Never Without Hope
When we consider what the Savior has done for us, we can continue upward knowing He is always with us.
Illustration by Albert Espi
Imagine your hands are tied behind your back, your feet tied together, and then you’re thrown into a nine-foot-deep pool! What would you do? Would you struggle to stay afloat and exhaust yourself, or would you remain calm and find a way through this difficult situation?
Those training to become United States Navy SEALs face this exact challenge. It’s called “drown-proofing.” The objective is to prove their ability to survive in the water in a variety of situations. Once they are bound and dropped into the water, part of the test requires them to sink to the bottom of the pool without panicking, use their feet to push off the bottom, reach the surface, and then quickly take a breath before sinking again. This is repeated for a certain amount of time.
Most of us won’t go through Navy SEAL training, but perhaps there are some things we can learn from it—and maybe even gain a greater appreciation for Jesus Christ and His Atonement along the way.
Your Savior Through All Things
The SEALs rely on their training and conditioning to make it through this rigorous test—and they must complete it all on their own. We’re all going to go through challenges in life, but unlike the SEALs in their training, we never have to go through our challenges alone.
When we are bound by sin, anxiety, grief, or any other challenge and feel like we’re sinking, we can turn to Jesus Christ. When we feel like we’re at the bottom and will never come back up, we can remember that the Savior has already been there, and He will give us the strength to push upward, breathe again, and keep going. With Him, we are never without hope.
Jesus Christ is your Savior from sin and death. Jesus Christ is your Redeemer when you fall short and need to be made whole spiritually. Jesus Christ is your Healer from emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical hurt and pain that only He can heal. These and other names for Jesus Christ point to the fact that He is the One to turn to, especially when life gets hard.
With Easter approaching, we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. He lives! And because He lives, we will live again and have the promise of eternal life. But before His Resurrection, the Savior suffered in Gethsemane and died on the cross for us because He loves us. He “descended below all things”—suffering not only our sins, but also experiencing every kind of pain, sorrow, affliction, and temptation—so He could know how to help us (Doctrine and Covenants 88:6; see also Alma 7:11).
See Your Hope in Him
When the Savior was crucified, everything looked hopeless. His disciples were devastated. They had followed Him, believed in Him—and now He was gone. When Jesus was laid in a tomb, they faced sorrow and uncertainty. But three days later, on Sunday, the tomb was empty. Jesus Christ had risen! What once seemed lost now turned to hope!
If things feel dark and discouraging—like you’ve been thrown into a pool with your hands and feet tied—and you don’t see a way out, take a moment to find hope in Jesus Christ, and remember you’re just not at the end yet.
The Savior didn’t get to that joyful Easter Sunday without first enduring Gethsemane and the cross three days before. So, if you’re going through a hard time, don’t give up! As Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once said, “In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. … No matter our grief, Sunday will come.”
Through His atoning sacrifice and Resurrection, Jesus Christ is always there to help you find peace and move upward to more than you could ever hope for.