So You’ve Reached the End of the Rope – Now What?
Have you ever felt like you are at the end of the rope and losing your grip?
That moment when you wonder . . . what in the world do I do now?
Heman was a musician during the reign of King David who helped lead the celebration for the return of the Ark of the Covenant. We don’t know the exact circumstances but Heman had reached the end of the rope. He was in misery and there was no relief in sight.
What did he do?
He took his problem and pain to God.
O Lord, God of my salvation,
Psalm 88:1–2
I cry out to you by day.
I come to you at night.
Now hear my prayer;
listen to my cry.
Day or night. Anytime at all. God is there ready to listen to the cries of His children.
- When your doctor tells you there’s no hope.
- When you’ve been rejected and forsaken by someone you love.
- When your feelings of depression are overwhelming.
- When your debt feels impossible to overcome.
- When your crushing pain never ends.
- When your grief feels unendurable.
- When…
Whenever we need help, we can go to our Heavenly Father with the honest expression of our anguish.
Heman didn’t sugarcoat the cries of his heart.
He felt forsaken, forgotten, and cut off from God’s care. He felt trapped, rejected, and helpless. And he took every bit of it to God in prayer.
The Life Application Bible Notes say…
When we bring our unedited feelings to God, we allow Him to point out where they are incomplete. We are in trouble whenever we give our feelings divine authority or assume that God can’t handle what we feel.
That’s why the Word prompts us to pray and turn to God’s promises.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:16)
He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. (Hebrews 10:23
So, whatever you need . . . when you are at the end of the rope, grip your hands together in prayer and cry out to God. You can trust Him to keep His promises.
He will hold you. He will strengthen you. He will give you mercy and grace sufficient for your weakness. He will give you what you need to endure each day. And He will affirm in you the hope you have in Him.
Let’s pray…
A Prayer for When You Are at the End of the Rope
Father, Thank you for inviting us to come to You in prayer. Your Word tells us to never stop praying and to pray with persistence. (1 Thessalonians 5 and Luke 11) Through Jesus’ sacrifice, You invite us into Your presence honestly and boldly. You understand our feelings. You welcome our thankful joy and our pleas for help.
Jesus, Thank you for encouraging me to bring my heavy burdens to You. Thank you for assuring me that You are willing and able to help me carry my pain and problems. You don’t want me to live overwhelmed and unable. You want me to hold tight to the promise that I am “able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” When I’m at the end of the rope, You remind me that You are there to catch me when I fall.
Spirit, Thank you for helping me. Thank you for teaching me the TRUTH of the Father’s love and promises. Thank you for helping me KNOW, TRUST, and LOVE Jesus. Thank you for guiding me with wisdom and for leading me according to the Father’s will.
Lord God, Please wrap Your arms around me and help me hold on. When I am too exhausted to hold on to You please hold on to me. Your Word says that You will never abandon me. I trust You. I believe You are able to give me the strength I need each day. Thank you for hearing my prayer. Thank you for giving me hope. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
The Life Application Notes say that Psalm 88 is “one of the few Psalms that gives no answer or expression of hope. Don’t think that you must always be cheerful and positive. Grief and depression take time to heal. No matter how low we feel, we can always take our problems to God and express our anguish to Him.”
So, if you’re having trouble holding on to the end of the rope, look up. Pray. Honestly tell God about your pain and problems. Ask Him for help. And open your heart to His gracious love.
He will guide you, strengthen you, and give you peace. He will even catch you if you fall. You can trust His promises.
And with His help, you will be able to look back and know this truth with confidence…
I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
May God bless you and give you everything you need to hold on.
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Above all, God wants our honest pleas and our admission of our weaknesses. He will always help us to hang on to that rope.
Blessings, Deb!
Amen, Martha! I want to faithfully run to Him with child-like faith. What a blessing it is to Know, Trust, and Love our Heavenly Father. God bless you, dear friend!
Oh how I need this today!! The last paragraph of your prayer is how I am feeling and it expresses what I have said to the Lord in prayer. I am tired, exhausted and don’t even know how to pray for this situation anymore. I have felt like the part that says “I am even too tired to hold on to You, please hold on to me!” Just reading what you said in the prayer helps to remind me that God does not abandon me and He never rejects me.
I have to hold on to that promise!!
God bless you, my wise and caring friend!
I’m stuck and drifting if that makes any sense. I don’t want to give up or for Him to give up on me. I need help. I disobeyed God and May have serious lasting consequences to Gods destiny for my life. I just need His presence to help me to continue to walk through this difficult time
Oh Erica! Please don’t ever feel like God gives up on you or that you have done something that he won’t forgive. It is hard when you go through something that gives you a feeling like that.
I know that I have God, but as she said in the post, “when I can’t hold on to God, I pray that He will take a hold and hold on to me.” I know He will.
One Bible verse that I love, and it says it all, is Romans 8: 38-39. If you read it you will see without any doubt, that nothing can ever separate you from the love of GOD! You are forgiven through the body and blood of Jesus who freely went to the cross to save you, and me, and everyone else who believes.
My prayers are for you, and know too, that you have Deb and all of Deb’s readers praying for you as well.
God Bless you dear friend!!
Thank you so much! I actually went to a bible study on Wednesday afternoon and we talked about that same verse! I appreciate the prayers and encouragement!
Erica, I agree with everything Sue wrote. God will never give up on you. Remember He searches for the 1 in a 100. He loves you so very much. I am praying that He will give you a very real sense of His presence and love as you walk through this difficult time. And please know that we are here to walk through it with you. God be with you and bless you.
Thank you so much! I truly enjoy your blog, it’s good stuff!
Thank you, Sue. I’m so glad you were blessed. I need Him to hold me close and I’m thankful that through His promises I can trust that He does. Your kind encouragement is always a blessing. Thanks so much for being a faithful member of this group of friends. Hugs!
The word you shared was just what I needed. Sometimes you need to hear it from someone else. God Bless.
I’m so glad it blessed you, Norma! Thank you for letting us know. God bless you!
Amen Deb! Thank you for the lovely words to help know God is always there for us to left us up. No matter how difficult the problem may be he will give us strength and guide us in the right path. I can attest to that when I was very sick he gave me strength, patience, and healed me. I knew he was at my side and I just needed to trust him and was going to help me.
This is when I realized how God hears our pleas so long as we believe in him. Thank you Deb and all the lovely ladies who are joined in the prayer group.
Have a wonderful blessed day!????
Thank you, Ana! You always add words of encouragement to each devotion. We bless and help each other when we share the way the Lord is working in our lives. Thank you for helping us with your story. Blessings and hugs!
Thank you that im reading this. It gives you hope your never walking alone.Yes i have been very tired.But i cont to pray. when i fill broken. I know to cont to look up and keep going forward. But must of all keep praying. Each day you look for a miracle. Hopeing things will calm down. Some days you dont want to try anymore. But i know that is not from god. Its easy not to want not to pray. I think some times why bother. But i know from my life.Looking up is right where i want to be.And when i get tired .I just ask him to hold me.And aftear awhile i know things are going to be okay. He will take care of us. He will pervide for us. And i truly believe this. And its so wonderful to talk to him. I can share anything . I know he hears me
I’m so very glad you were blessed and encouraged, Melinda! You’re right. We can be so tempted to turn our focus to the problems and away from God. But He wants us to look to Him, seek Him, pray to Him, and trust His promises. May God be with you and bless you as you take every need to Him in prayer. God bless you!
Deb, thank you for your beautiful encouragement
Thank you, Deborah! Blessings and hugs!