Have you ever felt the heavy weight of hopelessness? Like a heavy wet blanket sitting on your soul?

I have.

Have you ever felt the heavy weight of hopelessness? Like a heavy wet blanket sitting on your soul?

I have. And it is a hard thing to admit being a child of God, with Hope personified, Christ, living in me.

I knew Jesus was my hope (and had surely known hope in my heart and bones before), but under the weight of grief and heartbreak, I could no longer feel hope. I felt hopeless; like hope had left and I was stuck in a dark tunnel with no way out. The thing is, I knew what I should do. The verses I should read (“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19 NIV). The prayers I should pray—my prayers, however, were more like pleas (HELP!) and sounded like emoting; I told God exactly how I felt. I had read in Psalms 34 (MSG) to never hide my feelings from Him. To call out when I was desperate because God keeps an eye on his friends—that His ears pick up every moan and groan (this is when I began to believe that sometimes a prayer can be as simple as a sigh).

And so I did just that—I didn’t hold anything back. I told God how I felt. I told Him life wasn’t fair. I told Him I wanted to run away. I told Him I was angry. I asked Him, “Why?” I sometimes spoke in words and other times I talked in tears (when there were no words).

This did not drive Jesus away. It drew Him closer.

Psalm 34, also, says, “If your heart is broken, you’ll find GOD right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.”

He was right there.

Love covering anger.

Love keeping track of sorrows, collecting all my tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8 NLT).

Love never leaving me.

It was a relentless love, which loved me when I was unlovely, anchoring my despondent heart and restless soul. This staying love is what allowed me to feel hope in my flesh again.

If you are hurt and feeling hopeless about a situation, tell God exactly how you feel. Naming the break is the beginning of breakthrough! Whether you feel it or not, the staying Love of Jesus is there and He will not leave—receiving this love is what redeems and restores our broken lives. You don’t need to anchor your own soul.

When your heart has been healed and you are feeling hope in your flesh again, don’t keep it to yourself— attune your ears to the moans and groans of others, just as God does, and then just be there for them. Healed hurt is never to be kept to ourselves. Our healed hurt is another person’s hope.

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