The old man lay still in his bed. Morning light streamed through the window as birds chirped a carefree song of greeting outside.  He was not asleep.  For 87 years, he woke with the dawn and listened as the world began to wake.  The room he lay in was unfamiliar.  The bed was not his own.  Even the pictures on the walls were of places unknown, faces of strangers.  Until the moment the little girl walked in, nothing felt right.  His grand daughter reached out and took hold of his withered hand.  She looked at the cross he’d worn around his neck her whole life, silver, shining in the sunlight. He opened his eyes for the last time and looked at her, “never, never, never give up.”  

Wise words can lead us where we need to be, but in moments of weakness and despair, they are often forgotten. Where does hope come from then?  What can make the difference in giving up or holding on? When we turn our eyes to people and circumstances, and take our eyes off of God, we can lose sight of hope. We can be like sheep without a shepherd, wandering, lost and alone.  The truth is, that with God there is always hope.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever–present help in trouble.   Psalm 40

In every life, there is trouble. I was born into trouble and can scarcely remember a time in my youth when I wasn’t overcoming something, or suffering in my circumstances. A sense of worry grew in me that was always in the back of my mind. I worried when times were good that they would soon turn bad. I worried when times were bad, that they would never be good again, or that they would get worse. I prayed, but I did not know the God of the Bible. To my young mind, He was a force too large to comprehend, outside my reach, far removed from my dysfunctional world.  I prayed, but did He hear me?

Years of worry did not reduce my suffering, or diminish my pain. Worry, like salt in a wound, only made everything worse. It did not glorify God. I wore it like an impenetrable armor, but it protected me from nothing. It was the manifestation of my fear, in direct opposition to the Word of God.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?   Luke 12:25

The more we know God, the less we are prone to fear and worry.  In God’s Word we find a clear path to peace, a divine instruction to face our fears and handle life’s many challenges.  His comfort sustains us, His love changes us, His sacrifice restores us, His grace covers us.  Worry not, the Lord is your Shepherd…

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.

Psalm 23

Thank you God that you are close to the broken hearted, that you love us and sustain us.  Be near the lost and the lonely, God.  Comfort them with your Holy Spirit, give them peace and the strength to persevere, for you alone can fill our empty places and restore our joy.  Take away our fears and our worry and remind us that you are with us, always.  You will never leave us or forsake us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.