The promise of hope for the hurting heart

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By Sharayah Colter
March 29, 2023

If only God would see fit to send dark clouds, and storms, and dripping, gloomy rain when tragedy strikes.

Half-staff flags waving against a bright blue sky just above the trees where baby green leaves have only just begun to sprout seem such a stark and unfitting contrast. Our souls tremble under the weight of suffocating sorrow. Under the heavy hand of pain too deep to describe.

And yet, the unspoken message written between a half-staff flag and a bright beautiful day is clear. Divine, even:

We grieve, but not as those without hope (1 Thess. 4:13). 

For the human heart, looking ahead to brighter days on earth and to eternal perfection in heaven when the soul is so deeply saddened seems an almost impossible feat. But through the power of the Spirit inside the heart of every believer, the impossible becomes possible, and we grieve with hope.

Today, the pain of searing loss is real and almost unbearable. Almost.

But hope is stronger, and it holds us like an anchor (Heb. 6:19).

And though we — and certainly those most directly affected by this week’s tragic Christian school shooting — may not sense the hope or feel confident of its presence, there it is, nonetheless, independent of our feelings and unaffected by the limits of our hurting human hearts.

One day, the sun will rise again in the hearts of every mourning mother, father, son, daughter, sibling, and friend, and hope will seem a more natural, fitting thought.

Until then, we have blue skies behind our lowered flags and this true and absolutely trustworthy promise: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5

Today, please join us in praying for the Covenant School community — for the “peace that passes understanding,” for the faithful comfort of the Holy Spirit, and for the nearness of hope found only, and fully, in Jesus Christ.