Do you feel that? It is a calm shift in the wind. Do you hear that? It is a soft whisper of hope. Do you see that? It is the divine hand of guidance, mercifully extended to aid our good fight.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
Times of darkness within and without can disappoint, defeat and drag our souls down. It feels as if we’re saturated in sadness and sorrow. But when we’re low and downcast, that’s when we most need to seek after God.
If we can train ourselves to listen to the small whispers of hope He offers us, and deliberately look for the tiny glimmers of light shining in the darkness, then we’re on our way to becoming brighter, bolder and stronger, as our faith and courage rise up.
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” — Psalm 42:5 NIV
Whispers of hope
I am determined that these dismal, dull and drear, unrelenting rainy days will not steal my joy or dissipate the fragile faith I retain that they will pass, and we will see radiant glimpses of sunlight breaking through at last. Because nature whispers songs of hope into my ears, lingering long after the singing dies away, but the message I retain is stronger, more vibrant than the dirge of prematurely darkened days, replete with heavy rain. There's a thundering of wetness against glass, of wind hissing through the eaves, seeking admittance through snaking draughts and damp, chilly air that makes us want to wrap ourselves in warmth from autumn 'til spring will come. But faith will have her way, weaving a thread of hope through the darkest of days, sighing in our souls in harmony with grace, an eternal melody of light and a kind of hope-fuelled joy nothing can steal away; dim as the wick might be sometimes, it's still more than a match, more than enough for life's storms. © joylenton
“God is the only one who can make the valley of trouble a door of hope.” ― Catherine Marshall
Poetry Joy 
“Sighing in our souls
in harmony with grace,
an eternal melody of light”
Thanks for your words, which are always filled with grace.
Shirley, I’m grateful for your kind comments which are “always filled with grace “ and encourage me in sharing the words I am given. Bless you, my friend! 😊❤️
Dear Joy,
OH, what a blessing to read your beautiful words here today, singing through the dreariness that creeps around my own heart. I love this so much:
“But faith will have her way,
weaving a thread of hope
through the darkest of days,”
That thread may feel so slender to us, but it is so very strong. Thank you for these reminders here today that HE will bring to us the hope that we can cling to. I am so grateful that He finds such ways to stir our eyes to see from a different perspective–HIS way of Life for us. Blessings, love, and hugs for you my dear friend! xoxo
Dear Bettie, it makes such a difference to have faith threading its way through our days, as does God’s goodness and grace. The darkness we experience can be so stifling, can’t it? Yet nothing can stop God’s hope and light breaking through it all. I share your gratitude in being given the means to sense our trials and our lives from “a different perspective “ which totally changes how we feel and think. May we more willingly embrace “HIS way of life for us” even if it leads through darkened pathways, pain, problems and trials. Because God accompanies us through them all. He never lets go of us. Blessings, love and hugs to you, too, my dear encouraging friend! xoxo 💜
Joy, what a beautiful thing to read today! Your poem is such a good reminder to look for the glimmers of hope. I love these lines and following:
“But faith will have her way,
weaving a thread of hope
through the darkest of days,”
Yes, so very true. Thank you so much for being so faithful even when you are in pain and go through dark days. Blessings and love to you, dear sister/poet/friend! xoxo
Gayl, I’m so glad you were blessed and encouraged here. I need all the reminders I can get to keep on looking for the light when life gets hard and grim. Sunny weather helps a lot but we’ve been in the midst of weeks of rainfall so every tiny glimmer of sunlight counts. Especially when we’re waiting to get our leaky roof fixed but it hasn’t been dry or settled enough for the repair to take place! There’s always something that seems to trouble our souls, isn’t there? But then there’s always a silver lining if we deliberately seek it out and draw closer to God. His grace gives brightness to the darkest of days. Blessings and love to you, too, sweet sister/poet/friend! xoxo 💜