Can Hope Still Be Found?

So he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” Her spirit returned and she got up at once.

Luke 8:54-55a

In Luke 8:40-56, there is a story written about a young girl who was dying. Her father went seeking Jesus, pleading with Jesus to come to his house and heal his daughter. Before they reached the house, this man’s daughter had died. It seemed all hope was lost, until Jesus brought a miracle to their home. Luke 8:54-55a reads “So he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” Her spirit returned and she got up at once.”

 As I read this passage, I began to ponder how amazing it would be to watch these miracles unfold. I wondered how it would be to actually walk the streets with Jesus and see His healing touch, to see how it would look for someone to be brought back to life from death. I began to sit with this and let the Lord speak to my heart. He very boldly said, “My daughter, we have walked the streets together. YOU have been brought back to life” The Lord grabbed my attention and reminded me that even though my heart never stopped beating and the coroner hadn’t been called, I had once been dead and he performed a miracle in me.

 For years, I walked out a broken relationship with Him. I was self-centered and mainly concerned with what He could bring to the table for me. I wrestled with prayer and seeking God’s will for my life. I would often question God and His worth. I began to doubt that God was for me. I began to question why He couldn’t see things my way. I began to doubt if He was even real. I failed to see the bigger picture. I failed to see that this world wasn’t about me, me, me and that God didn’t create this Earth for my glory, my desires, my wants, my ease. He created it to bring Him glory. He created mankind in His image, to glorify Him and I was blinded to this truth and stuck in the rut of believing that Jesus’ job was to fill all of my desires.

 As I walked through this period of life, full of doubt and questions, I allowed Satan to get a grip on my thoughts. It was gradual, but just like Eve in the garden, I began to settle for the lies and seek out the fruit. I chose to believe that if God didn’t see things my way or answer all of my prayers, then He didn’t really care about me. Before long, I was in a place I never imagined was possible. I began making decisions that were completely out of character for me. I chose to walk down an incredibly treacherous path. I made decisions that shock me to this day. I released God from my life and told Him that I had it from here. He relented and allowed me to make my own choices. He allowed me to sit in the despair of those decisions. He allowed me to see the destruction that was happening around me. I was miserable, lost and flailing, all while trying to hold it together so no one knew the pain that burrowed so deep. I began to see visions of what the future may look like and the destruction paralyzed me.

 I had nowhere else to turn, so I began to pray, hoping the Lord would hear my cries and choose to rescue me. He heard my pleas and began to walk me down a path of healing and restoration. This path was not easy.  He had to heal the broken pieces of my heart. He had to restore how I saw myself, through His eyes and not my own. He taught me how to forgive myself as well as others. There was a lot of pain that I had projected onto other people and I had to wrestle through that. I had to choose the hard over and over again, because I knew it would produce the results I eventually desired. I had to die to self and give Him all of me so that I could begin to understand that I am worthy, I am chosen, I am HIS.

 All of these moments were the Lord gently breathing life into me and bringing my soul back from the dead. He revealed the places of my life that were broken and began to mend them. He drew me close and held me when nothing made sense. He chose people to cross my path and share His love when I didn’t feel lovable. He brought redemption and healing to my marriage. And just like the daughter in the story, when all hope seemed lost, my Lord brought life. His hand pulled me from the pit of my despair and restored all that was broken.

 Jesus is always waiting with an outstretched hand, no matter how far you stray. He is always waiting to show you the hope that lies in Him. He is ready to breathe life into your soul and resurrect you into something beautiful and alive. He is ready to change you in ways you never thought possible. I promise it won’t always be easy, but I do promise it will always be worth it.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord says: If you return, I will take you back; you will stand in my presence”
Jeremiah 15:19