Hope in Jesus: How to Find Real Hope When You Feel Far from God

Feeling far from God? Discover how to find real hope in Jesus with wisdom, Scripture, and encouragement from a powerful conversation on lasting hope.

On your hardest day and in your deepest hurt, where do you turn for hope?

In a world full of quick fixes and surface solutions, it’s easy to forget that real, lasting hope isn’t something we achieve. It’s not about things working out—though we love it when they do, right?!

Recently, I had the joy of sitting down with my dear friend and mentor, Tarra Green, to talk about what it means to find real hope in Jesus, especially when God feels distant, and life feels heavy.

Whether you’re walking through discouragement, exhaustion, or spiritual dryness, this conversation is rich with grace, Scripture, and truth. Tarra reminds us of something we all need to hear:

Hope isn’t something we chase. Hope is someone we trust.

Whatever season you’re in—growth, waiting, or wrestling—Jesus is your steady, faithful hope.

Before we dive into the heart of our conversation, I want to introduce you to a woman who has had a lasting impact on my own journey.

 

A Mentor Who Left a Lasting Impact

Tarra and her husband co-founded Pathway to Hope, a ministry that offers counseling, jail outreach, and street ministry. With decades of experience walking alongside those who are hurting, Tarra brings candid wisdom about healing, identity, and hope in Jesus.

But for me, this conversation isn’t just professional—it’s deeply personal. Years ago, God led me to Grace Ministries, where I had the privilege of walking through both discipleship counseling and ministry training. 

It was a life-changing season. Through the True Life Institute, I experienced healing from anxiety, grew in deeper freedom in Christ, and discovered a richer, clearer understanding of my identity and calling.

Tarra was one of my teachers and mentors during that time—and her influence has stayed with me ever since. Her grace-filled teaching and steady encouragement helped shape my journey in profound ways. In fact, it was at the very end of that training when I received the book contract for Holy in the Moment—a project God used to grow my heart in the very truths I had been learning to trust Christ moment by moment.

My husband and daughter have also been deeply impacted by Tarra’s counseling and the ministry of Grace Ministries. The growth we’ve experienced through their teaching has brought our family closer together, strengthening our relationships with each other and with God.

Looking back, I can see how God used Grace Ministries—and faithful mentors like Tarra—to build a foundation that would continue bearing fruit for years to come. It’s a joy to share a piece of that story with you today.

If You Only Have a Few Minutes… Start Here

If you don’t have time to listen right now, here are a few quick highlights to get you started.
But I hope you’ll come back later to experience the full conversation—there’s something powerful about hearing Tarra’s heart and wisdom in her own voice.

What Is Real Hope—and How Do We Find It?

When we focus on our stress, our failures, or our circumstances, it’s easy to feel discouraged. We can assume that if God feels distant, He must be disappointed in us. We start believing the lie that we need to work harder, do better, and somehow earn our way back to His favor.

Have you ever felt this way?

Tarra shared something so simple, yet so profound:

Hope isn’t a feeling or an outcome—it’s a person. Hope is Jesus.

We often think hope will show up when life gets easier or when problems are solved, but real hope is already ours in Him. We don’t have to chase it or earn it—we simply trust the One who lives within us. 

God Wastes Nothing: Hope for Our Hard Places

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”–Romans 8:28

Referring to Romans 8:28, Tarra shared how we have hope even in our the hard things that happen to us:

“All things” means He uses the evils of the world. He didn’t cause them. He’s not being mean to us, but He uses them because they’re there. God wastes nothing. He uses everything for our good. When you’re in a hopeless situation, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you’re in the beginning stages of it. The circumstance feels so big and so overwhelming, right? Thank goodness our feelings are not indicators of truth. Jesus is the truth.

 

When You’re Feeling Far from God

For the Christian, it can be easy to believe the lie that if we feel distant from God, He must have moved.

Tarra reminds us that feelings aren’t facts:

 

Our feelings can be strong, but they’re not always telling us the truth. The only unchanging truth is Jesus. If we base our faith on how we feel, we’ll constantly be on shaky ground. We must learn to ‘ by faith, not by feelings. That means trusting God even when it doesn’t feel good—or when we don’t feel close to Him.

God’s presence is constant—even when we don’t feel it. Tarra encourages us to walk by faith, trusting the truth of who God is rather than the ups and downs of our emotions:

“The scriptures say, ‘We walk by faith and not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7).  A layman way of saying that would be, ‘I don’t walk according to my feelings. I walk according to faith, in other words, trusting God.’”

 

How to Take the First Step Back to Hope

I asked Tarra this question, “For the listener who feels like they’ve drifted from God or taken a detour, how do they begin to move forward again?”

I loved the simplicity of her response:  

Just cry out to Him. Be honest. It’s important to remember we can call upon Him at any moment. He’s literally a whisper away. If we don’t know that we have a need for Him moment by moment, we’re not going to know to reach out to Him. That’s when we find ourselves walking after the flesh, going after those things that satisfy– the desires of the flesh, like addictions and codependency. These are all the things that we used to depend on prior to our relationship becoming real with Jesus Christ.

Sometimes the most powerful prayer is the simplest: “Help, Lord.”

 

Hope for When You Worry God is Disappointed in You

When we’ve made mistakes or taken wrong turns in life, it’s easy look at our own limitations rather than looking to Jesus. Tarra shares that God isn’t disappointed or surprised when we struggle. He’s the God of do-overs—and He never gets tired of welcoming us back with open arms. That’s what God’s unconditional love means:

• no matter what you’ve done
• no matter what you didn’t do
• no matter what you said or didn’t say. 

What a powerful aspect of hope, especially when we struggle to trust in God’s forgiveness and take Him at His word.

 

Why Forgiving Yourself Matters

Tarra reminds us that God has already removed our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Forgiveness is more than just forgiving others—it’s also about receiving God’s forgiveness and learning to forgive ourselves. When we hold onto shame or self-hatred. It keeps us trapped, clinging to shame keeps us from living in the freedom Jesus won for us.

 

Knowing God’s Love—Not Just in Your Head

Tarra beautifully explains the difference between knowing God’s love intellectually and experiencing it personally:

We all can relate to an intellectual know. I know Jesus loves me-yeah, yeah, yeah. But do I really know it to where it changes something in me, which then changes my behavior?

Behavior isn’t changed by an act of the will. True change is changed by what I believe about myself, other people. Transformation happens when God’s love moves from our heads to our hearts—and we begin to live, love, and hope from the inside out.

 

Hope That Doesn’t Depend on Others to Change

Tarra shared how God taught her that her hope couldn’t be in whether someone else changed.

I’ve been married for nearly 40 years, and it hasn’t always been easy. For a long time, I didn’t set healthy boundaries. As a people-pleaser, I stayed quiet to avoid rocking the boat. But God began to show me that my hope couldn’t rest on whether someone else changed—it had to rest in Him.

I can’t change another person. I’m called to stay in my own “sandbox,” let God work on me, and trust Him to do what only He can do in others.

As I shift my focus back to Jesus, I find steady hope—even if nothing else changes. That’s the kind of hope that keeps growing, because it’s rooted in the One who never changes.

You can’t chase two rabbits and catch one. When your eyes are on Jesus, you’re finally free to grow.

 

Nuggets of Hope

Enjoy a few more quick, but powerful moments from our conversation. Listen to the full interview for more on these points:

• Hope becomes most real in hopeless situations. We often encounter the depth of God’s hope when our own strength and strategies fail.
• God allows difficulty to reveal His hope. Like light is best seen in the dark, hope is best understood when we face hardship.
• Our feelings are not reliable indicators of truth. Faith must be rooted in who Christ is, not in how we feel.
• We can intellectually know God loves us, but transformation comes when we experience His love.
• The Christian life isn’t hard—it’s impossible. Only through the Holy Spirit can we live in alignment with God’s design.
• If you feel distant from God—start with “Help.” The simplest prayer is often the most powerful.
• God welcomes do-overs. He’s never disappointed because He already knows everything about us.
• We can’t change others. Our focus must be on our own heart and relationship with God.
• Stay in your own “sandbox.” When we stop trying to fix others, we make space for God to work.
• Shame and guilt lose power when we trust God’s truth over our inner critic or past mistakes.

 

Real Hope for Real Life: A Journey of Trusting Jesus One Moment at a Time

If today’s conversation about finding real hope in Jesus spoke to your heart, I think you’ll also love my book, Holy in the Moment: Simple Ways to Love God and Enjoy Your Life. I share this because of the impact of both the counseling and training through Grace Ministries had on the book.

In Holy in the Moment, I share my personal journey of learning to trust Jesus in the small and the hard moments—and how that trust brought real hope for overcoming anxiety, perfectionism, and insecurity. In the book, you’ll see many of the concepts in this interview through the lens of what God has taught me in my hard places.

Through personal stories, Scripture, and practical encouragement, you’ll discover how trusting Christ one moment at a time leads to deeper freedom, deep peace, and lasting joy.

👉 You can start by reading the first chapter for free. 

👉 Or grab your copy today and take the next step toward hope that comes through trusting Christ. 

Whether you read the book or simply take the next faithful step, remember—Hope is already closer than you think.

 

Living in Hope That Lasts

If you’ve been feeling far from God or are searching for hope that lasts, let this be your reminder that you are never beyond the reach of His love. Hope in Jesus is real—and it’s available to you right now.

I hope you’ll take time to listen to the full conversation or watch the video—and then share this content with someone who needs hope today. It’s a gift I believe will bless your heart as much as it blessed mine.

Friend, no matter where you find yourself today, simply trust the One who has been faithfully holding you all along.

Jesus is your hope—and He will not let you go.

What resonates with you most from this interview? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

Disclaimer: The contents of this website and Habits of Hope interview, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on gingerharrington.com are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.

Resources Mentioned

• Learn more about Tarra’s ministry Pathway to Hope.
• Learn more about Grace Ministries.
• Read the free chapter of my book that shares my story of finding hope for anxiety.
• Get your copy of Holy in the Moment: Simple Ways to Love God and Enjoy Your Life.

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