Hope When You Feel Helpless

I click through the pictures and my heart sinks. The devastation left behind after a hurricane is hard to wrap your mind around, but I see it on their faces as they dig through the rubble of what was once their home. 

I learn about a friend who has received a bleak diagnosis, another who is feeling the sting of a broken relationship, and another who feels crushed under the weight of mental illness. 

Some days, you can feel the heaviness in the air. Some days, you just feel helpless. 

My mom used to say, "Give me the magic wand, I'll fix it!" Yes, please. 

When I think about the word helpless, I usually think of situations I have a complete and total lack of power and ability to fix. And let's be honest, that's most of life. 

I do everything I can to avoid this realization. But hurricanes, cancer, and heartache won't let me forget. 

So where do we find hope? 

Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. (Psalm 10:17)

 As I read these words this morning, I realized something. Even when we feel most vulnerable, most helpless- we are not without help. 

Our God knows the path we walk. He knows how hard it is to get out of bed and keep putting one foot in front of the other some days. He knows. The things nobody else knows. He knows. 

And not only does He know. He hears. Not just the words we speak, but the words that are trapped inside of us. The deepest groaning of our hearts.

But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. (Rom 8:26) 

He knows. He hears. And He comforts.  

When words fall short, when the pain is deep. He comforts. 

God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others... (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Life can leave us feeling helpless. But we are not without help. And we are not without hope. God knows you, he hears you, and He can comfort you in your most helpless places. 

Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. (Psalm 10:17)