Hope Through Desperate Circumstances

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I hope in Him!”
Lamentations 3:24, NKJV

 
Ada Blackjack, 1898 – 1983
Ada Blackjack was born in Alaska in 1898, the same year as the Alaskan Gold Rush. At age sixteen, Ada married Jack Blackjack, a hunter and dogsled driver. He was a cruel husband and Ada’s was a brutal life. After losing two children in infancy and suffering further heartbreak when it was discovered the surviving son, Bennett, had tuberculosis, Jack abandoned his family.

Ada desperately needed money to pay for Bennett’s treatment, so she joined four men on an Arctic expedition as the seamstress and cook for a staggering sum of fifty dollars per month. The expedition, tasked with claiming Wrangel Island for Britain and bringing back a cache of furs, departed to the far north of the Arctic Sea in September of 1921.

The group landed, set up camp, and began preparations to survive the frigid winter. Ada was desperately afraid of the many polar bears and the lengthening darkness in the Arctic. Her fears began to overpower her as she developed a condition known today as Arctic Hysteria. The men did not understand her ailment; in an effort to keep her working, their treatment alternated between gentleness and harshness. As the winter wore on, Ada began to learn how to contain her desperation and returned to her work.

All of the explorers were anxious to leave for home as soon as the supply boat arrived the following summer; to their horror, ice enclosed the island and the boat never appeared.

Inadequately prepared for their second winter in the Arctic, three of the men decided to hike across the ice to Siberia and bring back food. Ada was left behind to care for Lorne Knight who suffered from severe scurvy. The supply party left in mid–January and were never seen again. Though Knight often harshly reprimanded her and blamed her for his worsening condition, Ada feared his death; without him, she would be left entirely alone.

Fearful, lonely, and desperate for food, Ada taught herself to hunt. She figured out how to set the traps and became proficient with a gun.

Early on in the expedition, Knight had loaned Ada a Bible; she began to spend most of her time reading it. She came to realize she could do nothing but trust in God and live according to His Word. She began to care for Knight with the same care she longed to give her sickly little son. She hunted, cooked, ignored his complaints, and did her best to keep him alive. She returned good for evil. Despite her best efforts, Knight died on June 23, 1923.

Ada kept a daily diary. In it, she thanked God for her survival, asked Him to forgive her sins, and thanked Jesus for His goodness to her. Uncertain whether or not a rescue boat would arrive, she began to prepare herself for another winter on the island. Every day, she wrote down what she had accomplished and thanked the Lord Jesus for another day. On August 20, 1923, a boat finally arrived from Nome.

After Ada was returned to civilization as the lone survivor of the ill–fated Arctic expedition, she became the center of media frenzy. When she was heralded as a heroine, she simply stated, “Brave? I don’t know about that. But I would never give up hope while I was still alive.”

Throughout our nation’s history, women like Ada have held to hope when all seemed lost. Their trust in the Lord has infused the very fiber of our nation with a forward–looking gaze—a hope that leads us onward as “one nation under God.”

Excerpted from the American Woman’s Bible.

Can you think of a time when you felt God’s goodness during outwardly difficult circumstances? Post a comment below!

Bible Study

More
  • Your Identity in Christ

    If you can recognize the tension of the already/not... Read more
  • What if I’m Too Busy for God?

    Do you find yourself struggling to find the time in... Read more
  • God is our sustainer

    Who is God?

    Use this Bible study from the first chapter of Hebrews... Read more

Comfort

More
  • Your Identity in Christ

    If you can recognize the tension of the already/not... Read more
  • Burning Bush

    Burning Bush Moments

    God may choose to speak to you in ways that you never... Read more
  • How to Bring Light Into Darkness

    How to Bring Light Into Darkness

    How can we bring in the illuminating light of Jesus... Read more

Devotional Reading Plans

More
  • If I'm a Good Christian, Nothing Bad Will Happen

    If I’m a Good Christian, Nothing Bad Will Happen

    If you are good enough, can you stop bad things from... Read more
  • Why does a loving God allow bad things to happen

    Why does a loving God allow bad things to happen?

    Why would a God who is all loving and all powerful... Read more
  • How to Lead Small Group Discussions

    Leading a small group comes with its own obstacles and... Read more

Prayer

More
  • What the Church Fathers Had to Say About Christmas

    Read these passages of advent alongside timeless... Read more
  • A Top 100 Most-Asked Question About the Bible for the New Year

    Many people who read the Bible don't understand what... Read more
  • teach your children to pray for others

    Teach Your Children to Pray for Others

    This study from the NIV Adventure Bible can help you... Read more

SpeakLight

More
  • Romans 8:28 SpeakLight Danny Gokey

    Romans 8:28 / #SpeakLight / Danny Gokey

    And we know that all things work together for good to... Read more
  • James 5:16 - Steven Malcolm

    James 5:16 / #SpeakLight / Steven Malcolm

    Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for... Read more
  • 2 corinthians 5:17 phil joel

    2 Corinthians 5:17 with Phil Joel

    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new... Read more

Spiritual Growth

More
  • What if I’m Too Busy for God?

    Do you find yourself struggling to find the time in... Read more
  • Burning Bush

    Burning Bush Moments

    God may choose to speak to you in ways that you never... Read more
  • How to Bring Light Into Darkness

    How to Bring Light Into Darkness

    How can we bring in the illuminating light of Jesus... Read more

Topical Reading Plans

More
  • He is Not Here

    He Is Not Here

    The death of Jesus, the death of God, was the most... Read more
  • What is the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible

    What is the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible?

    Many people have found the Thompson Chain-Reference... Read more
  • who really was jesus

    Who really was Jesus?

    The author of the book of Hebrews explained, using... Read more