Hope in the Darkness

I step out into the cool, early spring morning. The songs of the morning birds sing through the bare treetops, and the wind is still, for now. 

Great masses of snow have dissipated, and I long for the greening of the natural world to begin again. 

It's been so long since I could feel earth's life energy flowing. With this hint of spring, I find there is hope beginning to grow in my heart that once again the natural world will begin to feel alive 

Hope.

 
In the dead of winter, after months of sub zero temperatures and endless white landscapes, hope for green and growing life was hard to find. 

Truly, there was a recent day when I thought I might never see color in the landscape again.

Of course, logic prevailed on that winter day, as I knew that with the cycle of the earth, spring would return, as surely as the sun would rise the next day.

But what about those of us who are deep in the dark night of the soul? When darkness surrounds you, and there is no glimmer of light, the heaviness in your heart makes it feel as if there is no hope.

The day after Jesus died, all hope was gone. As his body lay in the silence of the dark tomb, the world outside awakened. Birds sang, the warm sun rose. But for the apostles, there was no light, no glimmer of hope. Love had been defeated by death.

They didn't know that in one more day the opposite would prove to be true. Death would be defeated by Love! Joy would surge through their hearts. They would have disbelief, sure, with the miraculous vision of a man returning from death. However, their dark night of the soul would end in glorious reunion with their Lord.

Is your soul in the tomb today, my friend? We’ve all been there, when dark thoughts seem to block out the Light. When there is no hope, only despair. No joy, only sadness.

I imagine many know deep despair, after the death of loved one; after many of the disappointments that strike us deeply in our spirit and make it seem impossible to go on.

But the sun will always rise tomorrow. And while the breath of life runs through us still, we have to believe there is hope. For nothing stays the same. Change is inevitable. Perhaps we must initiate the change. But it will happen, and hope will be restored.

On that glorious Easter morning when faith was restored, when hope was reborn, the world saw a miracle, a fulfilling of prophesy.

Likewise, life does return to the lifeless heart. When despair has us lying in our graves of hopelessness, we have to believe that tomorrow will bring hope. That our faith can be restored. It may take time.

Somewhere deep within, there must glow a faint ember of hope. Lean on God to help you breathe into that flame of life inside you. Reach out to receive His love. Let His comfort cover you like a warm blanket. Rest in the safety of His Love.

You are loved. It may be a Saturday in the tomb, but tomorrow the sun will rise, birds will sing, and life will continue its endless cycle. When you are ready, rise and add your beautiful song. The world needs you and the love only you can share.

"No storm can chase my inmost calm, when to that Rock, I'm clinging.

Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?"

Enjoy this beautiful rendition of "How Can I Keep From Singing"

and have hope, my friends.

Heed these words from 2 Corinthians 5, vs. 15-17

¹⁵ He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluation others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ as merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone; a new life has begun!