Psalm 9:18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
I lost so many things when God took Tristan to heaven, but I gained a few things, too. One of the things God gave me was new eyes with which to read Scripture. I used to read this verse and be thankful that God wouldn’t forget us and that God would give us hope.
But now what I see is the fact that God’s people will encounter need so great they will feel forgotten, and affliction so devastating they will feel like their hope is about to die.
God knew this, and put these assurances here for people like us. He is the One who will never forget what you are going through even though you feel forgotten by your friends and family and even God. Maybe you are clinging to Him and your hope is wearing so thin you feel like you want to die.
If it were up to us to conjure up hope within ourselves, we would be in a sorry state. We are too sad and weak to do that. The good news is that hope is a person. Hope is the person of Jesus.
Jeremiah 14:8
“O Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of trouble…”
1 Timothy 1:1b
“…God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.”
Biblically, hope is not optimism, outcomes, or future events—it is anchored in who God is. It may feel like your hope is dying, but that is only how it feels. As you cling to Him, think of Him as Hope itself, not a feeling, a person. He is the One who is holding you, and praying for you that your faith may not fail.
In that sense, the Hope of the afflicted will never perish.
This begs the question, but what about our children who took their own lives? They lost all hope and they did die! Here is more good news. Jesus knows there are people that cannot keep themselves alive, be it from mental illness, or a tragic impulsive decision made in a state where their mental clarity was not there. God names these people in Psalm 22:29.
“All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.”
Even though their feelings of hope died, He remained their person of Hope, and met them at the end, because He also calls Himself, “The End.” in Rev. 21:6
When personal hope dies, the Person of Hope never dies. The Hope of the afflicted will never perish. Our children are safe with Him at this very moment and cheering us on with the great cloud of witnesses spoken of in Hebrews 12. We will end our race and run into their arms and they will be so proud of us! The way we were so proud of them.
Dear God, thank you that it’s not up to me. I am so grateful I can fall into your arms and rest from this weariness. It’s so hard to keep going with all that is waiting for me on the other side. Will You make Hope tangible for me today? I know Hope is Jesus, but sometimes I need to feel it, here. Help me to keep going. And save me from myself. In Jesus name, amen.
