A Hope Worth Living For

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
--Romans 5:1-5

Life is a journey. No one ever claimed it would be easy. Pain and suffering pervade our very existence. Many times we feel as if we have no control when life is spiraling downward. You've probably been there. I've been there. It is a reality of this life...a reality of our existence on this earth. We all experience difficulties in different degrees, some more than others. There are times in life when we can't explain our circumstances. We don't have the answers for the "why's." We don't understand why one person, one family, one people suffers over another. I cannot tell you why one man dies of cancer at the age of 35 while another lives to the ripe old age of 85 able to enjoy the "fruits of his labor." Nor can I explain why one child is left abandoned in the street to grow up parent-less while another grows up in a happy home without a care in the world. Yet, there is hope!

Even though we don't understand the "why's" we can understand the "who." In the midst of the mess...God is still God! He cares for the fatherless and is close to the broken-hearted. He is God who is not afraid to reach down into the dirty state of our existence. He walks beside us along the journey in good times and bad. He is our Creator and Sustainer...in Him we place our Hope! And what is our hope...

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
--Romans 5:6-11

We can't escape the reality that there are hurting people all around. What we can do is realize that we all participate in a ministry to hurting people--sometimes it is for others around us and other times it is for you and me. Our ministry is one of healing, one of rest for the weary, restoration for the broken...a message of hope for us all. Hurting people must be provided with hope to continue. Sometimes we must be able to redefine for them that hope which already exists...that is the hope we have in God through Jesus Christ.

Consider this quote from a book entitled, "Don't Waste Your Sorrows:"

"God never would send the darkness if he felt you could bear the light
But you would not cling to His guiding hand--if the way were always bright
And you would not care to walk by faith, could you always walk by sight!"

So, when darkness falls and things happen in this life that we cannot comprehend try not to worry about the "why" but take comfort and refuge in the "who"--the Great I AM, the one who has shown his love to us through his son Jesus. Receive his rest and rejoice in the restoration He brings!

That my friends...Is a HOPE worth living for!