Is there any pit deeper than the dark abyss of hopelessness? In my sixty one years of living with painful memories stemming from childhood abuse I have never felt as lost and alone as I do when processing the feelings of no hope. It is a dark cloud that appears to have no breakthrough or silver lining. It is a severe challenge to my sanity, to my faith and to my relationships. 

If you have lost someone near and dear to your heart you may have felt this way. In fact you may be feeling that way right now. The loss of a baby or a child has to be one of the most challenging and intensely painful experiences to overcome in life. It can and most likely will leave you swimming in a deep dark hole of dread and hopelessness with seemingly no relief in sight.

In the Bible, the book of John is noted as one of the most prolific writings on the life of Christ and it quotes Him in Chapter 16 vs 21 as saying, “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” But what about the woman who does not see that child she has longed for be born? What happens to her joy? Where can she find hope in the face of such a devastating loss?

For the woman who conceives and carries the next child full term and delivers a healthy boy or girl, her joy can be restored to some degree, although if she is honest the pain of the previous loss scars her soul and stays with her all her life. But what of the woman who loses the next child? And the next? Or, is never able to conceive again? Where does she find joy noted in John 16:21?

My experience with this kind of loss, along with my own PTSD issues has taught me there’s only one place to find joy in the midst of hopelessness …its noted in John 16 vs 22. Jesus says, “Therefore, you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” The answer to my bouts with hopelessness has always been won in my relationship with my Creator and Savior. That’s it. Christ and Christ alone. I have never met anyone who has ever offered me a better option or a clear alternative to my relationship with Christ as the answer to my dark abyss of feeling there is no hope beyond what I am experiencing at the time. It’s the promise of seeing Him one day and being with Him forever, that eventually breaks up the clouds of pain and loss and gives me glimpses of eternal hope. 

Corrie Ten Boom, the wonderful woman who survived a Holocaust war camp while losing her sister in that dark time of our world’s history said, “There is no pit so deep, He is not deeper still.” 

Does hopelessness have a hold on your mind and soul today? If so, have you allowed the One who created you to enter into your pain and break up the clouds of despair? If you have, I celebrate that with you and encourage you to hang on tight to Him and let His sweet understanding spirit minister to you. 

If you have not begun that relationship with Him, please do yourself the biggest favor you could ever do, embrace His love. Accept his forgiveness of all the sins, errors, mistakes and broken moments of your life. Invite Him into your heart and commit to following His path of healing and forgiveness. It’s a very simple, yet the MOST PROFOUND decision you will ever make. Embrace John 3:16 with all your heart,  mind and soul and you will have a personal connection to a joy that transcends the abyss of hopelessness.