Finding hope on the edge of the bed …

Yesterday morning, after a time of prayer and communing with the Lord, a question came to my mind: I wondered how many people would be starting their day with dread.

I thought of those people who, upon awakening, anticipated their day would contain difficulty, challenge, hardship — that it would be something they would have to apply themselves to push through. That’s because for these people, there is in their lives a source of brokenness that remains unhealed and festering.

Perhaps it’s the affects of a physical illness. For others, it’s a broken relationship or the deep grief of loss; some are overwhelmed with the cruelty of poverty, and still others battle mental illness, unemployment, loneliness and abandonment, or some other malady that will try another day to inflict more pain in various ways.

These people may linger a little longer than others at the edge of their beds, steeling themselves for what is ahead.

Many of these people long for change in their lives, and struggle because they aren’t finding it. There are some reasons why …

They don’t know how to change. Have you ever had troubles but not have answers to them? So many people are searching for ways out of their predicaments, but don’t know where to look, at least for the right answers.

They need help. Many of these people need the help of others who have insights, skills, and abilities they don’t.

They lack resources. In our politically-infused worldviews, one that favors a “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” approach for everyone, we don’t stop to think that many people remain mired in their brokenness because, as desperately as they may want to change, they literally do not have the necessary resources to make some or all of the changes needed. For untold scores of people, wholeness lies just outside the reach of available resources.

They’ve lost hope. We talk tougher than we are. After so much struggle without relief, many lose hope. They no longer dream of a better tomorrow because they can no longer imagine one.

Some have become too afraid to change. Some people have been stuck in their brokenness for so long, it’s become their new “normal.” The idea of life being different is a little scary because it contains the unknown.

Finally, there are some who are just milking it. These people have found a way to garner attention and sympathy because of their woes. It’s a rough way to gain a spotlight, but for them, it’s a spotlight nonetheless. Politically-obsessed folks love to complain about these people, and in the process broad-brush most needy people as being in this category.

So pushing off the edge of the bed into a new day can be more challenging, more frightening for some than others. But there’s a wonderful motivation for doing so that God gives us …

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning,” – Lamentations 3:22-23.

When God gives us a new day, He gives us new mercies and His unfailing love to go with it. No one ever has to be afraid of pushing off that edge of their bed alone, unloved, or uncared for — at least, not with God …

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives,” Psalm 37:23.

“What is the price of two sparrows — one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows,” Matthew 10:29-31.

And it was part of Jesus’ mission of coming into the world He made to provide a way that we can have a life worth getting out of bed for …

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life,” John 10:10.

Over the years, I’ve sat with thousands of people who dreaded pushing off the edge of the bed in the morning. One thing I’m absolutely sure of, you don’t have to live that way. Life may not suddenly become easy, but whatever your trials and troubles, God loves you and extends to you each morning new mercies to see you through.

There are answers for your life, so go ahead, push off, and move with God into your day!

Scotty