“My spirit is broken.  My days are extinguished.  A graveyard awaits me” (Job 17:1).

“I have become a man people spit at” (Job 17:6).

“My days have slipped by; my plans have been ruined, even the things dear to my heart” (Job 17:11).

“...where then is my hope?  Who can see any hope for me?” (Job 17:14b-15).

We are reading Job’s journal.  He is at the end of his rope and at the end of hope.  He only knows that death awaits him.

If we knew things could or would change, hope would be easier.  But when there is no obvious way out of suffering, hopelessness can overwhelm.  And this becomes dangerous–to oneself and to others.

And it’s not getting better.  There still is no light ahead.  Job’s pit is deep.  And sometimes this is a reality we experience.

Hang on.