As those who stand on this side of the resurrection, it is the particular duty of the saints to look “beyond the day of decline and insecurity to the full extent of God’s dominion.” The empty tomb ought to banish all frantic, anxious haste.

Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
(Psalm 69:34–36)

In times of widespread spiritual decline, it is only natural to feel the numbing influence of despair creeping steadily into the heart. But this, it turns out, is just the problem with despair: it is natural. It doesn’t proceed from faith, and in fact, is one of the furthest things from it.

Despair may be described as the simple loss of confidence and hope. It is that feeling of sad resignation that sweeps over the soul in response to some outward pressure or circumstance. As such, despair begins precisely where faith falters. Faith would have as its object the indomitable light of God’s revelation; despair cannot look past the gloom temporarily eclipsing its light. Instead, it cripples the heart with constant thoughts of temporal trouble.

The feeling of despair is not unfamiliar to the saints.

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