Finding Resurrection Hope in Life’s Dark Valleys - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - March 23, 2026
“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:6 (NLT)
I love the seasonal timing of Easter; it comes right as winter is surrendering her long, cold, dark days to spring. Spring gladly takes the baton and welcomes new birth, as flowers blossom, woodland animals birth their young, and warmth returns to our bones.
Even still, as nature softens to life and light, many of us carry winter’s burdens into the Easter holiday season, baby chicks and sprouting daisies unable to mend our broken hearts. What’s more devastating is when we know that Christ’s resurrection should be our joy, but this world-changing miracle doesn’t seem to penetrate our hearts and offer a beam for our wounds.
As Christians, what are we to do when the truth feels like a distant story that doesn’t offer relief for our present pain? In my life, I’ve discovered three things that I must do when hope seems out of reach, and I’ve discovered each of these action steps in the final three verses of Psalm 23:
1. Keep Moving Forward
Psalm 23:4 (NLT) says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley… you are close beside me.”
It’s nearly impossible to believe in God’s ever-present faithfulness, His willingness to go to the ends of the earth with us, when we are stagnant. When we give our hearts over to idleness and defeat, we shut the door on Christ’s willingness to move forward with us, even in the darkness. It’s as though we are telling Him we prefer to sit in the shadows, that doing nothing will somehow do something for our hearts.
Friends, I challenge you to keep moving forward. Keep reading your Bible, praying, and attending church. Keep going to life group, listening to uplifting worship music, and looking for God, even in the simplest spring blessings. Christ is in all of these good, holy, lovely things, and if we are willing to put one foot in front of the other, we will find the undeniable hope that He is ever-present, offering grace and love for us to endure even the most heavy seasons.
2. Look Up
Psalm 23:5 (NLT) says, “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies…”
God doesn’t promise that He will banish all our enemies, but He guarantees a feast for us when we face them. This requires us to look up and look forward as we keep moving along the path God has paved. We will never know what it means to be victorious if we keep our sights set on nothing but the ground, our view nothing but our worn, weary feet dragging through each day.
When we consider the war heroes of old, whether in literary classics or real-life accounts, each has one undeniable character quality that links them to all the others: a near-reckless willingness to look the enemy in the eye and charge forward, come what may.
They denied their safety and made the victory all that mattered, some at the expense of their own lives. If we are desperate enough to leave behind the hopelessness that threatens our hearts, we will stare down our enemies and charge forward, knowing that the Lord’s feast, His victory, is already set before us.
3. Believe What You Can’t Feel
Psalm 23:6 (NLT) says, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.”
When I use the adverb “surely,” it’s always in a hopeful sense, meaning that I don’t have a guarantee for the situation, but “surely” they will show up because they promised they would, “surely” the sun will come out after all the rain, “surely” they will make the right decision because of their character, etc. “Surely” is a spoken hope, a belief in what you can’t see, or maybe even feel. It’s nothing short of spurring goodness to win.
Friends, if we wait to “feel” hope, if we “wait” on man to make their word mean something, we are selling the victory short. Christ’s hope is too powerful to be inactivated by our doubt, and it’s far too beautiful to be marred by man’s inability to keep promises.
We can believe in Christ’s promises and eternal hope. We can say, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life” with complete confidence, with hope fulfilled.
Let’s pray:
Father, as we consider these three challenges in pursuing your resurrection hope, grant us the ability to believe in your true, unyielding, unstoppable power. May your hope, peace, and faithfulness flood our hearts and minds this Easter season as we surrender stagnancy, hopelessness, and defeat to your unfailing victory. Forever, God, Amen.
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Related Resource: Discouragement Often Comes after Calling | Ezra 3
In this episode of The Bible Explained, Jen walks through Ezra chapter 3 and explores the Israelites’ return from exile as they begin rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. She highlights how the people, though fearful and greatly outnumbered, chose unity, obedience, and worship by first rebuilding the altar and restoring sacrifices to God. The episode focuses on the emotional moment when the temple foundation is laid—some rejoice with gratitude while others weep, remembering the former temple’s glory. Through passages in Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah, Jen emphasizes God’s encouragement not to “despise small beginnings,” reminding listeners that God often works through humble starts, difficult seasons, and imperfect circumstances. The episode closes with a practical encouragement: when God calls people to a purpose, opposition and discouragement will come, but faithful perseverance and trust in God’s presence are what carry the work forward. If this podcast helped you understand the Bible in a clearer way, be sure to follow The Bible Explained on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
