A Prayer to Have Hope When Life Is Not Fair
By Ashley Moore
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope…” – Psalm 130:5, ESV
The Lord redeemed me from a life of destruction. I grew up in poverty. My family struggled with mental health issues and suffered from unhealed trauma. By God’s grace, I escaped. My life differs significantly from how it started, and I am so thankful. But I feel sad when I visit my family or watch from afar as they struggle through some of the things the Lord allowed me to overcome. It all seems so very unfair.
Can you relate? Do you love someone who struggles with an addiction they can’t seem to kick? Or do you have a family member who suffers from a chronic illness? Maybe your child is battling debilitating anxiety or depression. I don’t know about you, but watching the people I love struggle breaks my heart. I also feel a twinge of guilt because I realize I did nothing special to deserve the deliverance God gifted me. I wrestle with the Lord about it. Why does He deliver some from adversity and not others? Why did He save me and not someone else in my family? Why do some evil people prosper while good people struggle?
If you find yourself in that place of wrestling, too, I want you to know you aren’t alone. We are not the first, nor will we be the last ones to wrestle with the unfairness of life. The Psalm in our key verse is a Psalm of Ascent. This Psalm was included in a compilation of songs that the Jewish people sang as they traveled to Jerusalem to participate in the annual festivals (Deuteronomy 16:16).
This regular pilgrimage and ascent were symbolic reminders that our citizenship is not here; we are foreigners in this broken world. We are traveling through this life and moving towards New Jerusalem. New Jerusalem is the language used in Revelation 21:2 to describe our forever, final home, which God prepared for His bride to dwell with Him in perfection for all eternity.
These songs also served as a reminder to those on the pilgrimage and to us today of where to put our hope. The reality is that life is unfair at times. Things happen that don’t make sense to us. We find ourselves faced with a lot of hardship and disappointment along this journey through a broken world under the curse of sin. But God ensured we would have tangible reminders to lift our eyes from our problems to the promises of His Word.
We wait for the Lord. We put our hope in His Word (Psalm 130:5). He is redeeming all things. He is making all sad things untrue. He will restore all things for those of us who trust Him. Sometimes, we see immediate redemption and restoration from brokenness and bondage in this life. At other times, we must wait for God to fulfill His promises. Regardless of the outcome, may we be people who pray fervently, testify of God’s goodness in song and deed, and wait for the fulfillment of every promise from His word.
Let’s pray:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for reminding us that this earth is not our home. The unfairness of this life has a way of breaking our hearts. Thank you that it breaks your heart too! We hurt over our struggling loved ones, and we feel guilty when we have good things. We wrestle with you about the evil we see in the world when this was never what you wanted for us. Lord, forgive us for allowing sin to separate us from a relationship with you and your perfect design for our wellbeing. Help us endure the consequences of sin with your grace. Please help us to forgive those who hurt us. Help us to abound in gratitude for the goodness you allow us to enjoy despite our shortcomings. Help us to pray without ceasing for the hurting people around us until we see the fulfillment of every promise from your Word. Jesus, help us remember what your Word says about our situations. May we wait well for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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