My Sweet Hope

Sweet Hope

(a little bit of personal poetry/writing that was inspired by what has been on my heart lately. It's pretty long, but I hope that you enjoy)

The world is spinning around me. I hear things. I see things. Are they really there?
Death. Disease. Beatings. Fighting.
Crying, Fear, Pain, and Sorrow.
Utter brokenness.
Why can’t I fix it? Why can’t I stop all the pain, the hurt, the sadness?
It’s happening to my friends, to my family, to people half-way around the world. It’s even happening to me.
I’m crying out for the sake of the world, God. There are so many broken hearts, broken homes, broken lives.
What can I do about it?
I want to know about the girl sitting next to me. What is going on behind that plastered smile? Looking into her eyes, I can see evidence of something that I do not know. Little do I know that she is still grieving her younger brothers' death from cancer. It still tears her apart.
The boy across the hall…what about him? His parents are fighting and he doesn’t know what to do. He can’t stop the hurt he feels inside. He can’t do anything about it. He wants to fix it.
He can’t. I can’t.
I want to fix it. I want to stop the hurt, the sadness—the tears, the pain, the fear.
But I can’t. I can’t fix the cloud of darkness seems to hover some place in the world at any given time.
Evil. The devil holds us captive. He tells us that there is no way out and begs us to give up.

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We try to hold ourselves up on breaking crutches.
The crutches we lean on in this life are just as broken as we are. We think that if we only use a wonder drug or had enough money that our problems would disappear. We lean on other people like us, our things, and celebrities, thinking that they will keep us strong.
But they let us down and when they fall, we fall with them.
What can hold us up? What will bear the weight of our burden? Who could possibly overcome everything that is pressing us against this wall?
Who will hold me? Who will hold us? I look around; I search every corner of the dark world and come up empty.
There is only one light, one glimmer of hope left that I find in this darkness.

Jesus. I look upon your face as you hang there on the cross. You were broken down by the world just like me.
But there is something different about You.
You overcame. You overcame this world—the pain, the sorrow. You conquered the grave.
You defeated the grave so I could be with You. I couldn’t make it on my own—so You laid it all down, and carried my burden so I wouldn’t have to. You carry me as I cry and tell you how I want to give up. Even now, as I am weary, You lift my broken body and soul.

My God, when I break under the weight of this world, you catch me as I fall.
My strength is in You, for you alone have overcome.
You said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
You amaze me, Father God. How can I ever thank you enough for picking me up and walking alongside me? I sit at Your throne in awe of Your majesty and love for me.
You are the only one who stays the same when the world is crashing down around me—when everything changes. You are always good, no matter the circumstances I’m in.
You are always here with open arms. You are love. You are my hiding place. You are the strong tower that holds me up.

No matter what this world tells me, I know that You are with us here and are so faithful. I cannot wait for the day when I see Your face before the gates of heaven and run into Your loving arms. My hope is in You and Your promise of the day when there will be no more sorrows and no more pain. The day when we get to be with You in paradise.
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I want to tell the world! But I’m scared and I don’t know how. I feel beaten down. All I can tell them is how you’ve set me free from the weight and pain of this world. I can only tell them of the victory I have in You.
I can only share with them the countless stories of Your faithfulness. How you have lifted me from the pit of despair.
I know can’t save the world. But I do have the one life you've given me. It is all I have to offer, but this I will offer.
Two hands to lend a hand to a broken world.
Two feet, so that I may go where You send me.
Two ears, so that I can listen to the stories.
We need You, God. Only you can save us. You hold the world in your hands.
Our world is crushed, broken, and looking for a way out. They are reaching out for a hand to hold.

You offer your nail-pierced hands. Hear our cry. Take the hurting by the hand and help us to our feet—we can’t do it alone.
You’ve put me here for a reason, God. I want to help hold and love those who you’ve placed in my path—they need You just as much as I do.
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No matter what this world tells me, I know that You are so faithful.
I can’t see You, but I can feel You with me, Lord. I’ve seen too many evidences of Your glory to ignore them. Amidst all the crazy things that happen there is still love, faith, laughter, joy, and beauty. I know You are there, God.
Lord, take me, and use me. I’m only one girl. But Lord, use me to touch the world. Lord, for all You are, may I be forever faithful to You.
Your unchanging, unconditional love is what this world craves. We are crying out for You.
I see this broken world, and don’t know what to do, don’t know where to start. Fill me with Your power and wisdom as I seek out the lost, God. Show me what to do.
May my life be a song of praise to you and a witness of just how amazing You are. I want to show the world that You are the Rock on which we stand. “For in Him we live and move and exist.” Acts 17:28

May the world see that we can put our hope in You and Your unchanging and unfailing love. For You are unlike any other.

~Kasey