Hope in the Darkness
By Maria Fontaine
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One day I was answering some correspondence from one of our TFI missionaries who serves on a very poor field. As I was dictating my response, I felt an urge to not only write him but to also write a letter to the people who he ministers to. I thought about how it would feel to be terribly poor, maybe not having enough to eat and not enough money to enroll your kids in school, and many other things that so many of us consider necessities of life.
I felt that Jesus had something He wanted to say to them. I didn’t think it out in advance, but just started writing. The following is the message that the Lord gave me for them.
A Message of Hope
This is a message of hope for you if you are suffering, a message that a better time is coming. So don’t despair, don’t give up. If you accept the love of the One who died for you to bring you a better life, one day you will live with Him in His beautiful home forever, as one of the members of His family, not having to suffer anymore—ever.
Life is hard; there’s no question about it. But there is someone you can counsel with when decisions seem too hard to make. There is someone you can run to when your heart is breaking and you need a friend to just sit beside you and hold your hand. There is someone who will be there for you in the bad times as well as the good. Not only that, there is someone who has promised to take all the bad things that happen to you and eventually bring good from them.
This is the One who the Bible describes as “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”1—someone who suffered the greatest of all suffering and who understands your worst emotional and physical pain. He is everything that you could ever want in a friend, a counselor, a guide, a teacher, and a father. He is Jesus, the Son of God.
God’s love is unending, it’s without limits. It’s higher than the highest mountain, deeper than the deepest sea. It’s everywhere, and it’s always, and there’s nothing like it anywhere! It’s awesome, magnificent, and all-encompassing! It’s far too big for us to fully comprehend.
Yet God wanted us to experience this monumental love. So our amazing Creator had a plan! He packed all that love and all that compassion and all that understanding into His Son, Jesus. Then He sent Him to earth to live like us. He came as a baby to live on earth and experience the things we go through. However, unlike us, Jesus was both God and man.
His mission on earth was finished when He died an excruciating death on the cross, rose from the dead, and went back to His Father and His heavenly home. He was willing to make that supreme sacrifice of dying for us in order to take our sins upon Himself and redeem us. He did this so that we could be forgiven and know how great a love He and the Father have for us.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”2
This love is manifested not only in the heavenly home that He has prepared for you, but also in His walking with you through all the difficulties, challenges, problems, losses, and tragedies of this life.
An amazing thing is that Jesus knows you personally. He knows your name. He knows all your problems and heartaches, and He wants to help you through each one.
He’s with you all the time, and when you open your heart to Him, you can hear Him speak to you. He wants to be your best friend and to carry on a conversation with you. He is everything good and beautiful, and He can help you find that goodness and beauty.
It’s possible for you to experience the peace He gives even if you live in a tent, a broken-down shed, or perhaps you don’t even have a place to live. No matter what your circumstances, you can experience joy and hope.
He’s promised that if you ask Him, and you have faith, He will answer you. As small and weak as you may feel, you can count on Him. God promises that all things are possible to those who believe.
If you open your heart to Him and make Him an important part of your life, He will answer you, He will speak to you, He will help you navigate this life. You can find the peace and faith and strength that come as you trust in Jesus as your best friend.
No matter how difficult things are, you can know that He is right there to help you cope. God doesn’t always take the bad things away, but He can make it easier for you and help you through each difficulty you face.
After you’ve walked with Him through this life, you will be able to keep walking with Him right into the next life in heaven! You will enter the most beautiful place where you will live forever in joy and peace. Love and justice will reign, and you will never be hurt or cheated or oppressed or taken advantage of again. You will never know pain or poverty again.
When it’s time for the angels to accompany you to heaven, you will hear Jesus say, “You did well, My dear one! My home is your home! Come right in! We’ll celebrate together! Forever!”
May you know His all-encompassing love. May you understand how important you are to Him. May you have faith that He is always beside you, and may you have His supernatural joy, no matter what your circumstances.
Jesus says to you, “I’m standing at the door of your heart and knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I’ll come in and we’ll have a wonderful meal together.”3 He has promised to come into your life and to fill it with His joy, peace, comfort, and eternal salvation.
If you would like to ask Jesus to come into your heart, you can do so by praying a simple prayer, such as:
Dear Jesus, I need You. You know all that I’m going through, and You understand my struggles. Even when I can’t see the way to go, You are there with me. I need Your presence in my life. Please come into my heart, forgive me my wrongdoings, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Originally published February 2019. Adapted and republished September 2021.
Read by Debra Lee.
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