DAY 14 CHRISTMAS GOOD NEWS: HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS

When it comes to the Philippines, I have been feeling a sense of hopelessness since 2016. I tried to mask it under cautious optimism, sarcastic humor and memes, or pretend indifference. But after recent events this 2022, I could no longer ignore my grieving heart and so I spiraled into a seemingly never-ending cycle of disbelief, anger, deep sadness, and ugly crying. I finally admitted to myself and to God that I feel hopeless.

Whatever it is that you're feeling hopeless about now, know that it is not forever. You need to give yourself space to grieve, sometimes even feeling the stages of grief all at once. While you're in this space, you need to safeguard things like your physical and mental health and your faith. It's okay to take a break from social media, from meeting with other people, even from work and responsibilities if you can afford to do so.

When you feel yourself wallowing too much and drowning in this sea of despair, it is the time to reach out to someone before you are engulfed. The depths to which we can sink into hopelessness is very real and unless you cry for help to God and to someone else, it will be difficult to climb out of it.

Here are some things you can do when you’re feeling hopeless

Perservere in prayer

When you don't feel like praying, it's an even better time to talk to God. You don’t need to do a “formal” prayer. You can even just cry out all your fears, hurts, and feelings of hopelessness. You can even just utter the words “Jesus, I need you.”

Read the Bible

If you need to remember that God is faithful, read the Bible and see how God has been faithful to His people and how He continues to be faithful to us today.

Talk to someone

Talk to trusted friends or open up to a counselor, therapist, or pastor/elder about your feelings of hopelessness. They may not be able to give you solutions but talking it out with someone can help put things in perspective.

Cultivate an attitude of joy and gratitude

Despite your current circumstance, you can try and see the little joys and things that you can be thankful about. Once you put an effort into cultivating this, you’ll slowly notice some changes in how you feel and how you interact with the world.