“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
1 Peter 5:7
Never Lose Hope (Poem)
It’s like I can hardly breathe with a plethora of thoughts weighing down on me.
I can’t see past the hurt that other people did to me.
No moving forward because I’m too busy looking back; it’s really hard to live life like that.
Then I let every bad experience chip away at my dream.
It gets to a point where I start expecting bad things—anticipating, waiting, for the ball to drop.
I no longer get disappointed when my plans just flop.
It’s like when guy after guy lets you down:
He says one thing while his actions show how he really feels.
Making false promises, acting different, flaking on you, then getting confused when you don’t want to deal with him anymore.
Disappointment breeds from inability to succeed in the things you decreed you’d accomplish for her.
But you want her?
Then why keep standing her up?
She’s a good woman?
Then why’d you pop up with someone else, ghost her, without being man enough to say you just wanted someone else?
Did you like her?
Then why switch up and act uninterested—had her hoping for those first experiences just to hear you say that’s not what this is?
I mean, can you blame her for starting to lose hope when all she was attracting were wolves in sheep’s clothes?
But maybe that king is still on his way—no, he is on his way because God can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think.
Don’t let the past block the blessings on the way.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
God can bring you to whom you need.
All the heartache will be worth it to get what God has for your needs.
So should we be toward everything: not giving up because of a few disappointments and failures.
We have to remember that not yet doesn’t mean never.
The race isn’t given to the strong nor the swift, but to those who endureth to the end.
Persevere and let go of things that hold you down: depression, second-guessing, anger, jealousy.
Embrace love, peace, and joy.
Lean on God and not your own understanding.
Never lose hope no matter how hard the road.
This entry was kind of tough because it was love month, black history month, and a lot of events just went on in the last twenty-seven days. Of course, this concept of “let it go” has been reiterated numerous times, and I just had to stop and let what all that means marinate in my mind. This past Sunday, I witnessed a great visual example of what the phrase means. Two guys were throwing balls at the preacher, upon his instruction, and he started grabbing them. Of course, some completely went pass him, he dropped some, and struggled to hold on to the ones he had. Then the pelting stopped, and he challenged the congregation with the thought: why hold on to all this stuff, struggling, stressing, worrying, taking on more than you can handle when God is there saying just let it go and let me handle it?…Then he released the load with a smile on his face. I realized there’s something freeing and amazing in knowing that God is always there. The battle isn’t yours but God’s. You can release anxiety, frustration, worry, doubt, people’s expectations, the possibility of failure, sadness—all of it and give it to the One who cares, can handle it, and wants to take care of it for you.
God is just that awesome. Nevertheless, He’s not going to bulldoze His way into your situation. He’s not going to make you give the problem to Him. You have to make a choice to trust Him and let Him do His thing or continue to let the circumstance weigh you down. In this month, I’ve been learning to do that. Instead of trying so hard to figure things out on my own, worrying about things I cannot control, and developing my own plan, I’ve chosen to go to God about the situation.
So, I encourage you to let it go and let God handle it.
Andréa Hardaway 