The weariness of your hands in caring, the tears of one you love so far from home, the denial from another who hides his going away, and the bitter word that someone would never take care of another, these are arrows that wound deep, and you have not yet said, There is no hope. Yet a hope that rests in what you can arrange, in making the staff more aware, in your own devoted love that has given up nothing, is a hope that will tire you. There is no hope in the flesh, for our devices end in grief. But lift up your eyes: there is no hope in yourself, yet there is hope for you in Him whom God has provided to be the Savior of such as you.
You long for things to fall into place, to get your loved one out of that place, and well you may, for it is no sin to cry for deliverance. But remember, when Israel came out of Egypt, it was not their own scheming that brought them forth, but He brought them forth, with a high hand and a stretched-out arm. The clock of mercy struck in heaven the hour of deliverance, for the time had come; thus had the eternal purpose of Jehovah decreed it. The Lamb was slain, and then the captives were free.
God has found a ransom, none would have thought of that way but Himself, and therefore do not doubt His power to bring your loved one out of this pit of sorrow and homesickness. The youngest going away for three weeks, the denial of the other, these are but small shadows, for He delivers from the power of darkness. When your faith is in exercise and your hope is clear, you can see your interest in Christ; you come to Him just as at first, casting yourself wholly upon Him. Do not fear the whisper of Satan that God has forsaken you, that He does not hear.
That arrow is shot at every saint. Remember Jacob at the brook Jabbok: full of fear and trembling, yet he wrestled and prevailed, and the next day Esau fell on his neck and kissed him. The Lord chastens sorely, but as long as the Father chastens, He has hope for His child. The road may be rough, but it cannot be long; smooth it with hope and cheer it with song.
And when the deliverance comes, as come it will, for He has promised to deliver him from going down to the pit, then you shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. If we had no troubles, we would have less to declare; but when He brings them forth, the least and feeblest of His family will magnify His tender indulgence. So let your prayer be not only for the earthly opening of a door, but for the heavenly opening of hearts to see the only way of hope: salvation through Jesus Christ alone. He delivers from the guilt and power of sin, and He can bring peace within these borders.
Look to your heavenly Father for sanctification and for every deliverance. Faith sings pleasant songs when she foots it over weary roads, and I pray God turn this possible hope into an actual hope, giving you a good hope of eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ. He will surely do it, for He delights in the cries of His people, and He has said, “I have found a ransom.”