New forces

Many years ago I faced one of the most difficult situations of my life. I will not share the details, but I will say that I was in a place against my will and that the circumstances in which my life was found and those of many others who suffered the same with me were terrible. We suffered constant harassment and we were threatened that we would never get out of there. At the age of twenty-two, coping with those conditions every day was very difficult for me. At first I had a good spirit, I was encouraged by the hope that soon everything would end, but little by little I fell into a depressed state that consumed my strength and put my faith to the test.

One night, after a tiring day at work, and after having contemplated a tremendous injustice without daring to do anything to avoid it, I felt so miserable that I thought I had reached the edge of my strength. When I finally lay down in the hammock that served as my bed, I covered myself up to my head and made the most desperate prayer of my life: "Lord, I don't want to wake up tomorrow, I don't want to live anymore, I don't have the strength to continue here!" .

I can assure those who read these lines that it was a sincere prayer. I asked God for death with all my heart. The next day, as you can well imagine, I woke up in the same place and in the same condition. I once again faced situations similar to those that made me feel exhausted the day before, but I discovered that although I did not think I had the strength, I did.

Then I remembered a famous passage from the book of Isaiah: “… haven't you heard that the eternal God is Jehovah, who created the ends of the earth? … He gives effort to the weary and multiplies the forces of those who have none. … Those who hope in Jehovah will have new strength, they will lift wings like eagles… ”

Today I laugh at the inexperienced and cowardly young man who believed himself to be annihilated by adverse circumstances. In reality, at that time I was unaware that after that prayer God would not only give me the strength to live that day but two more years in the same situation! I was also ignorant of all the blessings and happy experiences that would come into my life in a future that, then, I was unable to foresee.

Today, many years after that experience, I realize that God was very generous in not answering my prayer and giving me strength and hope to continue living. How many blessings I would have lost if he had heeded my request that horrible night! If any person reading these lines is tired and downcast, suffering what they think they cannot bear, cry out to God with all the strength of your soul.

God may not exactly grant you the current desires of your heart, but I assure you that He has unsuspected resources to help you and boundless blessings to pour out on you… later. He did it with me!

God bless you!