I recently got a late night phone call from an old high
school friend that wanted to talk. One
of his friends from childhood had recently committed suicide and he was trying to make
sense of it all. We both wondered what kind of deep issue was his friend dealing with that made him feel so hopeless that he decided suicide was the best way to end the pain? We were on the phone
for quite a while that evening, with me doing a lot of listening. The thought struck me as we were talking, how
many people going through hardship get to that point of complete hopelessness
and despair? I know there have been a
few times in the recent past where I was close to feeling hopeless. Just a few short years ago my life had been torn
down to the studs and I felt completely overwhelmed as everything around me seemed to be spiraling out of control. It was in that place however that I cried out
to God. And God met me in my sorrow and
hardship and made His presence tangibly known in so many little ways. Seeing his fingerprint in my life in even
small ways gave me hope. Even in the hardest
times I learned that God was good and even though I was powerless
in my situation—he wasn’t. Looking back
on that time I am so grateful for all the tremendous blessings in my
life currently. I feel like God has
completely restored all the things I had lost. I am thankful that I finally learned the secret that no matter what hardship I am facing, God loves me and holds me safely in the palm of his hands. If you are going through hardship and trauma
in your life right now and are feeling overwhelmed—just know that God is not
unaware of your situation. Whether you are going through divorce, the death of a spouse or child, loss of a job, a terminal cancer diagnosis, or any other hardship--God loves you
and he hasn't forgotten your pain. The scriptures say that "nothing can ever separate us from God's love". Your heavenly father wants
you to cry out to him and let HIM be your comforter. He wants you to lean on
his strong shoulders and know that he has everything under control if you will just turn to him and trust him. Below are a couple
of scriptures that gave me hope in the hard times.
Psalm 27:13 “I would have despaired unless I had believed
that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.”
Romans 8:35-39 "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:35-39 "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he
cares about you.”
