A Faith Journal

It is not easy to have hope that the future will be good when you are sad, depressed or grieving especially at this time of year. That hope can seem impossible when it hurts to take your next step let alone your next breath. It’s on these days that we can experience our humble God. Jesus came to Earth to show how much we are loved and wanted. He didn’t need to come down for himself. He came down to strengthen our relationship with him.

On the days that feel hopeless or just too much to bear, remember you don’t have to do it alone. First, God is with you where you are. If you are laying in bed not wanting to move, He is laying beside you giving you the strength to breathe and the peace you need to rest.

If you are in your car and your emotions are just overwhelming you,God is right there with you and feeling what you are experiencing. He’s ready to absorb the emotions and sit with you as they run their course. That means if you need to scream, cry, yell, cuss, hit, whatever to get the emotions out, He’s there and willing to take it all. If violence is needed, please find an appropriate way to express it. Something like a foam bat or doll that is for such a time as this.

If you are contemplating a method to harm yourself, God is sitting next to you waiting to hear why you feel this way. He knows but He’s hoping that by letting you say how you’re feeling He can show you just how a slight perspective change could help you see how loved and needed you really are.

If you are sitting in a room full of Christmas decorations and the awe and wonder you think you should be feeling just isn’t there, don’t beat yourself about it. God isn’t asking for any grand gestures or total buy-in of the production of Christmas. He just asks that you take a moment to sit with him even if there are no Christmas decorations around. Your presence is what he seeks, not all the Christmas fanfare. Because it was for you that the first Christmas happened, not for him.

I know that it is easy to slip into hopelessness at this time of year and so does God. On those days that feel too much, know that God is next to you holding out His hands. He wants to take the heavy and give you a spark of hope.

On those heavy days for me, I close my eyes and imagine I’m sitting at the feet of Jesus. We are talking and I’m letting him know how I’m feeling. As we are talking, he removes things from my hands or from my body. Some things I didn’t even know I was carrying until he removed them. Sometimes I try to pick back up what he removed but he removes it again. Just before I open my eyes to signal the end of our conversation, I realize that I feel a little lighter and able to move forward again. I’ve gotten that small spark of hope again and I’m humbled that the God I’m supposed to be serving cares enough to join me at my lowest to make sure I have the hope I need to take my next breath and step. It’s the same for you if you stop to let him know how you are feeling.

The second thing to remember when the hopelessness strikes, there are more people than you realize that are wanting to sit with you in that pit. Trust me, it may feel like you are alone in that hopeless pit, but you are not and don’t have to be. I am one of those people that will join you in that pit and help you find your way out of it. Whatever you need me to do.

As we finish out this week of hope and prepare for the week of peace, take a moment to let God know how you are feeling. Your level of hope may increase and you may feel a peace that defies your circumstances.