“In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.” (Ephesians 2:12 NLT)
Hopelessness is like looking into the future and seeing only darkness; like being hungry while staring through a glass at an abundance of food; like knowing what you want or where you’d like to go, but every way you turn is a dead end.
There have been times in my life that I’ve read about or seen someone who exemplified who I’d like to become, but that never happened, and for good reason. God didn’t design us to be anyone but ourselves. He uniquely created and equipped us to be US and only Us! If He’d wanted us to be different than He created us to be, He would have made us that way.
The most hopeless season in my life was after my divorce. I had no money, no job, and no real prospects. I was saddled with thousands of dollars of debt and could foresee no possible way to repay it, yet, my conviction was, even though I felt my life was bankrupt, that bankruptcy wasn’t an option. I can smile now, but in those hopeless moments when I felt so alone, the Lord had never left me, not for a single second, but He was waiting for me to stop enjoying my pity party so much and yield myself completely to Him.
Chariots of Fire was an inspiring movie about the life of Eric Liddell who said: “Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God’s plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins.” (See Turning Point A Plan and a Purpose – 03-17-23) In the “ruins” of my life God showed up in miraculous ways. I could have papered my walls with eviction notices, but the Lord always gave me a way to pay my rent. One day my mind was flooded with “what if’s” as I walked to the rental office with no way I would be able to pay my rent. As usual the young woman in the office was smiling, but this time she gave me reason to smile as she said: “Mr. Hager, you don’t have to worry about your rent this month, it’s been paid.”
While nothing I have or will face in this life compares to all Job endured, I sometimes relate to his words in Job 14:14: “Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death.” Whatever you may be facing in this season of your life, please don’t despair! Please don’t give up hope! Because of Jesus whatever we face as His followers, we will never face it alone.
As long as I have breath, I pray I will praise and honor the Lord. I’ve asked the Lord to please allow me to always remember Him. My dad knew no one in the closing chapter of his life and I’d be lying if I told you that doesn’t frighten me. But the presence of the Lord is my hiding place, the rock upon whom I stand, the hope that fills my heart and mind, guiding me through this season of uncertainty.
Unlike Job, we can know with certainty that there is life after death, but even more wonderful to me is knowing we have life BEFORE death as we learn to walk by faith in the Lord Jesus. We all struggle, it’s a part of the fabric of life as a human being, but I pray today that whatever you’re facing, please know that you don’t have to face it alone. Jesus loves you and longs to walk with you, comfort, strengthen, and guide you. Please invite Him to be for you what you can’t be for yourself in this difficult season of your life.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 