Extending Grace and Igniting Hope

[Karlena]

I think the phrase “quiet desperation” might be rephrased “silent desperation” because “desperation” is typically not quiet, but an unsettling and turbulent storm of fear, uncertainty, and the sense of being cornered with few or no options. I would say that most people that I come across lead lives of silent desperation and I can deeply empathize with them because I was at the same place at one point in my life. They are disillusioned, in great despair, or like a ship at sea being tossed by the waves as it drifts aimlessly in life, sometimes about to sink. Igniting hope means helping them to not lose heart, but rather to “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27.13). A manifestation of the goodness of the Lord is the practical help, support, and encouragement that the people of God can offer to those who are desperate and needy. When people see the goodness of the Lord, their hope is ignited or renewed.