When Hope Feels Far Away—How God Holds Us Through the Hardest Seasons

Hope is a word we toss around easily… until life hits hard enough to make it feel distant.

There are seasons when hope feels like something other people have—people with easier stories, safer childhoods, or smoother lives. But I have learned these things.

Hope isn’t a feeling.

Hope is a person.

Hope is Jesus.

When we redefine hope this way, we stop striving to feel hopeful and begin learning how to rest in the One who carries hope for us.

Hope Is Born in the Dark, Not the Light

When I was growing up in a home shaped by alcoholism, emotional abandonment, and volatile control, hope did not come easily. The outside world saw one version of my life… but inside, it felt like survival.

It wasn’t until adulthood, when God began healing the layers of hurt I’d carried for decades that I finally realized:

Hope grows out of the soil of our deepest need.

Scripture will remind us:

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." — John 1:5

Hope doesn’t wait for perfect conditions.

It finds us right where we are.

What to Do When You Can’t Feel Hopeful

Here are three simple steps for the days when hope feels out of reach:

1. Acknowledge how you're really doing.

God never heals what we’re pretending is fine.

Authentic honesty is an invitation for divine intervention.

2. Borrow someone else’s hope.

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can say is,

“God, I don’t have hope on my own today.”

3. Anchor your heart in what never changes.

God’s character is steady—even when our circumstances are not.

His faithfulness is a place you can set your feet.

When Hope Starts to Return

The return of hope is gentle.

You begin to breathe differently.

You trust a little deeper.

You feel a spark you didn’t know was still inside you.

Hope doesn’t shout.

It whispers.

Continue Your Healing Journey

Want to go deeper? My book, The Seed, shares how hope began taking root in my life when I least expected it.