It’s a jungle out there.
And for some, even for many, hope is in short supply. Hopelessness is an old bag. Unlike the others, it isn’t full. It is empty, and its emptiness creates the burden. Unzip the top and examine all the pockets. Turn it upside down and shake it hard. The bag of hopelessness is painfully empty.
Not a very pretty picture, is it? Let’s see if we can brighten it up. We’ve imagined the emotions of being lost; you think we can do the same with being rescued? What would it take to restore your hope? What would you need to restore your hope? What would you need to re-energize your journey?
Though the answers are abundant, three come quickly to mind. The first would be a person. Not just any person. You don’t need someone equally confused. You need someone who knows the way out. And from him you need some vision. You need someone to lift your spirits. You need someone to look you in the face and say, “This isn’t the end. Don’t give up. There is a better place than this. And I’ll lead you there.”
And, perhaps most important, you need direction. If you have only a person but no renewed vision, all you have is company. If he has a vision but no direction, you have a dreamer for company. But if you have a person with direction—who can take you from this place to the right place—ah, then you have one who can restore your hope.
Or, to use David’s words, “He restores my soul.” Our Shepherd majors in restoring hope to the soul. Whether you are a lamb lost on a craggy ledge or a city slicker alone in a deep jungle, everything changes when your rescuer appears.
Your loneliness diminishes, because you have fellowship. Your despair decreases, because you have vision. Your confusion begins to lift, because you have direction. ~Max Lucado, Traveling Light (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson 1987, 9188, 1991). 56-57
