Reclaiming Hope in the Midst of Pain

“We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:17‭-‬18 TPT

I've found myself recently bracing for impact. Things will be fine and I find myself anxiously waiting for things to go wrong. It's as though I've faced so many soul-crushing circumstances that at some point, I started believing that I was built for it, that it was something I should expect. As I was praying about it, the Holy Spirit showed me that I've had an affair with pain. Pain has shown up so many times in my life and rather than healing and putting painful experiences behind me, I've treated pain like an old friend and forgotten what hope's embrace felt like. Pain taught me to assign permanence to situations that were temporary and to forget that nothing I've been through has ever lasted forever. The truth is that I'm more compatible with hope.

The truth about pain, is that when it shows up, I don't have to believe anything it says. Pain can be so convincing. Pain tells lies like, "you’ll suffer forever” or “you’re better off alone” or even that “you must have done something to deserve this." But hope says, "Joy comes in the morning” and “I was made to love and be loved and nothing I've done can take away God's love for me."

I asked God to help me hope again. I asked Him to expose the areas of hopelessness that have crept in so that I can be hopeful again and partner my faith with his promises. What He showed me was a practical way to locate those areas where I've lost hope. He showed me that there are things that He said He would do for me, and when I lost hope, I started trying to come up with back up plans for those aspects of my life, or looking for ways to comfort myself in case it never happens.

I challenge you to ask Him where you've lost hope. Maybe He told you a financial blessing was coming and you ran yourself ragged taking jobs He never intended for you. Maybe you experienced a heartbreak and instead of experiencing Him as the comforter, you numbed yourself by drinking and spending money. Maybe He made you a promise and you've told yourself that you must not have heard Him right. There is absolutely no shame in seeing these things. He wants to replace all those comforts and backup plans with real solutions. His solutions. You're not foolish for hoping again. I know that when we look through the lens of pain, it can make everything look dark, but God can heal your vision. His love for you is more permanent than the situations that feel like they are breaking you.

I challenge you to hope again; to brace yourself for something good to happen even though it doesn't seem possible. I challenge you to pray until the weight of everything doesn't feel so heavy. Pray until the big obstacles look small in comparison to God. Pray until that realm you can't see feels more real than your current circumstances. Pray until you remember what He's done before. Pray until you believe He'll do it again. He loves you and He won't leave you here.