10-19-2026, 04:30 PM
https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/fu...qus_thread
How To Hold On to Hope in the Darkness
May 15, 2025
by Alicia Bruxvoort
A swirling summer storm once left me stranded in the darkness with dozens of bewildered children. My fellow camp counselors and I had decided to surprise our campers with a pajama party in the lodge on the final night of camp. But the real surprise wasn’t the disco ball strung from the rafters or the karaoke contest. It was the raging wind and rain that severed tree limbs and snapped power lines, leaving us huddled in a blackout. Most kids eventually surrendered to sleep but not the fretful one beside me. “I hate this place,” she murmured with a muffled sob. “I’m never coming back.”
This girl loved everything about camp: the goofy games and pillow fights, sunrise swims and moonlit hikes. But now the darkness was hindering her sight in the present, and it was dimming her vision of the future too. So I invited her to roam with me through memories of the past week. “Remember how we laughed when we tipped our canoe?” I asked.
“And how we cheered when we won the talent show,” she chimed.
We recalled the fun we’d had and the friends we’d made, the songs we’d sung, the pranks we’d played. And though the darkness didn’t instantly lift, my camper’s perspective began to shift. Decades later, I still haven’t forgotten our little game. Because it’s not just power outages that leave us disoriented in the darkness. The storms of life can do that too. When I’m peering through a haze of heartache or a fog of fear, I need help to see hope in my future. When my vision is distorted by the gloom of disappointment or the shadows of uncertainty, I need a spiritual practice to sustain my confidence and protect my peace. Thankfully, in Psalm 63, King David revealed a habit that sustained him in the night. After being forced to abdicate his throne and flee for his life, he wrote these words about God while hiding in the Judean wilderness: “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” (Psalm 63:6).
Like my sleepless camper, David practiced the discipline of remembering. As he peered backward at God’s goodness (Psalm 63:2), he was able to hope forward in God’s faithfulness (Psalm 63:8-11), even before his situation changed. Friends, we can choose to do the same. When our circumstances today threaten to dim our hope for tomorrow, let’s roam through our memories and gather glimpses of God’s goodness, recollections of His grace. As we do, we’ll discover that remembering is more than a playful distraction for children in the dark of night. It’s an essential practice for all of us who long to walk by faith and not by sight.
How To Hold On to Hope in the Darkness
May 15, 2025
by Alicia Bruxvoort
Quote:“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” Psalm 63:6 (NIV)
A swirling summer storm once left me stranded in the darkness with dozens of bewildered children. My fellow camp counselors and I had decided to surprise our campers with a pajama party in the lodge on the final night of camp. But the real surprise wasn’t the disco ball strung from the rafters or the karaoke contest. It was the raging wind and rain that severed tree limbs and snapped power lines, leaving us huddled in a blackout. Most kids eventually surrendered to sleep but not the fretful one beside me. “I hate this place,” she murmured with a muffled sob. “I’m never coming back.”
This girl loved everything about camp: the goofy games and pillow fights, sunrise swims and moonlit hikes. But now the darkness was hindering her sight in the present, and it was dimming her vision of the future too. So I invited her to roam with me through memories of the past week. “Remember how we laughed when we tipped our canoe?” I asked.
“And how we cheered when we won the talent show,” she chimed.
We recalled the fun we’d had and the friends we’d made, the songs we’d sung, the pranks we’d played. And though the darkness didn’t instantly lift, my camper’s perspective began to shift. Decades later, I still haven’t forgotten our little game. Because it’s not just power outages that leave us disoriented in the darkness. The storms of life can do that too. When I’m peering through a haze of heartache or a fog of fear, I need help to see hope in my future. When my vision is distorted by the gloom of disappointment or the shadows of uncertainty, I need a spiritual practice to sustain my confidence and protect my peace. Thankfully, in Psalm 63, King David revealed a habit that sustained him in the night. After being forced to abdicate his throne and flee for his life, he wrote these words about God while hiding in the Judean wilderness: “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” (Psalm 63:6).
Like my sleepless camper, David practiced the discipline of remembering. As he peered backward at God’s goodness (Psalm 63:2), he was able to hope forward in God’s faithfulness (Psalm 63:8-11), even before his situation changed. Friends, we can choose to do the same. When our circumstances today threaten to dim our hope for tomorrow, let’s roam through our memories and gather glimpses of God’s goodness, recollections of His grace. As we do, we’ll discover that remembering is more than a playful distraction for children in the dark of night. It’s an essential practice for all of us who long to walk by faith and not by sight.