Giant Despair
In John Bunyan’s epic allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, young Christian flees from his hometown called the City of Destruction in order to avoid the impending wrath to come. After meeting a man named Evangelist who gives him “a book,” Christian embarks on an incredibly difficult journey toward the Celestial City. On his venture, he encounters several ominous enemies and perhaps the most menacing of them all is the Giant Despair. At one point on their journey while relaxing in a meadow, Christian and his friend Hopeful are seized by the Giant Despair and thrown into a gloomy dungeon in the belly of Doubting Castle. They are tormented relentlessly by this satanic monster. The giant is only spurred on by his equally frightening wife called Diffidence. Interestly enough, of all the enemies Christian comes in contact with on his dangerous journey (and there are many) there is only one foe that causes him to actually contemplate taking his own life. That enemy is Giant Despair. One moment Christian is enjoying life and the next moment he despairs of life. It can happen that fast. When we think of our own lives, we too, like Christian are mere pilgrims wandering through the treacherous landscape of this world towards the celestial shores of heaven. We too, will face towering giants of despair on our own pilgrimage. One minute we can find ourselves resting in the “meadow” where life seems great, then all of a sudden everything implodes and despair has us in its clutches. Maybe it’s a car crash, maybe it’s the “phone call”, maybe it’s the diagnosis, maybe it’s the heart-cutting words from a friend or loved one, maybe it’s the fight, maybe it’s the feeling of abandonment or the deep well of depression. The list is endless. Just like Christian, we cannot avoid suffering in this world. Jesus himself said it would come.
No matter how much we try to fortify our life in “bubble wrap” to shield us from the sharp barbs of this world, we inevitably will encounter despair in some form or another. The question then emerges, “If moments of despair are coming, what should we do when we find ourselves chained in its dungeon?” Should we just hunker down? Power through? Run away? All of these are reasonable responses. Allow the author who penned the Pilgrims Progress all these years ago provide a better remedy. And before you brush it off as too simplistic or cliche, just keep in mind that as his quill dipped in the ink while writing this story, he was literally looking out a prison window. A prison window he knew all too well because he looked out of it for 12 years. If anyone knew despair, Bunyan did. The characters and events are fascinating metaphors that parallel his own suffering. When someone asked the great evangelist, George Whitfield what he thought about the Pilgrims Progress. His reply was short and sharp. “It smelled of the prison.” With that said, let us jump back into the story and allow these stinky prison drenched words waft into our heads and hearts as we grasp the “key” to conquering despair.
Toward evening, the giant appears in the dungeon again and finding that the prisoners have not taken his advice to kill themselves, he rages against them so furiously and threatens them with such dire punishment that Christian passes out. When he comes to he again contemplates suicide. Seeing his friend’s pitiful plight, Hopeful urges a little more patience, pointing out that Christian had driven off Apollyon, passed safely through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and managed to escape from Vanity Fair. "Well, on Saturday about midnight," they begin to pray and continue until almost daybreak. Suddenly, Christian cries out: "What a fool am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a key in my bosom called Promise that will (I am persuaded) open any lock in Doubting Castle." "That's good news," says Hopeful. "Good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom and try." They try it on the dungeon door, which opens with ease, as do other doors in the castle. Outside, they try it on a big iron gate, which finally opens, though the lock "went damnable hard." As they push the big gate open, its rusty hinges creak so loudly that Giant Despair is awakened. Jumping up, he is dressing to pursue the prisoners when he suffers another fit and has to go back to bed. Running with desperate speed, Christian and Hopeful finally find the stile by which they entered By-path Meadow, climb over it, and are once again on the King's highway. Before going on, they decide to erect a pillar, on the side of which they engrave a warning: "Over this stile is the way to Doubting Castle, which is kept by Giant Despair, who despiseth the King of the Celestial Country, and seeks to destroy his holy Pilgrims."
Did you catch it? Three monumental things happened in this scene that act as the unlocking mechanism to the “damnable hard lock” of despair. Three little words.
Patience. Prayer. Promise.
As Christian decides whether or not to terminate his life, his friend urges him to be more patient and helps him recall all the ways the Lord had delivered him in the past (God gave him the strength to defeat sinister enemies, escape fateful cities, and walk through dark valleys). By being patient, it allowed Christian to pause and to contemplate how God’s goodness had redeemed him from past trials. By patiently considering the past, it allowed Christian to believe in the goodness of God in the present. Like Christian, as we sit in our own dungeons of gloom not knowing how we are to escape, we must patiently “rewind the tape” in our minds and relive the ways God has showed up in the past and rescued us, whether big or small. Dwelling upon our past deliverances will deconstruct our present despair. But we can’t stop there. It gets better. Two more despair crushers are depicted in the story that are at our disposal. They are promises and prayers. In the story, after patiently considering the past, they began to cry out to God in prayer and it is here where the breakthrough happens and where promises are realized. All of a sudden a lightbulb goes off in Christian’s mind. “What a fool am I!” He’s had the key the whole time! He just hadn’t laid hold of it. What is the key? Gospel drenched promises that are ours in Christ! His confidence surges when he considers this reality. It will “unlock any door in Doubting Castle with ease.” What is Bunyan getting at here? The key of promise is a wonderful metaphor for the promises given to us in the Word of God. They are right there in the Bible, but it's up to us to lay hold of them…and when we do, our confidence will rise and the “damnable hard lock” of despair will begin to turn. You may be reading this post and feel only the tinges of despair or perhaps you are reading this and you are feeling the full weight of its monstrous chains. If that’s you, grab the lock in one hand and the Bible in the other and begin turning the key as you read these seven promises. You have access to them, for they are yours. As you read them, pause and reflect patiently on God’s goodness and pray to him for today’s strength and when the lock clicks open “run with desperate speed” towards the door. For that door is Christ.
7 Promises:
He knows you (Isaiah 43:1)
He sings over you (Zephaniah 3:17)
He upholds you (Isaiah 41:10)
He cares about you (1 Peter 5:7)
He watches over you (Genesis 28:15)
He guides you (Luke 1:79)
He will never leave you (Matthew 28:20)
Written by Dan Vangsnes
