Hopeless or Hope-Filled

Psalm 31:24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Shortly after I made the statement - "there's never a dull moment, you never know what can happen," it rang true as we found ourselves resuscitating a patient's wife. A woman in which life just seemed to be too much to handle and overdosed on prescription psychiatric medications in what seems to be an effort to numb the pain and deal with the overwhelming circumstances that had recently come her way. Not only had her husband been recently diagnosed with terminal cancer with no insurance but her son is also facing up to ten years in prison.

A co-worker of mine seemed shaken by the events that took place. This someone is often self-absorbed and could care less about anyone else's problems. However, after this incident and also seeing a woman who has had half of her face removed because of cancer she was abruptly reminded that people have much bigger problems than she. She asked me the question tonight - as she searched within herself - what do you do? How do you deal with life when it is that harsh? I responded that people respond in that way...they take pills, they drink...they do drugs. Why? Because life is sometimes too much to handle...life is difficult....and how can anyone bear it alone? What can fill the void when there is no hope?

People without Christ have no hope. They have no one to turn to. They have no purpose behind the suffering that they endure. They carry the burden alone.

She then asked, "But don't you get mad at God for putting you through all that?" And my answer was yes, you may get mad, yell at God, ask for answers that he doesn't give you, but you still have hope because you know Christ. He will carry your burdens. He will give you a reason for which you suffer.

Those who have no hope run from suffering because it is the stark reminder of their lost state. When all you have is life here on earth - you believe that you deserve heaven while living here. However, when you have heaven to look toward, you realize that while here on earth suffering can be endured.

People around us are hopeless. We are hope-filled.
We must share with those who are hopeless the message of hope that they might one day be hope-filled by experiencing redemption through Jesus Christ.

Life is hard, but God is good.