Choosing to Despair

I liked watching the “Anne of Green Gables” series on PBS with Megan Follows playing Anne Shirley and Colleen Dewhurst playing Marilla Cuthbert. One of the scenes that I particularly enjoyed was when Anne dramatically said, “I’m in the depths of despair!” Marilla’s answer was profound: “To despair is to turn your back on God.”

Despair is a choice we make when we choose to let our circumstances drown out the promises that God has given us in His Word. It is when we let the fears and doubts in our head overwhelm us to the point that we don’t see the light of His goodness.

Hope can penetrate this darkness. When we call out to God and trust Him to remove the despair, we will eventually see a little glimmer of hope that will blossom and grow as we ask Him to fill us with His Spirit.

Psalm 42:5 is a great comforting Scripture: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”

If we never look beyond our situations, we will despair. But if we give our troubles to the Lord and seek His light, we will have hope that will see us through. Don’t choose to despair. Choose to have hope from the Lord.