We recently saw a poignant British movie that reminded me that there is always hope on our path of trouble and distress.

The movie is about a couple who lost their home, their livelihood, and their life as they knew it. They were left with nothing. Inspired by a book the wife had read, they decided to leave their town and start walking; with backpacks, a tent, and the bare essentials, they took a path along the coast of England.

This story resonated with my husband and me because we went through a very similar situation. Financial disaster hit us in the early 2000s, and we found ourselves on a path that we never dreamed we would be on.

We weren’t hiking along the English seaside. Still, we were navigating the torrential waters of a national mortgage meltdown, the loss of my husband’s income as a real estate broker, and the short sale of our beautiful home.

We were in crisis mode.

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.” Psalm 107:28

The Journey

I wish I could say the Lord brought us out of our distress immediately and my husband’s income increased right away.

I wish our story hadn’t taken nearly ten years of economic strain and five years of moving from house to house.

I wish that our children didn’t have to experience that time of stress and anxiety in our family, and I wish we didn’t have to ask our church and friends for help. But we did.

Often, God takes us down a path we never expected and gives us a story we never wished for.

Our path of trouble and distress was so hard and humbling; it was a place I never dreamed we would be. But this is where He wants us- at the end of our rope and at the end of ourselves, in the midst of a trial that was so long-lasting, we thought it would never end.

I remember asking the Lord…how long? How long will we struggle, and how long until we can comfortably buy groceries without fearing the debit card won’t work?

How long will financial stress be the main focus of our lives?

The psalmist also asked how long.

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” Psalm 13:1,2

The psalmist David uses the phrase “how long” four times in two verses. Clearly, he was a man in distress! I relate so well to this seemingly unending turmoil and misery in his heart.

The psalms gave me great comfort in this time of our life, and the margins of my Bible are scribbled with dates and notes from this season.

God understands the anguish in our hearts and lends His ear to us when we cry out to Him.

The Rescue

In the movie, the couple walked 630 miles along the South West Coast Path, trekking along the rugged British coastline of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset.

Their journey together was beautiful to watch, as they experienced life in a way they never could have without facing difficult times.

As moviegoers, you felt the shift. You sensed their strength grow, their confidence rise, and their perspective altered.

This movie doesn’t mention faith or God, but as with any story…joyful or trying…we know He is present, managing the crisis through His grace and restoring hope to us in merciful moments.

That couple found their way, and so did we.

There wasn’t one golden day where a jackpot waited at the end of a rainbow, and all of our problems were solved. But a slow process of recovery and rescue was taking place from the One whose timing is perfect.

And like the couple in the movie, our decade-long route transformed our hearts.

He is not only the Director of our story, but He’s the Navigator of our path.

And at the proper time in our journey of hardship, He brought us out of our distress.

“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.” Psalm 107:28-30.