For me it comes and goes... an overwhelming sense of hopelessness seems to creep up on me, and I have to fight through it.
Yes, Jesus is my source of hope. But I am human. I have a need to stay informed, and yet it wrecks me often, due to the evil I discover.
Even knowing that Jesus has won, that we have won, that we are winnning... these are such "far away" concepts in the face of the ugliness that we see unveiled every day.
So much energy goes into keeping a grasp on all that is happening, so as to be able to red-pill others and to protect my family. That's how I am wired. Can't help it.
So I find my balance this way: I try to limit my time here (rather than just an all day constant presence), and I pray for wisdom and strength. I also choose to live as an example of goodness (and I am not perfect!). These things keep me sane.
I wrote this because I assume many struggle with this balance... and I just wanted to encourage everyone to hang in there, and take a moment to acknowledge the challenge and to strategize about how best to maintain the balance for yourself.
If we are not mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong when the shit really blows up, then we will not be the shepherds I believe God is calling us to be.
From the movie version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:
Frodo: "I can’t do this, Sam."
Sam: "I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are.
"It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
"But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
"Those were the stories that stayed with you... folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
Frodo: "What are we holding on to, Sam?"
Sam: "That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it’s worth fighting for.”
This is perfect
And Gandalf...all we need to decide is what to do with the time that is given us" or something close to that.
Your post is spot on, and I appreciate it. I look to the LOTR often for hope and inspiration
Yes, the Gandalf quote is a good one, too. Prof. Tolkien is still speaking to people even now and I think he was spot on, too. He had seen a few things in his life and knew what he was talking about.