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

Hope. It’s such a simple four letter word, but it can mean so many different things to different people. I hope we win. I hope he chooses me. I hope she gets well. I hope I can endure this.

Recently, a friend of mine was faced with the trauma of her children facing the death of their father (her ex-husband). Arguably, he drank himself into liver and kidney failure, but the doctors still held out a small ray of hope that he might pull through, and his children prayed that he would beat the odds.

If he lived, he would face a transplant (for which he was not a good candidate) and years of rehabilitation. If he passed away, he would be free from pain but leave a huge void in their lives. He rallied off and on for two weeks, and eventually the day came when the doctors prepared the family for the inevitable news that he would not survive. Their hope for a miracle waned. The hope of more hours, days and years with them disappeared. But thankfully, he was a believer in Christ. His hope was for a new eternal life in heaven, free from addiction.

I shared this family’s pain as I recalled losing my own father to a short lived illness at a relatively young age, and the hope I finally had knowing he was finally at rest in his heavenly home. As followers of Christ, our Great Physician is always near us. He’s our one true hope. So let's, as the Psalmist writes, be strong and take heart!

Lord God, thank You that You give us promise when we feel abandoned and bankrupt of any hope. May we always lean on You as our refuge and strength. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

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When you are faced with a heavy burden and broken heart, lean on God for strength and remember this life on earth is temporal, while our healing and home is in heaven.



Tags: Hope death