Oh, despair. It’s a topic that needs very little introduction. But the alternative to our despair being hope? That’s a new one.
Hope is tricky to talk about since it’s easy to associate it with specific outcomes. Even as we place our hope in Christ, there are still ways our hearts can confuse the experience of hope with a despair-free existence.
The best articulation I have of what it feels like to receive hope from despair is to have a deepened intimacy with God. Here’s what I mean:
There is priceless wisdom that comes through seeking God in suffering. There are some things only the Holy Spirit can teach. No matter how trustworthy or wise a human voice might be, some revelations only ring true when our time with God bridges gaps between our mind, heart, and soul. With this in mind, any struggle to be near Him is never wasted effort. After all, “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25).
We share a deeper connection with Jesus when we embrace suffering. A few years ago I had a season of grief coincide with Easter, and y’all, my aisle should’ve had a splash zone warning! The story of Jesus’s suffering became real in ways it hadn’t before. Just as we know to expect pain, we also remember the joy of “He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6). And now, my faith is richer because of the personal glimpses my suffering can give me into how much Jesus’s endurance cost.
If I let it, pain provides a way to God. At times, passages like Psalm 62:6—“He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken”—can really frustrate me. What if I do feel shaken, like I did not have a stronghold to protect me, like there is no rock to keep my feet on solid ground? I think that anger stems from an expectation that a stronghold is going to be a pain-free place. In reality, my pain is why I need Him as a stronghold in the first place! Comfort and peace certainly come from His presence, but even if I don’t feel those things at all times, it doesn’t mean God’s ability to be my refuge suddenly lost potency. I’ve learned that as I depend on Him, He knows how to provide what my heart needs—whether it’s a truth to comfort me or an open lap to cry on.
I wish I had way more than these 500-or-so words to talk about the complex mystery of how hope comes from despair (or better yet, your address and a warm beverage and a soft couch cushion!). What I do hope you explore in today’s passages is a gentle, yet firm, reminder that God does not ignore despair. In fact, He’s made it so that our suffering is the exact place we’ll find Him.
Leave a Reply
83 thoughts on "Despair and Hope"
❤️
Amen!
I am so grateful that God made despair because He will be in that same place through that despair. That we find hope in Christ Jesus NOT IN OURSELVES in Jesus
I don’t know if this happened to anyone else but today’s devotional and the theme— I found myself coming back to read at the comments throughout the day, because for some reason it made me pause and reflect of how we’re all meeting this mix of despair and hope. You are all in my heart.
I pray that I could put my hope fully in God. Knowing that he can carry me through anything and bring good from it. ❤️
Yes and Amen❤️
I’ve been thinking a lot today about the ways in which the Lord provides for us in our despair. Yesterday, I found myself just living in a spirit of exhasution – physical exhaustion, mental exhaustion, and emotional exhaustion. I won’t say that I was necessarily despairing, but I certainly wasn’t feeling like gearing up (and getting two young kiddos out the door) to attend a Sunday evening service that I had previously volunteered to help serve communion at. But the Lord met me there. Right where I needed him. He granted me that which I didn’t even know that I needed in that moment – He offered me the chance to join in communal prayer with my brothers and sisters. My husband says that the surprise on my face when the pastor called out my name to start the prayer off was comical, but I am so graetful to have had the opportunity to pray out loud last night. There is something so special about praying together in a group of people, and it was the perfect reminder that the Lord’s provision in our moments of despair won’t always look the same but they will always point us back into relationship with Him.
Amen ❤️
The first scriptures about despair had me feeling so hopeless this morning. “My eyes are worn out from crying”, “From my youth I have been suffering”, and “darkness is my only friend”. I can hear my daughter saying these in her own way and it just rips me apart. Her pain becomes my pain. But then I turn the page and read, “his mercies never end. They are new every morning” and “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly..” This quieted my soul. And God continued to speak to me.
Lectio 365 devo today:
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.
I notice that David waited patiently for the Lord. God doesn’t ask me to wait in order to frustrate me, but to spend time with me. Throughout Scripture, he is compared to a gardener who delights in taking his time to grow and shape the lives of those who trust him (John 15). Patience itself is described as being like a fruit which the Spirit grows in me (Galatians 5). Like all fruit, it takes time to develop, but having patience is the key to resilience and hope (Romans 5). Waiting isn’t something to get through before I can experience more of God; it is the process by which I get to know him.
There is more, but for brevity I only included part of it. The devos have been so aligned with what we are reading, if you don’t know Lectio 365, I highly recommend it:)
“God does not ignore despair.” I do believe this is true, but so many times it feels as if He does. But I should know better because as I reflect back over my life, I am reminded that it was in times of deepest, darkest despair that I grew more intimate with my heavenly Father. It rung true then and I know it will ring true in the future.
.
As I read Psalm 88, my thought was – there have been times when I could have written this very psalm myself, when day and night I cried out to him. Days and nights of despair, waning hope, seeing no light in the darkness. But God. He is always there and after the moments of doubt and hopelessness pass – my soul finds rest in God, my hope comes from Him because truly, He is my rock and my salvation.
.
I am sad for those who don’t know Christ and who have no rock on which to stand. I pray that their hearts might be softened, their eyes opened and that they would find hope in Jesus because He is after all – our only hope.
—
Prayers for Jeff please. We spent 7 hours in the ER last night till morning as he was experiencing AFib. After he was given meds at the hospital and being home for hours it finally subsided. His fear is that it might happen again tonight. Pray that it doesn’t return and that he won’t let the anxiety of thinking it will send him into panic attacks.
—
Happy Monday She’s, may each of you be blessed today. ❤️
Sharon I’m sorry to hear about Jeff. I’m praying for him! I loved what you wrote – check out Lectio 365 app. It’s so good!
Praying Jeff will relax and let the meds so their job! Thankful the symptoms subsided fairly quickly. ❤️
Praying for Jeff.
praying, Sharon!
oh my..that’s a scare. Praying for him.
Praying Jeff is feeling better and the fears and anxiety goes away.
Praying!!
❤️
KAYLA DE LA TORRE- you have written with such wisdom today!!! I have hot tea, coffee, chocolate, AND a soft sofa cushion, and lots of room for Rosie to play while we chat! lol ❤ Thank you for this devo! Despair in my seventies is not like despair in a situation that may turn around. I won’t be getting any younger or stronger so despair becomes an ‘adjustment period’ which moves to an ‘acceptance period’. Not sure the despair wil ever go away, but working to put it in the shadows of LIVING toward that HOPE of our someday with Him.
“God does not ignore despair. In fact, He’s made it so that our suffering is the exact place we’ll find Him.”- Kayla
.
I love this note from John MacArthur Study Bible:
“a living hope.
The living hope is eternal life. ‘Hope’ means confident optimism, and:
1) comes from God (Ps. 43:5);
2) is a gift of grace (2 Thess. 2:16);
3) is defined by Scripture (Rom. 15:4);
4) is a reasonable reality (3:15);
5) is secured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (John 11:25, 26; 14:19; 1 Cor. 15:17);
6) is confirmed in the Christian by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13);
7) defends the Christian against Satan’s attacks (1 Thess. 5:8);
8) is confirmed through trials (Rom. 5:3, 4);
9) produces joy (Ps. 146:5); and
10) is fulfilled in Christ’s return (Titus 2:13).”
.
On HE READS TRUTH, Cameron Magby said,
“But despair does not get the final word.
Because Christ is risen, our hope is living and secure (1Peter 1:3–5). It is anchored not in our situation but in our Savior who defeated death.”
.
SEARCHING mentioned the song- Living Hope- last week. How well it fits here, too.
.
Love, hugs, and prayers! ❤
❤️
So true about aging! It is a loss of our physical self and sometimes mental self. Which invokes..emotional self!! We have to come to terms of we aren’t getting any younger….LOL!!
People would always tell me after complaining…You’re only as old as you feel!! And I would say “That’s the problem, my body feels like it’s 70!” (that was in my 40’s when you couldn’t tell physically that I felt so horrible bad in my joints).
The mind is powerful but the body speaks loudly! ❤️
oh, yeah!
❤
❤️
❤️
My pain has lead me to Jesus.
I was 27 when I noticed something was not right with my baby. After our diagnosis I was just so numb. I struggled.
It was a journey coming to God.
One day I was on my knees sobbing out to Him. He heard me and I was comforted.
I started going to a Bible study – BSF. I met some wonderful women. My journey had started. I can’t say I always stayed on the path. Unfortunately I swayed. Someone hurt me so badly that I found I turned away from God. Thankfully He doesn’t turn away from us.
Years went by and then I found SRT. I don’t even remember how. But I’m so grateful. You women have carried me through difficult times. Without our community, our faith in God, and God never leaving our side we can get through anything.
HEART! Love this testimony!
❤️
♥️♥️♥️
❤️
Love your testimony too, Traci. ❤️
I love how God uses all the negative things to draw us close to Him. The picture of His open lap to cry on is exactly what on picture
Yes, I like to envision that myself!! Because many times we need to do just that, even for whole seasons. JUST. SIT.
at his lap.
Despair has a way of making me run to the Lord. I know there is no other way through it than to take refuge in my Savior. I pray more fervently, and read the Bible seeking His guidance more earnestly. I like what Kayla shared in the devotion that we receive hope from despair in a deepened intimacy with God.
Suffering has been the EXACT place we will find HIM because He never left in the first place. I have two friends who are currently suffering one is grieving the loss of her beloved husband and the other, health issues. Please pray for my sweet friends. N and S. I am reminded and as I’ve mentioned here on SRT, suffering is when I’ve felt the closest to my JESUS! Even when it was hard and felt alone, I know I wasn’t! Footprints in the sand.
Despair and Hope, the intersection ❤️
This morning, I really didn’t know what to write in the comments because I just sat in the realization that so many of us are living in the intersection of despair and hope. Just know that I am praying for all of us. While living in that space can be uncomfortable, my prayers is that we are able to focus on the hope and the light at the end of the tunnel, that comes with loving and believing in Jesus. Have a good days, She’s.
Pain, if I let it – can lead me to Jesus.
Goodness….quite the way to start our Monday morning. Such a heaviness in the first passages of scripture, but also the reality of this broken world we live in. A few thoughts from the devotional really stand out to me….”any struggle to be near Him is never wasted effort”…. “He’s made it so that our suffering is the exact place we’ll find Him.” One of the thoughts that I have often remind myself of over and over again for quite some time now falls in line with these and its that we should not wish away the things that keep us on our knees before Jesus. At the bottom of everything, seemingly the end of ourselves, He meets us right there. Jesus is always our greatest hope to cling to, hold on to, to be our rock, refuge and strength. Thank you, Lord all our hope is in you.
‘Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from him.’ Psalm 62:5
“ Any struggle to be near him is never wasted effort” Amen!!
Despair and Hope, we talk about these two contradictory words/feeling weekly in our Chronic Pain group. As the leader, I have to make sure to keep them in their proper place, for it’s easy to groan and despair each week. People love to talk about the endless doctors, insurance, pharmacies, and of course the physical pain. Chronic pain is ongoing and weighty with seemingly no more corrective answers so therefore turns into despair. It’s a slippery slope then into depression and isolation.
But God. Hope. The Son- the Healer! In the beginning of his ministry he went around healing people with chronic pain and disabilities! That is how he got the crowds! Yet he tells us plainly in the story of the disabled man, that gets lowered down from the roof, that healing the soul is most important! Of course it is!! But that is hard to accept when you are in non-stop pain or hardship, or grief in the here and now! And if we already have salvation, well then, why can’t we have healing.
The fact is we grow so much when we are completely dependent on the Lord. It is no longer ourselves. But beyond that we can INFLUENCE so many more people with our Hope!! When we show up and keep showing up with our Hope securely in place IN the pain, hardship, grief, loss, brokenness- well, that is so powerful!! That’s where the impact is for others and they remember it!
So when despair rears it’s ugly head, if you can’t really do it for yourself, do it for the influence of Jesus to others. Put on a strong face, show up, and then YOU will actually be influenced from what you hear…and God works for you in that very way!! Just yesterday (and many other times) someone told me they had thought about me and that I always have joy and a smile and they know I am hurting all the time. It is God telling me through them that I have an impact when I trust him through my afflictions. And I BOAST in the Lord, because I know it is through Him and for His Glory! Hope always win! If we don’t see physical healing here we WILL when we close our eyes that final day and open them to eternal light! Until then, we run the race well, no matter the course (circumstance of life!), so the ones watching us see a winner! See the endurance,see the strength, see the fortitude, and see the Win!! Whoo!!! Hallelu-JAH! GLORY!
Lift up Linda G that lost her dear Gene.
LINDA – praying, sister ❤️. So sorry to hear about Gene.
Thank you, Rhonda for your example and faithfulness in your chronic pain. You have willingly shared your wisdom with us over the years and I have been encouraged and blessed
That’s so sweet and blesses me!! I used to be afraid to comment with all our She’s of wisdom- But God uses ALL of us to touch others! At the time I would be like..I don’t have much wisdom but I know what God has done for me and that I CAN share! And NOW after 14 years in the word daily I can declare that GOD gives ME wisdom- PRAISE GOD!! Thank you Lord Jesus!
❤️
Me too Rhonda! Your story is so encouraging. Rita re such a light to others! We need more Rhondas in our churches:)
Typos: You are such a light to others.
You are funny that YOU do missions trips, something I have ALWAYS wanted to do and experience!! How amazing it must be to encounter those in need in other places. I just try to remember that there’s plenty to do around us wherever we live and we just pray God to use us HOWEVER HE sees fit!!
I pray your nieces are doing okay. It must be hard missing their dad as they go through events since his passing.
“ I think that anger stems from an expectation that a stronghold is going to be a pain-free place. In reality, my pain is why I need Him as a stronghold in the first place! “
This really resonated with me because I was angry about suffering for a long time. This perspective is similar to “courage isn’t needed unless you are afraid.”
Such a beautiful devotional and scripture pairing today! My hope is in God alone. The weight of depression and long buried trauma has been weighing me down so heavily the past couple of months. Crying out to God asking why now? The past couple of days, I’ve started to feel like myself again. Praise God! There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Freedom and deliverance is so important when there is buried trauma. Praying you give it to God, and know that there IS freedom from the past! AND healing! Usually in this way he will use that very pain and experience to be your testimony to share and to help ones in the future that need to hear it!! Your pain your purpose!! Praise God that he is there to restore!
Thankful, Susan, that you are feeling better ❤️
Praise God!
Praising with you!❤️
Amen
Amen❤️
“There is priceless wisdom that comes through seeking God in suffering. There are some things only the Holy Spirit can teach. No matter how trustworthy or wise a human voice might be, some revelations only ring true when our time with God bridges gaps between our mind, heart, and soul. With this in mind, any struggle to be near Him is never wasted effort.”
.
May we all press into Jesus today.
.
Song:At the Altar [Chorus]
Where the tears of the desperate
Reach the feet of the Savior
Nothing I wouldn’t offer
There’s no waste at the altar
Where the heart of surrender
Meet the hands of the Maker
Nothing I wouldn’t offer
There’s no waste at the altar
.
Praying for y’all ❤️
Yes, great song Kelly!!
❤️
GM ladies – Here is the list of prodigals. Acts 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 26:18:… open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.
Jeremiah 31:16-17 But now this is what the Lord says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the Lord. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.17 There is hope for your future,” says the Lord.“Your children will come again to their own land.”
Proverbs 20:7 The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him.
Peter 3:8–9 (CSB): 8 Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
Alice V – Brian, Rachel
Kim Mullins – Tyler
Tami – Chela, Quentin
Sharon – Nicholas, Jonathan
Rebecca W – Brett, Jake, Joey, Lindsay, Kelly, Abby, Katelyn, Katie
Emma Rageth – Olivia, Ali
Indiana Elaine – Kent, Shelley
Mari V – Rick, Marta, Toby
Tricia C – David, Allison, Christopher, Lina, Travis, Nicole
Mia Faith – Parker, Isaiah, Alexandra, Griffin, Annalee, Bill
Aleida – Victor
Maddie – Michelle, Julia
Rhonda – Michael
Charlotte Hill – Casey, John, Emma
Deb – Brandon, Angel
Linda J – Matthew
Mollie – Sam
MMD – Ethan, Hayden, Rachel
Carol H – Justin, Ezekiel, Elijah, Andrew
Kari – Rachel, Josh, James, Ayano
Mi Sherry – Kaitlyn, Aaron, Will
Cheryl Read – Renee, Jason, Kayden, Kylee
Wendy B – Amy, Colton, Kirk, Nick
Anne Klinkhammer – Molly
Sue Dalos – Chelsea, Kenny
Bessie – Ben
Annie Hewitt – Annie pls give me name/s:)
Sandy Lynn – Andy
Diane – Jon, Keith, Roger, Mike
Jane K – Leah
B – M, B
Susan B – Tammy, Amy
Carla – Cierra, Stephen
Lisa H – Cora
Kimberk – Megan, Randy
Adrienne – Raelynn, Tyler, Tracy
Brandi – Levi, Sarah, Ellen, India
Robin Bailey – Rodney, Brian
Erin L – Emerson, Zoe
Janet – Ryan, Amanda, Matthew, Stephanie
Sheryl – Adam, LaShonda
Maria J – Benjamin, Mike, Mark, Patrick
Maria B – Chris, Tristan, Madeline, Cristal, Shanty, Nicole, Luis
Melani Fryer – Matthew, Dylan, Courtney, Lydia
Therese – Ryan, Brittany, Sydney
Traci Gendron – Kara, Andrew
Jenny Carmichael – Katy
Mercy – boys in social care system
Kerry Rowley – Preston, Parker, Lindsey
Maria S – Joshua, Katie, Zoe
Melissa – Madison, Richard, Liam, Zac, Wesley
Felicia – Brittin, Tyler
Vicki – Ben, Sian
TC – Randi, Michael, Callie
Elizabeth – Trae, Xavier, Reya
Adie – Monica, Shawn, Stephanie
Susan B – Emma
Penni – Les, Jonah, Emily, Garret, Domi, Connor, Grace
Nat – Marissa, Melody
Martha Hix – Claire, Ralph, Tyler, Whitney, Trey
Phobie – Phobie, Greg, Steve, Jessie
Laura – Jordan, Taliah
April L – Molly, Becca
Karen Breaux – Brittany, Justin, Erin, Jordyn
Heather – Jack, Hudson
Cheryl Blow – Sara
Dianne – Ian
Leap – Liz, Teg, Taylor, Alison
Tara B – Clara Paige, Anna
Debra K – Stephen, Meagan, Daniel, Creg
Margaret W. —David, Matthew, Missy, Becca, Marianna
Melzie K- Jake, Cece & Elijah
Shar – K
Leala – Ryan, AJ, Sam
Jennifer – Matthew, Lauren and families
Cat-tee – A & A, K & T
K-Ann – G, T, S
Cathy McVey – Jeremiah, Brayden, Nolan, Ashlyn
Keri – Finley, Rudy, Scout, Nellie, Polly, Dottie, Goldie
Lena- Andrea,Lanie, Eiley, Everly, Schaefer
LaRae-Levi
Julie G – Matt, Katherine, Ray
AML – Jonathan, Jake, Emma, Becca
Kristin G – Brandon, Melissa
Allegra – Lydia, Nick, Micah, Jonah
Karen- Nathan, Bailey
Jazz – Blake, Zoie, Greg, Elizabeth
Gina – Carolyn, Steven
Cindy – Toby, Clarissa, Katie, Samantha
TS Woodruff – Danielle
Tammy H.- Alyssa
Danielle B-Joelle, Adam
Myra – Mitchell
Debby – Kristen
Jenn F – B&E, J&T
K – Alizabeth
Stephanie – Greg
Melanie C – Casey, Corey, Celeste, Kat
Mollie – Haley, Jeff, Rhonda
Margo – Lindsey,Drew,Lauren,Spencer
This is so powerful, Tami. Thank you for your heart and time to compile this list. Adding to it all others on our hearts not here in black and white. Praying for these children to come again and experience the richness of His love.
Amen! ❤️
I will trust in God at all times and pour my heart out to Him for God is my strength. Selah
Sometimes in life I be may feel like I am shaken, but when I look back I realise God was still protecting me, keeping me. He is my firm foundation.
Good morning everyone! Praying for you all. Very thankful for today’s passage, hope can dwell in the midst of despair! I head back to work today after some time off after my grandmother passed. I feel anxious and a bit unsure of myself, the grief comes in waves and I thought I had been doing okay but this morning I feel it deeper again. Please pray for me. Thank you ❤️
So sorry for your loss. I miss my grandmothers too. Will pray for you to see God’s comfort as a firm foundation.
So sorry for your loss, Jordan! Praying that God will continue to comfort your aching heart. Be prepared—grief will ambush you when you least expect it. ❤️
Praying for you Jordon as you return to work. May the precious memories of your grandmother be a comfort when the grief washes over you. ❤️
Praying, Jordan ❤️
Praying for you, Jordan. Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Praying Jordan
this is how I felt when I was 1st diagnosed with dementia. denial ain’t just a river! it was very painful to come to grips with this, but I’m on the other side of the grief now. God is my refuge
Oh Sandi, these three lines warm my heart, for there is so much truth now wrapped in the despair that was yours!
Jesus is the Hope that, no matter where this journey may take you, you know He is your victory, your companion, your strength.
Praying you a blessed Monday, Sandi. ❤️
thankyou, Tina, back at you
❤️
Thank you for sharing, sister! Praying for you ❤️
Praying for you, Sandi.
❤❤❤