Finding Hope’s Light Again

In the still of night,

When everything’s far from right,

Where life’s toughness and roughness bite,

We’ve lost sight of hope’s light.

In such a state,

How do we relate,

How will we contemplate,

A more hope-filled fate?

When nervousness is unending,

And depression seems unrelenting,

When there’s no way of venting,

What will we do?

Where will we go,

When all’s turned low,

And our strengths to persist close,

And deep waters rise to meet our nose?

God comes calling at these times,

When hearts are rent and despicability climbs,

And because we’re left with no resistance,

God breaks through in his persistence.

Then the hope of light ensues,

A state in which our soul imbues,

Reaching a golden resplendent height,

In comes the strange bright of light.

***

It’s hard to imagine when our hope has evaporated, as if it never existed, just how we will re-rail our lives. This is no exaggeration or underestimation of the power of helplessness and hopelessness. Millions upon millions attest to the vacuum of despair met with daily. Some have known hope, whilst others never have.

This poem is about those that have glimpsed some sort of divine hope; but in having lost the way, due to some unrelenting issue, we are desperate to find hope’s light again. Somehow we believe it can be found, and upon that very belief is founded both the source of our enquiry and the eventual acquisition of such spiritual blessing it could only be called hope.

The Despair of Night’s Dark

Night time is a good image, I think, of the darkness we experience in our souls at times, whether it’s issues of circumstance or issues, inexplicable. Darkness comes to all human beings, because we are home to darkness. Because of this we have such need is God.

The despair of night’s dark seems uncompromising. We have no sight for light. It seems as if we are drowning in our sorrows of soul.

The key interruption to this night darkness is when God comes calling at our surrender of resistance. In weakness comes strength. God’s persistence begins to work in our weakness toward our recovery and eventual blessing.

The Hope of Day’s Light

When the hope of day’s light comes, we meet it with the same surreal peaceful joy we experience in any victory. We feel like saying, “So this is what faithfulness feels like—to be blessed because of our faithfulness in this situation?”

When the hope of day’s light comes in such a way we cannot help but be humbled. Even in our faithfulness we doubted, but God knew better. Now he showers us with the blessings of victory: peace and joy.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.