The Weight Of Sin: How People Overcome Hopelessness
by Blog Contributor | February 23, 2024 | Hope | 0
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Regardless of how optimistic people are, the weight of the world will often become too much. On top of committing mistakes and falling victim to sins, how do people overcome hopelessness?
Hopelessness is a word familiar to everyone, as much as hope is.
There will be a time in their lives when they’ve felt a heavy sense of despair, unable to see bright possibilities before them. In a world filled with uncertainty and losses, hopelessness can be a companion simply waiting for its turn to show up. It covers people with a warm sense of darkness, which surprisingly can be comforting as much as it’s terrifying.
Hopelessness can spring up from the slightest trouble to the most distressing tragedies. Its source differs between individuals, depending on their tolerance and strength against these circumstances.
Yet regardless of its source, hopelessness truly is something inherent in humans. It sounds unfortunate and terrible, but it’s human nature to fall victim to desperation in the face of struggles. To feel hopeless means there has been hope – a light that once sparked, illuminating people’s lives. Unfortunately, when they’re in such a mundane world filled with sins and mistakes, this light can be dimmed.
Sin As A Source Of Despair
Why do people become hopeless?
Aside from it being the unfortunate consequence of their never-ending perseverance, the snap that happens when they realize such perseverance won’t amount to anything, why do people end up in despair? Hopelessness exists because people have lost all hope and positivity in their bodies. It happens when they’ve exhausted their optimism and realize the truth in their circumstances.
When people take off their rose-colored glasses, they realize the severity of their situation. This is what shoves them into an often bottomless pit of hopelessness. In discussions of this concept, people commonly associate it with the absence of hope. It’s the most straightforward definition.
However, in another perspective, hopelessness is birthed from sin. It’s attached to the guilt they’d brew in their hearts after committing what’s unforgivable in the eyes of God. People despair because of the heaviness that encages their hearts and souls. It’s the result of the damage in their relationship with God and the understanding that what they did was offensive. When people understand sinfulness and its impact on their lives and relationship with the divinity, hopelessness is commonly the route they’d fall into.
Sin devastates people, even when it’s them who committed it. It bruises their relationship with God, and due to this, they become hopeless. Sin is the transgression of the law, and in committing this, people envelop themselves in a blanket of darkness and hopelessness.
The Question Is, How Do People Overcome Hopelessness
When sin and hopelessness can be interconnected, with one leading to the other, how do they avoid both? Is it even possible for humans to avoid sin when it’s deeply engraved in society and perhaps their humanity?
Darlene Lorraine Gibson’s One Woman’s Testimony of a Transformed Life details the author’s unwavering belief in God. Despite being exposed to numerous challenges and endlessly tempted by sin, Darlene planted her feet solidly in her faith. She knew she was with sins, that she had committed mistakes and will continue committing them. She understood that she was imperfect. But throughout these, she also knew God was merciful.
While this doesn’t signal her to continue living life welcoming sin, it reassures her. If she falters and makes the wrong decisions, God will always be there to pick her up. He is her savior and leader, always there to forgive, pull her back on her feet, and clean her from sins.
From her story, it can be deduced that people overcome hopelessness when they come to terms with the fact that they’re humans, capable and unable to avoid sins.
Again, this doesn’t mean they won’t be held accountable for their decisions. But in not having themselves under so much pressure and subject to guilt, people can overcome hopelessness. They avoid losing their identity and the will to bounce back after committing a single sin. While it’s inappropriate to be willing in the face of sin, this also doesn’t mean people can’t reconnect with God and redeem themselves.
People overcome hopelessness when they realize the power they have over sin. When they understand that they will always have a chance to reconcile with God, people learn to be more accountable and fight against temptation.
