Many of us feel defeated once when we go through circumstances that leave us feeling helpless. Some people lose their jobs. Some lose their loved ones. Some fall ill with an incurable disease. Whatever the loss or failure, the truth is that the feeling of defeat overwhelms one to the point of losing heart.
But another truth is that we can always take heart in the Lord.
A Personal Loss
I want to share something with you, dear reader. I recently experienced losing the old beloved house where I grew up. Years of fighting for the property yielded no victory for my family; instead, it took its toll on my family's relationships.
I can't deny the intense sadness that I felt when I was told that we were ordered to leave the property. Thoughts of my parents' efforts to acquire that old house, and joyful childhood memories filled my mind as I tried to console myself over the loss.
I felt hopeless and helpless in trying to regain our old home. I felt defeated.
A Personal Hope
I shared my story not to draw pity for myself but to share with readers having suffered a loss that they're not alone. All of us face circumstances that are out of our control. We all feel loss, anguish, and sadness. We all feel defeated sometimes.
Friend, I want to encourage you: God loves you as much as He loves everyone in the world. He promises to restore what was taken from you. He wants to give you more than what you've lost.
In Joel 2:25, God said, "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you."
I trust that God will restore all those years that my family and I lost. He will restore yours, too.
In Jeremiah 29:11, He said, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
I know that better things are in store for me and my family, because that's what God is preparing for us. I know that's what's in store for you, too.
In Revelation 21:4, we are reminded, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
I know all this pain, anguish, and sorrow that we feel is as fleeting as our life is fleeting. But because I have put my hope in Jesus Christ, I know all my tears will be wiped away someday.
Friend, put your hope in the Lord. No matter what we go through, no matter what we feel, He will restore our soul and bring back what the devil has stolen from us.
