How To Hold Onto Hope When You Are Hanging By A Thread

Have you ever felt like you are hanging on by a thread?

Maybe you are feeling that way right now.

It may be you are at the end of your rope with a bad marriage or divorce, a stressful job, being over your head in debt, bankruptcy, foreclosure, chronic illness, a wayward child, mental health issues, a difficult relationship, or a loss of a loved one. There are so many hard things we have to deal with in life.

It can feel overwhelming. We can feel like this is it, we can’t handle anymore, and we lose all hope that things will ever get better.

Well, my friend, first I’d like to say, I am so sorry.

I feel your pain.

I have been there myself.

I know what it is like to lay awake at night with a pit in your stomach with an immobilizing fear that keeps you from being able to even utter any words of prayer except a tiny, weak whisper of the word “help!”

I know what it is like to feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel and there is no hope that things will ever get better.

I want to offer some hope and encouragement to those of you who are feeling this way right now.

If you are thinking I can’t possibly know how you are feeling, you are right. I don’t know your situation and the depths of pain you are experiencing. No one can possibly know or understand except for God himself.

He knows your pain.

In fact, He feels your pain.

And He is always there, whether you know it or not, and He is always reaching out his hand to pull you up out of the pit of despair.

All you have to do is reach out and take His hand.

This past week, Billy Graham passed away at the age of 99 years old. He spent the majority of his life sharing the simple message of the gospel to offer hope to a hurting world.

I loved hearing all the stories this week about how Billy Graham touched lives all over the world. One of his kids even mentioned at the memorial service that “everyone has a Billy Graham story.”

I was able to go and pay my respects to Billy Graham on one of the two viewing days at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte and had the opportunity to share a few of my own Billy Graham stories which ended up in an article you can read here.

I am so grateful that I was able to hear the gospel and go forward to accept Christ at a Billy Graham event when I was a child. My faith in God began at that event and has carried me through life.

I don’t know how I would have gotten through some of life’s hardships and challenges without my relationship with the Lord.

Even with experiencing the one thing in life I thought I could never bear or live through, the loss of a child, the Lord carried me through.

I felt a blanket of peace, beyond compare, covering me.

I never thought I could smile again, laugh again, or be happy again, but the Lord is faithful.

He has restored my joy and my hope.

If you don’t know the only true source of lasting hope, you can learn the simple Steps to Peace from Billy Graham here.

Helpful tips to help you hold onto hope when you feel like you are hanging by a thread

I have found that holding on to scripture verses, meaningful quotes, and music with powerful words has helped me during my weakest moments so I am including some of my favorites below.

12 scriptures to help you hold on to hope

1. “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.” Lamentations 3:25
2. “Be joyful in Hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
3. “We do not lose heart. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17
4. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you.” Ephesians 1:18
5. “My hope comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalms 12:2
6. “But as for me, I will always have hope, I will praise God more and more.” Psalms 71:14
7. “No one who hopes in the Lord will ever be put to shame.” Psalms 25:3
8. “When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope.” Psalms 94:19
9. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance & encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
10. “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
11. “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
12. “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

12 quotes to help you hold on to hope

1. “God is the only one who can make the valley of trouble a door of hope.” Catherine Marshall
2. “In all things, it is better to hope than to despair.” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
3. “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” Martin Luther
4. “The presence of hope in the invincible sovereignty of God drives out fear.” John Piper
5. “We should ask God to increase our hope, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown.” John Calvin
6. “Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive.” Jesse Jackson
7. “What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace: knowing that His grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.” Rick Warren
8. “Positive minds full of faith and hope produce positive lives.” Joyce Meyer
9. “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Martin Luther King, Jr
10. “If you feel like you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on! Because God is a God of miracles, and He’s holding the other end.” Pat Hicks
11. “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
12. “If you have been reduced to God being your only hope, you are in a good place.” Jim Laffoon

Please note: If you like these verses and quotes you can find many more of them in this simple little box of hope. It is less than $5.00 from Amazon and is perfect to keep in your bag or by the side of your bed for times you need some encouraging words.

Another helpful tool is this little book of pocket prayers from Max Lucado, which is less than $3.00 on Amazon. When you are hanging on by a thread, it is hard to pray and come up with any words. Reading these simple prayers can help.

Music to lift your spirits and give you strength to hold on when you are feeling weak

This next one I have sang through time and time again to lift my spirits, gain some hope, strength and encouragement during my hardest days.

When we are struggling in life, we often turn to others and put all our hope in them or in other things we can’t really rely on.

You’ll find if you put your faith in God, He will never fail you.

Wishing you joy, peace, and hope in your journey,

PS- If you have a Billy Graham story, I’d love to hear it in the comments.

If you like this post please pin it to your favorite Pinterest board to reference later.  If you have a friend or family member who is struggling with finding hope and strength to hang on.  Please share this post with them.

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