slope. Without even realizing it we can get sucked so far into the hole that we can’t even see the light anymore. We no longer have the fight in us to try to climb out. We’re stuck and it feels like there’s nothing we can do but continue sliding.
IS THERE ANY WAY OUT?
There is something we can do. We can finally give up and surrender to a God who loves us and watches over us.
“Yeah, right,” you say. “Where is God now in my situation? I’ve prayed and prayed and still he hasn’t saved me from all this wretchedness. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s gotten worse.”
Prayer is important. But it isn’t necessarily surrendering. Surrendering means we hand our seemingly dismal lives over to God’s control. We give up being in the driver’s seat. We relinquish all our preconceived notions about where we are going and when and how it should happen. Willingly we climb into the back seat saying something like,
“God, I don’t know where we’re going, but I’m not getting out of this seat. You’re in charge now. Point out the things I need to see and learn along our journey. Restore my excitement to see your plan unfold in my life. Melt away my worries. Remind me that you know what I need far better than I do. Teach me to trust your words. Open my eyes to your blessings.”
Easy? Nope! Surrender is hard. We keep wanting to climb over the seat and grab that wheel back every time the road gets bumpy. But when we truly let God direct our life, we find our energy, excitement and satisfaction once again. We have purpose and fulfillment and a whole lot less sleepless nights.
“You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.”—Job 11:18
TODAY’S CHAT: What do you most need to let go of and surrender to God, today? What is keeping you from doing it?
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