How Can I Find Hope in the Middle of Sorrow?نموونە

DAY ONE| GOD NEVER MOVES, WE DO!

For 37 years, I lived a non-Christian life, pursuing success and possessions. Tragedy struck when my husband died suddenly in 2015. Grief led me down dark paths of dependency on sex, alcohol, and marijuana. I was living with suicidal thoughts, which led me to have a mental breakdown.

Have you ever felt like your soul was being punched so hard and persistently that it made your body ache? Well, that is the type of pain I was in, and it crippled me to the core. I was alone, a single parent, with my career in tatters. Financially, I was struggling, and for the first time in my life, I couldn't see a way out; no light at the end of any tunnel.

In 2018, I was desperate and in despair. I wanted to die. In that moment, I thought, "What else have I got to lose?" I was trying to do everything in my own strength, and my own choices were dragging me deeper and deeper into the quicksand of despair. So I cried out to Jesus and said, “Lord, please help me! If you're real, save me from this sadness."

The more steps we take to fill our lives with temptations, distractions, and anything that does not allow Jesus to guide our actions is what we call sin. The more we sin and lose faith and hope, the further away we take ourselves from feeling His love.

Picture an onion; it has so many layers, right? Well, now imagine sin as one of those circular layers. The more we sin, the more layers are created until we are so far away from feeling Jesus's love. The thing is, He has not stopped loving us, but those barriers convince us that He no longer hears our cries of despair or pleas for help.

However, the most beautiful thing about Jesus's love is this: We move, and He doesn't. The way back to Him is easy and immediate because His love is always there.

You may be feeling like so many things have been lost to you—a job, a lost childhood through trauma or abuse, the loss of a loved one, the loss of your mental well-being. You may be going through a situation or a season in your life where you feel that hope is nowhere to be seen. You may be thinking that you have done such bad things that Jesus could never love or forgive you.

Well, I want you to know that there is hope in the middle of your sorrow, and that hope can be found by calling on the name of Jesus—just like I did. You see, the reason I am here and am able to share my story and these words of encouragement is because I was able to find hope in the middle of my sorrow, not through my own strength but because I had to recognise that I was trying to heal myself with my own sinful choices. Since that moment of surrendering and accepting that only Jesus can help me heal, He has transformed my life in unimaginable ways.

Over the next couple of days, I am going to share with you how you, too, can trust that HE is right there with you. It will mean that you will have to be strong and courageous and admit that you have been trying to fix your situation yourself. You will have to be honest and say that you have sinned, and you will need to say you're sorry for making some bad choices. But know this, the Lord says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Now take a moment in a quiet place to start your journey to joy by praying this prayer:

'Heavenly Father, I know that many things may have been lost to me. Whatever it is that has been lost to me, Father, I want to say I'm sorry for choosing to try and sort things out myself. Forgive me for the bad choices I have made and how I have taken myself far away from you. In this moment I give my hope and future to you in the assurance that through calling on your name, the name of Jesus, and having faith in you, that hope will be found and joy will come to my life again. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen."