This world is broken: how I find hope

In the past few weeks alone, there have been…

• The attacks in Paris, killing over 128 people.
• Suicide bombings in Beirut, killing over 40 people.
• A shooting in San Bernardino, killing 14 people.
• The video release of the horrible shooting of Laquan McDonald, which resulted in outrage and protests from the city of Chicago.
• The burglary and murder of Amanda Blackburn, a pregnant wife of a pastor.
• A death of an Elon University student and multiple deaths of Loudoun Valley HS alumni.
• A wildfire that burned down the house of a friend in California, which resulted in her losing all of her possessions.
• And unfortunately, more tragedies that happen each day.

This is in addition to the multiple homeless people I encounter every day in Chicago and the man with HIV that I briefly talked to this afternoon.

This world is broken. 

With all of these events going on, the world seems dark. Life feels heavy. Hope seems far away.

When we see these tragedies show up on our news feed, we can easily become numb to the stories of pain, sorrow, sickness, and death. Immediately after the attacks on Paris, we had checked in with friends and/or family in the city, had conversations amongst ourselves, and perhaps even tweeted or posted about #PrayforParis. But now that it’s been two weeks, what are we doing now?

We can continue to scroll through social media, maintain our busy schedules and remain numb to the darkness around us. Or, we can wrestle with these feelings of pain and sorrow.

To be completely transparent here, I’ve been more numb to these recent events than I’d like to admit. That started to change this afternoon.

Today, I started tearing up as I walked away from Rob, the man with HIV, with my heart feeling heavy at wondering how I could truly help him. With all this darkness in the world, what can I, as one individual, really do?

I wish I had an answer. I think that’s why sometimes it’s easier to remain numb because then we don’t have to admit that we feel helpless in these situations and tragedies.

And as a Christian, it’s easy to question where God is in times like these, such as asking, “How can there be a God who allows this to happen?” When the world seems so dark, how do we find hope?

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” (CS Lewis)

When something horrible, tragic or painful happens, it’s common to cry out to God, “Why are you allowing this to happen?” but in the midst of those cries, we are reminded that we live in a broken, fallen world. We are humans and we are not perfect. We chose a life thinking we could do better on our own than by relying on God. With that choice comes consequences that God never intended for us to experience. Death, sickness, sorrow, divorce, addiction, pain – these were all brought into the world when sin entered into it. Darkness seems to cover the earth.

Yet, Jesus – son of God – was brought into the earth as a fulfillment to God’s plan to restore and redeem us. He, a man without sin, came as a Light into the world full of darkness and died for us. The Gospel addresses our longing for restoration – the longing in our hearts for things to be made right.

Jesus told his disciples that he would be leaving to go back to his Father, and he said:

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

When horrible tragedies happen to our family, our community, our country, our world – we need to embrace the darkness and realize what it points towards – not an absent God but an active God. A God who set his plan in motion to redeem and restore the world and who is committed to that plan of restoration each day.

While I still am wrestling with these thoughts and questions of how I can help, I can be at peace knowing that darkness does not win. Jesus has defeated death and I can rest in his promise to return one day to fully redeem the earth. I have hope.

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” (1 Peter 5:10)

***I know this post ended up “Christian-heavy” and if you don’t identify as a Christian or even if you do, I thank you for reading this post. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me. If I were to be honest, it’s when I think about how dark the world is that I can only hope there is someone out there planning to redeem it. I choose to believe in Christ because to believe that this is just how the world is and there is no one who can deliver us overwhelms me with feelings of hopelessness and darkness. That is my personal belief and I respect if you don’t share that. I wanted to share and explain how I find hope in times of darkness in hopes of comforting others.