When those we love are torn from us. When we suffer without relief in sight. When we are attacked from every side. When we are unfairly accused. When you doubt if God cares or exists. When God seems only to be a lofty thought or an uncaring provider. This. This is the human condition. And at some point we all experience this.
Even Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”? And these very words were written by King David, known as a man after God’s own heart. The commonality of pain is living in a human body. Our birth on this earth brought us the skin and bones that makes this condition inevitable. No one goes through life without dealing with the feeling of being forgotten by our own Creator. But the key to surviving all this angst is the word temporary. It is not here to stay. All this pain, all this doubt and all this suffering is a momentary condition compared to what is ahead.
But how do we survive these feelings of neglect? God has given us two gifts that help pull us through the dark: remembrance and hope. First, we must dig deep and force ourselves to remember the moments that we felt God’s presence, protection and guidance; those times in our life where we felt his love and Divine direction. So we must shake off that spiritual amnesia and make a practice of remembering everyday.
The second gift is hope. It is ranked with love and faith yet we don’t address it often enough. Without hope we can’t go on.
Romans 8:24-25 NIV For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Yep, it said wait PATIENTLY. Oh my, patiently! Now that is one tough word. It requires time when we want instant relief. It reminds me of the word ‘grit’ or ‘persevere’ which also require time.
So how do we spark hope when we feel hopeless? It may help to visualize what it means to have hope and persevere with grit and determination. For me it helps to read books or watch movies with the theme of perseverance. Whether they are labeled “Christian” or not, we can find hope in surprising places. There are so many movies with a theme of hope and perseverance out there. I googled it. I found everything from Rocky to Lord of the Rings. Fill your empty heart with some stories of hope while you are waiting.
Slowly but surely you will hear God’s voice again. From David, the one who penned, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish”? He also wrote these words:
Psalm 30:5-12 NIV … weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help. ” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever.