Inspiring Words That Gave Me Hope
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that
there was within me an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus
In my essay, “How I Healed From Depression,” I wrote about the spiritual support I received when a group of people came together in a circle and held in their minds a vision of my healing. I called this “affirmative prayer.”
Another spiritual tool I used to promote my healing was to collect many “messages of hope” taken from the Book of Psalms, my own book I Am With You Always, and from other inspirational sources. Reading these words on a daily basis helped give me the “soul strength” to stay in the pain until it shifted. It also countered the pessimism of the depression, which told me that there was no way out.
I present a sample of these life-affirming words below with the hope that they may similarly be used by anyone wanting reassurance that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Promises of Deliverance
May these words bring hope and encouragement to those who read them.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed,
and the mountains be carried to the midst of the sea.”
Psalm 46:1-2“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1-2
“Though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil;
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Psalm 23
“The will of God will never take you
where the grace of God will not protect you.
Don’t give up five minutes before the miracle.”
Alcoholics Anonymous
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that
there was within me an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus
“The Lord is near to them that are brokenhearted,
and He saves those that are humble in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
Psalm 34:19-20
“I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them,
and will make them rejoice from their sorrow.”
Jeremiah 31:13
“Remember, no human condition is ever permanent; then you will not be
overjoyed in good fortune nor too sorrowful in misfortune.”
Socrates
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Romans 8:18
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.”
Buddha
“Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down,
for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”
Psalm 37:24
“Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
Helen Keller
“Enlightenment begins on the other side of despair.”
Sartre
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their faith:
they shall mount up with wings as eagles.
They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
“Sometimes I get discouraged and feel my work’s in vain;
But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The Light of God surrounds me.
The Love of God enfolds me.
The Power of God protects me.
The Presence of God watches over me.
Wherever I am, God is.”
The Prayer of Protection
“Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee.
All things are passing, God never changes.
Patient endurance attaineth to all things.
Who God possesses, in nothing is wanting.
Alone God suffices.”
St. Theresa of Avila
