I recently read a staggering statistic that around 21 million Americans (7 percent of the nationâs population) struggle with depression and 39,000 commit suicide each year. This is the cold, hard reality of the world that we live in. I know personally the results of being hopeless and almost became one of those statistics on August 5, 1997. On that day my world and everything that was dear to me came to an end and I found myself in a dark, dangerous place. I was in the world without God and I had no idea how to get myself out of the situation I was in. Perhaps you have been there and understand what I am talking about.
So what is hope? Websterâs Dictionary says it is a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment. Trust and reliance are also important aspects of hope. So what do you do when you have suffered an injustice and the people you thought you could trust betray you? You lose hope and trust in people, which is what happened in my case. As the pioneer female police officer on the department where I served I faced a lot of opposition, paving the way for other women who would be joining the police force. When I was about to be promoted to captain, the highest civil service rank, the sheriff told a briefing room full of male officers that as long as he was the sheriff, I would never be a captain. Shortly afterwards he put a few of his boys on me and I became the subject of a bogus investigation that ultimately resulted in my termination.
My career was everything to me and I had dedicated twenty-one years of my life protecting and serving my community, so when I was facing the loss of everything I had worked so hard for I lost all hope. I had no idea I was on a collision course to meet the God of all hope. I like to say, âWhen desperation meets Divinity, a miracle happensâ and that is precisely what happened that rainy day in August. God redeemed that situation and brought hope in my deep, dark valley of trouble. At that glorious pivotal moment when I joined my life to Jesusâs, everything turned from death to life, sin to salvation, and hopelessness to eternal joy.
What I know about hope is it does not disappoint. The reason hope never disappoints is because the love of God is poured out in our hearts when we get to that desperate place in life and cry out to a very real, very personal God who loves us more than we can even imagine. Jesus died so we could live and he invites everyone to come, which means we have to die to ourselves and follow his ways. That is the part that costs us, but I will tell you from experience it is well worth it!
(From Chapter 1, Rescued, in the book, Bright Lights, Dark Places)