There is a greater force at work that is fighting for you even when you feel like your situation is   hopeless.

There are very few times that I have lost hope in this life, but recently I have been struggling with a less than perfect situation. I  compare it to the thorn the apostle Paul had in his side, whether it was spiritual or physical, either way it’s painful and without resolution.

I felt like I was trying to knock down a brick wall with nothing but a small hammer and my own two feet. Imagine doing that for days that turn into weeks, confident that at some moment with enough force and pressure of my own it was going to crack.

Well after months on end of beating this wall my confidence plummeted. Thinking, “what if it never budges… ever?” Soon I found myself calling for an S.O.S that I was certain would never come. Finding myself floating on a raft that was losing air.

This thing, this brick wall, this mountain (not climbable I might add, unless I turn into Spiderman)  no matter what I said, how I felt, or what I did was going to move, crack or budge that wall.  Nothing  in my human form was going to make that wall fall.

I put down my tool after moments of pure exhaustion,  crying,  and screaming. I sat, and did not pray right away. I did pray eventually however; surrendering this ridiculousness over to a God that I know is not dead. A God that has continually shown up for me  time after time again.

Surely without fail, and what seemed like years, a small crack emerged. I mean small, too small for me to be able to use my tool.  Big enough for me to see the light on the other side.

The thing about that small crack of light is that it may not get any bigger for awhile. In fact, it might stay just like that for another year or two but at some point its going to get bigger, and with it an answer, perhaps a resolution.

Pray for hope, he will give it to you, he knows without it we are completely lost.

Hope is a powerful thing. The dictionary defines hope as “A feeling of expectation”. I think it’s fair to say that recent tragic events that have shaken our world have caused people to lose hope. Hope for their lives to change, hope for a sickness to end, and hope that one night they won’t cry themselves to sleep missing a loved one. Losing hope is dangerous, and in my opinion more dangerous than losing faith.  

What about giving the word “hope” more respect than the word “feeling” has to offer. I think it deserves much more credit than that. Feelings can change in an instant. Someone can walk into a room and change the feelings of the people that occupy it, faster than the blink of an eye.

However, the word “expectation” in the definition suggests that there is a future ( Jeremiah 29:11). Possibly, a future that has the capacity to hold abundant life for you.  Future holds hope in the palm of its hands, and to me that’s incredibly powerful.

Remember that little girl swinging on a grey and creaky swing-set fighting for hope, hope for something more? She was swinging with all her might to get high enough to see just over that red barn.

My hope today that as you read this you being to swing with all your might so that you too can see over your “red barn”. That one day your life will change for the better, hope that your sickness will end, and hope that one day your heart will heal.