BREATH OF HOPE

BREATH OF HOPE

by Brenda L. Agee

"The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.    Lamentations 3:24-26 (NKJV)

Years ago one of my dearest friends came to me.  She had just found out her husband had been unfaithful and she was devastated.  I was divorced a couple of years prior to her visit and yet I didn't know how to help her.  I simply said, "I'll pray for you" and then I prayed and sent her on her way.  I was not a comfort.  I was not a true friend.  I was nothing to her.  As empty as I felt when she left, I knew that she was even more so.  I cried and cried because I didn't know how to share God's hope.

Most of us have been through difficulties which were like storms swirling around us.  It isn't easy to talk about during the time and even later, it isn't easy when we remember the pain.  There are times still when Satan's taunts me with past hurts and tries to convince me that I have no hope.  He twists circumstances and situations in order to place himself as judge and accuser over me.  But Satan hasn't won and God has brought me through all things so I know God will continue to bring me through all things.  I'm not saying it's always easy but I am saying there is always a victory and eventual ending of the storm that rages.

And there is always hope in God.  Hope is not something we see.  Hope is not an emotion.  Hope is knowing that regardless of what's happening or how I feel or what I see around me, God will bring me through.

"We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield."  

Psalm 33:20 (KJV)

During the past several months many of my friends and family have gone through some horrible, terrifying, devastating, and sad times.  Some have experienced the death of a very young beloved child and friend through an automobile accident.  Some have known tragedy through the prolonged healing of a little girl still in the hospital who was hurt in the same automobile accident months ago.  Others I know have had legal difficulties or have loved ones suffering those difficulties.  There are illnesses, emotional trauma, family displacements, and more.

I have a heavy heart for those who are hurting and I long to ease their pain but I know that it isn't me who gives hope.  It's only God who can really help them but I pray He will use me in some way.  I can pray for them and pray that God grant me grace in letting them know there is hope still.  

With God's mercy since the time years ago that my friend came to me, and with my having gone through great pain and sorrow myself, there are a few things I have learned.

I've learned to be still.  Psalm 46:10 "He says, “Be still, and know that I am God . . . "  When I lived in Pittsburg, Kansas, I sat with a friend who was hurting and crying.  I held her hand and sat with her for a long while.  Neither one of us said a word.  When her children were due home from school, we hugged each other before I left and even then, neither of us spoke.  A couple of years later, she said that our being together in silence had left her with strength and peace.

I've learned to listen.  Sometimes we are too quick to answer or say something, anything, rather than truly listen.  When Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him to the mount, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus.  Jesus' appearance changed while Moses and Elijah were present in their "splendor."  As soon as Moses and Elijah left Jesus, Peter immediately started talking.  God, however, spoke.  Luke 9:34-36 reads, "While he (Peter) was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 

Yes, before we speak we must listen.  Sometimes the other person just needs to cry or talk with someone and they don't always need our words.  We listen to the one who is hurting and most of all, we listen to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  When they do need our words, may we have listened first so we might know what to say or do, and how to give comfort. 

I've learned to wait.  Grieving is personal and no one should tell others that their time for grieving should be over.  We are not to be impatient with those who hurt, but rather let God bring them through in His perfect time.  It isn't the time period that matters, but it's the hope during the time of grieving or sorrow that matters.  While I struggled for decades with the pain of having been molested, when I felt like crying for years after having been beaten, when I felt the anguish of losing more than one marriage, when I was devastated with learning I had an illness that could cause an early death, I knew that no matter what and no matter how long it took, God would bring me through with hope.   

There were many who questioned my faith because the pain lingered past the time they thought I should have been over it.  However, my faith increased during those years because I always believed and had hope that God would heal my broken heart.  I didn't tell God when or how quickly to do so, I simply trusted that He would.  "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:5 NIV)  

There are other things that I've learned about sharing my hope.  I'm no longer afraid to speak up and share the pain I've endured.  I'm no longer timid about going to or talking with either friends or strangers who hurt.  I've learned that I went through many things so that I might let others know there is hope.  It isn't me who gives hope: it is Jesus!  It is always my prayer that Jesus will become the absolute and true Hope for those who hurt!

A number of years ago I wrote a poem for a friend.  I made a cross-stitching of the poem and have had it hanging on my walls ever since.  Anyone who visited me could have read it and some did, but I think I've only given a copy of it to one or two people.  However, it's not doing anyone any good by just hanging on my wall.  So after much prayer, I've decided to share this poem with you.  I give God the glory and share this in His love so all I ask is that if you share this poem with another, please include my name as the author and do not use your name or someone else as the author.   

It's always my prayer that you will know that God never fails in His love for us and He doesn't just give hope, He is Hope.  May you be blessed with His love now and forever! 

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BREATH OF HOPE
by Brenda L. Agee©

A breath of hope is all I have to give you as a friend.

No greater gift is mine to give than to tell of peace within.

A breath of hope is all I have to give of God's sweet love,

That when we feel our hope is lost, there's joy in God above.

Days and time don't always end the way that we expect.

Instead of dreams which linger on, there's pain we can't forget.

At times we feel so all alone with disappointment and despair

And then our hearts cry out to God: We go to Him in prayer.

In God's full love His Spirit comes to comfort us with peace

And even though we see Him not, He's there to meet our needs.

He tells the Father of our pain.  He tells of thoughts and tears.

He whispers love within our hearts to let us know He's near.

By this we know the love of God, for us He gave His life.

He feels our every pain and fear and hears us when we cry.

By this we know the peace of God, a promise from long ago,

His Spirit to dwell within our hearts, He is our breath of hope.

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