2019 has been a very hard year for many. Some have lost loved ones during this year. Many have been dealing with pain, sickness and serious disease. Others have had trial upon trial, heartache and sorrows multiplied, financial woes and various afflictions.

Many who have suffered much this year feel they will never get beyond the darkness that has overwhelmed them. They are discouraged, depressed and feeling pretty hopeless. There seems to be no answers or way of escape.

I will never forget a dream I had many years ago. In the dream I woke up blind and deaf. It seemed so real that I thought I was awake and I started to panic. All I could do was cry out to God, and continued praying until I truly was fully awake and realized it had been a nightmare. I was afraid to close my eyes again, and laid there awake for quite a while before I was calmed down enough to try to go back to sleep.

I imagine the darkness and panic I experienced in that dream are what many going through extremely hard times may feel. They are groping in the dark for any spark of light to show them the way. They don't hear any direction from God, and feel like their prayers are going nowhere. They feel alone in the world, with nowhere to turn for help.

As dark and hopeless as your life may feel right now, there is light available to show you the way. When we can't figure out an answer, there is One who has answers. When all we see are impossible situations, we can cry out to the God of the impossible. Jesus tells us in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

“God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). John 1:4-5 and 9 tell us, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” God sent His only Son, Jesus, to be that light for us in the darkness.

Psalm 107:10, 13-14 says, “Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness… Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness.” No matter how utterly dark our lives may be, when we cry out to the Lord in our distress, He hears our cries and brings us out. It may not be in the way we want or expect, but God is faithful to do what He knows is best in our lives.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). If you need light to see the way, look to Jesus.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 482-5300.