Hope in Hopeless Times

God gives grace in dark times:

OK, I begin with a confession. I always thought of myself as being basically cerebral in nature, and hardly emotional at all. But the longer I live, the more emotional I seem to be getting. Whereas I might have cried very little decades ago, now the tears seem to flow so very easily and so very often.

While my intellect is likely still my main driver, it seems God has been working on me, wanting to make me a more well-rounded person. And yes, having a mainly mental approach to life has put me in good stead for the ministry I have been involved in, including writing articles and books, being involved in debates, doing lobby work, and so on.

But having a soft heart is obviously vital. Too many folks have a hard heart and an active mind, while many others mainly emote while thinking very little. So getting a healthy biblical balance here is the way to proceed. And these preliminary words set the stage for what I am writing about in this piece.

It has just turned noontime, and this morning I have been rather depressed and discouraged. Simply observing the state of the world can do that. The list of things that are happening, especially in the West, are so shocking and so depressing. We seem to have Communists and Islamists taking charge all over the West – even getting elected. That will NOT end well.

A few more of these folks just won elections in Mamdani’s New York. It really is frightening. The Democratic Party is becoming a full-on Marxist/Islamist party, fully intent on destroying America. And Labor is destroying Australia. Labour is destroying the UK. Much of Europe seems lost, and the grand, Christian-based run of Western civilisation seems to be coming to an end.  

Simply getting on to X each morning and reading various posts can be a real downer. So one needs to take care in spending time on the social media. I do read Scripture each morning which helps to offset all the bad news found on these sites.

Yes, I am thankful for all the champions found there and elsewhere who are fighting the good fight. But things are clearly going downhill at an alarming rate. At times all I can do is cry out to God and plead for his mercy and grace for this sin-ravaged and increasingly demonised world.

A few more things this morning made me even more morose. One like-minded soul and good friend, Lyle Shelton, is in London right now for the annual three-day ARC conference: the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship get-together set up by Jordan Peterson and others a few years back.

Lyle just put up a four-minute video of himself walking around London reflecting on the current scene. Like me, he greatly bemoans where we are heading. All the great history, values, achievements and architecture of London and England seem to be giving way to an ever-darkened world. Islam is taking over so many places in Europe, and its culture is NOT the same as Western culture. See my recent piece on this here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2026/06/22/is-this-the-end-of-europe-and-the-west/

And I suppose I was a bit envious of Lyle. Back in the day I was doing all this as well: traipsing off to conferences around the world, catching up with like-minded colleagues, and being encouraged to stand strong in the culture wars. But those days seem to be over for me now.

And it did not help seeing Lyle walking around London streets bathed in hot sunny weather, while I am freezing here in dark and gloomy Melbourne. That just added to my despondency! But knowing ARC exists, and some of my friends are there, was comforting and hope-giving.

But then a few other things happened this morning to help end my gloom and provide the fodder for this piece. One commentator has just sent in a terrific comment to an article I wrote just yesterday. It was about aging, losing loved ones, and how we believers so greatly look forward to heaven: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2026/06/24/memories-reunions-and-the-next-life/

This comment was the first one to come in there, and it was very encouraging indeed. He too reflected on all the great reunions we will have in heaven, and how he looked forward to having long and leisurely chats with me – and others. I assured him that the feeling was mutual.

In my article I had posted the lyrics of one comforting song about being with our Lord: “I can Only Imagine” by MercyMe. In my friend’s comment he also posted a link to another Christian song about heaven. I am not sure if I have heard it before or not, but it certainly is a spiritual winner.

It is “Scars in Heaven” by Casting Crowns. He mentioned how he had lost a son a few years back, and how at the funeral of another person, that song was played. So I checked it out right away. The powerful and biblically inspiring lyrics are these:

If I had only known the last time would be the last time
I would’ve put off all the things I had to do
I would’ve stayed a little longer, held on a little tighter
Now what I’d give for one more day with you

‘Cause there’s a wound here in my heart where something’s missing
And they tell me that it’s gonna heal with time
But I know you’re in a place where all your wounds have been erased
And knowing yours are healed is healing mine

The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you
There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now

I know the road you walked was anything but easy
You picked up your share of scars along the way
Oh, but now you’re standing in the sun, you’ve fought your fight and your race is run
The pain is all a million miles away

The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you
There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven, yeah, are on the hands that hold you now

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, for the hands that hold you now

There’s not a day goes by that I don’t see you
You live on in all the better parts of me
Until I’m standing with you in the sun, I’ll fight this fight and this race I’ll run
Until I finally see what you can see, oh-oh

The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you
There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now

This 2021 song has nearly 30 million views. You can enjoy watching and listening to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCdevloDE6E

So that encouraged me greatly and helped me to emerge from my earlier discouragement. And there was another thing of interest here: the very first comment found under the song was this:

My Sister told me about this song a few weeks ago. I’m a Pastor of a Church, and I lost my wife to cancer in September 2020. It still feels like yesterday. We were married 41 years. I’ve cried just about everyday. But this song comforts me because I know she’s in heaven with Jesus. It’s only the strength of the Lord that upholds me and knowing I’ll see her again.

I of course had to instantly reply to it: “Thanks brother. I lost my wife to cancer in July of 2023. We too were married for 41 years. Tears as I type this. Bless you.” So thanks to my commenting friend and his recommendation of this song, I was even further encouraged.

And I know that this guy who I have never met and have never heard of until moments ago has gone through quite similar things to me and is a fellow brother in Christ. I take it that I will one day bump into him in heaven and have long conversations with him as well. His wife will be there. My wife will be there.

Moral of the story: I often say we need to pray for God’s heart. We should rejoice over what he rejoices over. We should grieve over what he grieves over. My ongoing CultureWatch ministry can mean I get a bit more of the latter than the former.

But thanks to how God works, my earlier sadness and heaviness is now replaced by God’s peace and joy. I will still read the Bible each morning. And I will keep doing my ministry, which includes posting things on the social media and reading about really bad and sad things happening in the world – and, too often, in the church.

Knowing that God takes a personal interest in me and where I am at is certainly encouraging. And knowing that he can send through a comment out of the blue at the right time for the right reason is also encouraging. Thanks Matthew!

And knowing that all around the world there are Christians who are pressing on, despite all the grieving and sorrow of things like losing a loved one, and their faith stands strong – that too is also encouraging. Thanks be onto God for how he looks after each one of us, in a very personal way.

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