There’s a lot of hurting happening today. Spouses and children, parents and grandparents, friends and friends of friends are all grieving. Words fail to explain why one man – an Army officer, a man who was tasked with helping others achieve good mental health – would decide to carry out the most deadliest attack on a U.S. military instillation, killing 13 and wounding 30.

When the answer to “Why” is unanswerable, it’s easy to turn to Worry. And Fear. And Hopelessness. You just want to crawl under your blanket, pull the ones you love most in with you and forget the rest of the world.

It’s safer that way. It’s comforting. But even in that safe semi-state of existence, hope doesn’t abide.

Hope is something we look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. It’s something intangible that we place our trust – we even “hope against hope” when the chips are down and every realistic bone in our bodies tell us otherwise. There is still a seed of hope.

But just like a flower can’t bloom without rain, hope can’t exist without seasons of sorrow. It doesn’t explain the Why… it just points to the Who.

For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. (Psalm 71:5)

But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. (Psalm 39:7).

For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. (Psalm 37:9)

Don’t let the worries and fears of today replace your hope for tomorrow, or bury your hope for today. God is still here. And He was here yesterday. In the midst of evil and mayhem, He was there. He was there among the soldiers who despite being wounded, tried to help others escape. He was there with those who were able to stop the shooter from inflicting even more pain. He was there. And He is still there.

It’s hard to see hope sometimes through the veil of despair. We have to ask God sometimes to help us lift it. To see with not our own red and swollen eyes, but with the eyes of God’s heart, with the heartbeat of His hope. We have to remember His hope so we can pass it on to others during times like these. Those who can’t see the hope.

God hasn’t left. He’s with you. Evil will not win.

Not as long as hope remains.

You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. – Psalm 119:114

Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. – Psalm 119:49

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