The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche didn’t like the hope that Christianity offered. He called it abusive. He observed Christians praying about their problems, seeking God to answer their unmet needs, and he scoffed. He saw people hanging onto hope when he thought they should abandon all hope.
Most people don’t realize how important hope is in their daily struggles. Once hope is abandoned, we start to despair, becoming despondent and angry and wanting to reject God. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12, ESV).
We wonder if God hears us when we cry, “Lord, will my child ever speak to me again? How long will I have to watch bills pile up as I live paycheck to paycheck? Will my marriage ever be restored? God, is there any hope for me at all?”
We grow weary of desperately praying to the Lord to express our deepest needs. Sometimes, our prayers are agony, yet every such lament is a cry of hope. We may think that God doesn’t want to hear our anger or despondency, but he actually invites and encourages our cries. God already knows what is in our hearts, so it is important to express those feelings to him.
The Lord doesn’t cast us out over any of these feelings. On the contrary, his nature is to heal the brokenhearted. He doesn’t turn his back on the wounded or the discouraged but instead repairs our brokenness.
Like any good father, God loves to give to his children and wants us to ask him for good things. That includes our requests for healing, deliverance, reconciliation and restoration when we suffer. Suppressing hope and longings may provide a temporary taste of stability, but it shuts down any possibility of a genuine breakthrough. Moreover, it does not involve faith.
Scripture says, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9).The Lord’s presence is with us when we wait and cry, “How long?” Every lament is a marriage of pain and hope. Await your new song amid your suffering, and hold onto hope. God is a stronghold for us through our long times of trouble, and he is also at work changing our hearts.
This devotional has been adapted from Gary Wilkerson’s book, The Altar of Our Hearts: An Expository Devotional on the Psalms.