Hope that Heals the Hard

I look around at the general population today and there’s no doubt in my mind that many would crumble under the weight of situations that can only be described as hard. Just listening to podcasts and watching the news, in general, most people have become so soft that they can’t handle even being looked at the wrong way. If we dare to disagree then it must be a deep-rooted hatred, phobia, or racism. But disagreeing with someone should only be described as uncomfortable, not hard.

Getting through the hard stuff that comes around requires hope. Hope that there is something better coming. Hope that good is just around the corner. Hope that gives us strength and courage and meaning. There’s not a single politician that can offer the kind of hope I’m talking about. I’m talking about the hope that can only come from God. Without God, there is no hope. Without having a true understanding of who God really is, hope can easily wane. There was a time in my own life that my hope for the future took a nosedive.

“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'” Jeremiah 29:11 NASB

Most Christians, and even many non-Christians, are familiar with Jeremiah 29:11. They use it as a statement to encourage even though they often don’t really know if God has plans to prosper them or give them a hope and future. They may hope that it’s true, but without knowing who God is, there’s the tendency to doubt. I know from my own personal experience that there are many serious misconceptions of who God really is and it wreaks havoc on our faith.

God is angry. That was a big one that I grew up thinking. There was always something I wasn’t doing, wasn’t doing right or I wasn’t doing enough of. I never knew if I had sought forgiveness of every sin, so I never knew if I could safely take communion. I never knew if I was accepted by God, I never felt confident that God loved me even at my best, and I never knew if the next sin I committed would send me to hell because I wouldn’t have time to repent and seek forgiveness. Like Christian karma – you have to do good in order for God to not be angry with you. Did anyone else grow up with this or something similar?

I grew up with all of those misconceptions – and probably more that I’m still yet to uncover. I had a head knowledge that God was good, but the religious knowledge that God was angry was louder and more repetitive. It’s pretty easy to believe the bad especially when the bad is easier to understand and is often what we see modeled.

As a child I heard scriptures that told how Jesus died for us when we were His enemy (Romans 5:8) and that His death on the cross was the payment-in-full for the sins of the entire world for all time (I John 4:10, I John 2:2, Hebrews 10:10-14). Payment-in-full might not be the best way of saying it… Jesus willingly became our substitute, took on Himself our obligations (debt), and expiated (this is the paid-in-full part) our guilt. That kind of love is unheard of in every other religious belief and it’s not something we typically see in our day-to-day… but we do see evil. We think evil thoughts and sometimes we even participate. I heard all those scriptures of God’s grace, but I didn’t believe them.

The world still has evil in it, and we even fall prey to it now and then, but Jesus took the punishment for all of it. We still have consequences in this life for our participation in evil (I’m not advocating sin!), but because of what Jesus did, we’re now able to boldly approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) as co-heirs with Christ, aka children of God (Romans 8:14-17). How can you boldly approach God when you’re convinced He’s angry with you? Is God angry about what He’s already forgiven?

I’m beating the same drum I’ve been banging on for the last few posts. Why am I beating this drum over and over again? I’ve found that if I don’t know who God is and I claim to be a Christian, then it’s impossible to know who I am. This is what contributed to my struggles as a teenager. When I had to face some of the hard stuff of life, I shut down because I didn’t believe God to be someone I could turn to. Knowing who God is and what He’s like is vitally important to your life and how you navigate and hold up under the hard stuff of life.

I saw a social media post once that said Life is hard. It’s harder when you’re stupid. Life can offer hard depending on where you live, but it’s really hard when you try to get through it without an intimate relationship with God. Intimacy with God isn’t just about Him knowing you – He knit you together (Psalm 139), but it’s about you knowing Him. Do you know Him? If you have concerns about your eternal destination after becoming a Christian, then I bet there’s more to learn.

Crack open that Bible. Don’t do it because you have to earn credit or win God’s favor, but because knowing Him is the best decision you’ll ever make. When you know Him, He’ll be there to help you stand up under pressure, He’ll help you navigate the hard stuff (from the world and even of your own mistakes), and He’ll never leave you.

Your eternity with God doesn’t start when you die. Your eternity with God starts the moment you accept Him as your Lord and Savior. He wants to walk through it with you. Let Him.